Turner's Company, Mississippi Light Artillery

Brief History
Smith's-Turner's Battery was organized in July, 1861 with men raised in Quitman, Tunica, and Coahoma counties. It was active in the conflicts at Belmont, Shiloh, and Perryville, then joined the Army of Tennessee. Assigned to M. Smith's, Hoxton's, and Gee's Battalion of Artillery, the unit fought with the army from Murfreesboro to Nashville, then shared in the defense of Mobile. It lost 1 killed and 13 wounded of the 120 engaged at Shiloh, had 4 wounded at Perryville, sustained 5 casualties at Murfreesboro, and had 2 killed and 5 wounded at Chickamauga. In March, 1864, the battery totalled 80 officers and men, but few were included in the surrender in May, 1865. Its commanding officers were Captains Melancthon Smith and William B. Turner.

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.