15th Battalion, Mississippi Sharpshooters

Brief History
[Hawkin's]

15th Battalion Sharpshooters was organized during the late summer of 1862 at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its two companies were composed of men from other Mississippi units already in the field. It was involved in the Kentucky operations, then was assigned to S.A.M. Wood's and Lowrey's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. The unit sustained 33 casualties at Murfreesboro, contained 78 men in January, 1863, and had many disabled at Chickamauga. That December only 54 effectives were present, and it soon disbanded. The men joined other Mississippi units. Major A.T. Hawkins was in command.


 * The 15th Battalion Mississippi Sharpshooters (Hawkins’) Internet 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 - (Steger’s Company) - county of origin not specified

Company B - (Coleman’s Company) - county of origin not specified

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.


 * 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),