59th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Cooke's) (Eakin's 1st Battalion)

Brief History
The 59th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Cooke's) (Eakin's 1st Battalion) was organized in June, 1862, using the 1st (Eakin's) Tennessee Infantry Battalion as its nucleus. During the spring of 1865 it disbanded in Southwestern Virginia.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties 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 - Captains James B. Cooke (to colonel), Benjamin A. Prophet, John M. Van Dyke Mustered in at Firestones, McMinn County.
 * Company B - Captains James Pryor Brown (to major), Charles F. Wilson - Mustered in at Madisonville, Monroe County.
 * Company C - Captains James Brooks, Jacob M. Hays - Mustered in at Elizabethton, Carter County.
 * Company D - Captain Reuben Giles - Mustered in at Knoxville, Knox County.
 * Company E - Captains John R. Stradley, Joseph A. McDermott, John D. Wilson, John Smith - Mustered in at Madisonville, Monroe County.
 * Company F - Captains Henry D. Giesler (to major), Jacob J. Giesler - Men from Sullivan County.
 * Company G - Captains Josiah I Wright, John W Stratton - Mustered in at Madisonville, Monroe County.
 * Company H - Captains John B. Cobb, William M. Cass, Edmond H. Benton - Mustered in at Athens, McMinn County.
 * Company I - Captains William H. Smith, Reuben G. Clark - Mustered in at Morristown, then Grainger, now Hamblen County.
 * Company K - Captains John A. Russell, John S. Duckworth - Some men from Polk County.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 1,921 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in 'Tennessee 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.


 * Tennessee in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Tennessee, 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.


 * Lindsley, John B. The Military Annals of Tennessee: Confederate, First Series; Embracing a Review of Military Operations, with Regimental Histories and Memorial Rolls, Compiled from Original and Official Sources. 1886. Reprint. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Co., 1974. (Family History Library book 976.8 M2L.) Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive.  Memorial rolls of the 59th Tennessee Infantry begin on page 571.


 * Tennesseans in the Civil War, (accessed 22 Oct 2011).


 * The Fifty-ninthe Tennessee (Confederate) Regiment, a brief history, (accessed 29 Dec 2011).