18th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry

United States     U.S. Military      Mississippi      Mississippi Military      Mississippi in the Civil War      18th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry

Brief History
18th Infantry Regiment, organized in June, 1861, at Corinth, Mississippi, recruited its members in Yazoo, Coahoma, Madison, De Soto, and Hinds counties. Ordered to Virginia, the unit fought at First Manassas under D.R. Jones, then was engaged at Leesburg. In April, 1862, it contained 684 effectives and served in General Griffith's, Barksdale, and Humphrey's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. The 18th participated in many campaigns from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor including the operations at Chickamauga and Knoxville. It went on to fight with Early in the Shenandoah Valley and later around Appomattox. The unit reported 38 casualties at First Manassas, 85 at Leesburg, and 132 at Malvern Hill. Of the 186 engaged at Sharpsburg, forty-three percent were disabled. It had 18 wounded at Fredericksburg, 25 killed and 43 wounded at Chancellorsville, and 18 killed and 82 wounded of the 242 at Gettysburg. Many were captured at Sayler's Creek, and only 4 officers and 44 men surrendered. The field officers were Colonels E.R. Burt and Thomas M. Griffin; Lieutenant Colonel Walter G. Kearney and William H. Luse; and Majors John W. Balfour, James C. Campbell, G.B. Gerald, and E.G. Henry.

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.


 * Dinkins, James. Personal recollections and experiences in the Confederate Army. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990),


 * Fontaine, Lamar. The prison life of Major Lamar Fontaine : one of the immortal six hundred Confederate officers, prisoners of war, on Prison Ship Crescent City, on Morris Island, Fort Pulaski and Hilton Head, S.C. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990),