23rd Regiment, Mississippi Infantry

Brief History
23rd Infantry Regiment [also called 2nd or 3rd Regiment] was assembled at Corinth, Mississippi, during the fall of 1861. The men were from Franklin, Tippah, Alcorn, and Monroe counties. Sent to Tennessee, the unit was captured at Fort Donelson. In this fight it lost 5 killed and 46 wounded of the 546 engaged. After being exchanged, it served in General Tilghman's and J. Adams' Brigade, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, and was active in various engagements during the siege of Vicksburg. Later it joined the Army of Tennessee, served under Generals J. Adams and Lowrey, and fought in the Atlanta and Tennessee Campaigns and in North Carolina. The regiment reported 20 casualties at Coffeeville and 7 at Champion's Hill and surrendered on April 26, 1865. The field officers were Colonels Thomas J. Davidson and Joseph M. Wells, Lieutenant Colonel Moses McCarley, and Majors George W.B. Garrett and W.E. Rogers.

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.

Other Sources

 * 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.


 * Andrews, W. J. (Welburn J.). Sketch of Company K, 23rd South Carolina Volunteers, in the Civil War, from 1862-1865. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990),