20th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry

Brief History
20th Infantry Regiment was organized during the late summer of 1861 with men from Bolivar, Monroe, Noxubee, Adams, Scott, Carroll, and Newton counties. The unit moved to Virginia, then Tennessee where in February, 1862, it was captured at Fort Donelson. In this engagement it lost 19 killed of the 31 officers and 469 men present. The regiment was exchanged and assigned to Tilghman's and J.Adams' Brigade, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. For a time it served in the Vicksburg area, then transferred to the Army of Tennessee. Placed in J.Adams' and Lowry's Brigade, the 20th was involved in the Atlanta and Tennessee Campaigns and ended the war in North Carolina. Only a remnant surrendered on April 26, 1865. Its commanders were Colonels William N. Brown and D.R. Russell; Lieutenant Colonels D.H. Maury, Horace H. Miller, and Walter A. Rorer; and Majors William M. Chatfield, Thomas B. Graham, and C.K. Massey.

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.


 * Miller, J. M. Recollections of a pine knot in the lost cause : campaigns of West Virginia, Kentucky, Fort Donaldson, battle of Corinth, seige of Fort Pemberton, all campaigns western and North Mississippi and Atlanta, or 100 days' Campaign from Dalton to Lovejoy, Hood's famous campaign to Nashville; General Joseph E. Johnson's surrender, Greensboro, North Carolina. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990),