1st Regiment, Mississippi Light Artillery

Brief History
[Also known as Withers' Light Artillery]

1st Artillery Regiment was organized during the late summer of 1862 with eleven companies. During the war the various companies served as both light and heavy artillery but not as one command. The regiment was assigned to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, and Companes A, C, D, F, G, I, K, and L were assigned to the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, Company E to the Trans-Mississippi Department, and Company G to the Army of Tennessee. Disbanded before the end of the war. Its commanders were Colonel William T. Withers, Lieutenant Colonel James P. Parker, and Majors Benjamin R. Holmes and Jefferson L. Wofford.


 * The 1st Regiment, Mississippi Light Artillery Web site has a longer history taken from Dunbar Rowland's Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898.

Regiment Companies with the County of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

Company A - (Ridley’s Battery, aka Jackson Light Artillery) - raised in Hinds County and Madison County

Company B - (Herrod’s Battery, aka Vaughan Rebels) - raised in Yazoo County

Company C - (Turner’s Battery) - raised in Choctaw County

Company D - (Wofford’s Battery) - raised in Holmes County - see Roster

Company E - (Carroll Light Artillery) - raised in Carroll County

Company F - (Bradford’s Battery) - raised in Lawrence County

Company G - (Cowan’s Battery) - raised in Warren County

Company H - (Connor Battery) - raised in Adams County

Company I - (Bowman’s Battery) - raised in Yazoo County

Company K - (Abbay’s Battery) - raised in Claiborne County and Jefferson County

Company L - (Vaiden Artillery) - raised in Carroll County  [Designation changed to E, March 6, 1865.]

Source Material

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘Mississippi in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Mississippi in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Mississippi, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * Howell, H. Grady. For Dixie Land, I’ll Take My Stand!: A Muster Listing of All Known Mississippi Confederate Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines. (Chickasaw Bayou Press, 1998),


 * Rowland, Dunbar. Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898: taken from the Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, 1908. (Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Company),.