4th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry

Brief History
4th Infantry Regiment was organized at Grenada, Mississippi in April, 1861. Many of its members were recruited in Attala, Grenada, Lafayette, and Carroll counties. It moved to Tennessee where a detachment was captured at Fort Henry and the regiment at Fort Donelson. After being exchanged, the unit was assigned to S.D. Lee's and Baldwin's Brigade, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. It was captured at Vicksburg. Again exchanged, it was attached to General Baldwin's and Sears' Brigade. Few surrendered in May, 1865. The field officers were Colonels Thomas N. Adaire, Joseph Drake, and Pierre S. Layton; Lieutenant Colonel Joseph J. Gee, and Major Thomas P. Nelson.


 * The 4th Regiment, Mississippi InfantryInternet 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 - (Bankston Guards) - raised in Choctaw County [also listed as Company G]

Company B - (Attala Yellow Jackets) - raised in Attala County see Roster [also listed as Company K]

Company C - (Red Invincibles) - raised in Carroll County &amp; Holmes County

Company D - (Paris Rebels) - raised in Lafayette County [also listed as Company K]

Company E - (Stephens Guards) - raised in Carroll County [also listed as Company D]

Company F - (Sons of the South) - raised in Calhoun County see Roster

Company G - (Nelson Grays) - raised in Holmes County [also listed as Company E]

Company H - (Carroll County Rebels) - raised in Carroll County [also listed as Company A]

Company I - (Benela Sharpshooters) - raised in Calhoun County [also listed as Company H]

Company K - (Center Marksmen) - raised in Attala County [also listed as Company B]

Information from Military Annals of Mississippi: Military Organizations which Entered the Service of the Confederate States of America from the State of Mississippi, by John C. Rietti, Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Company Publishers, 1976, p.45 FHL book 976.2 M2r includes Roster.

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.


 * Bounds, Charles L. (Charles Lee). Ben H. Bounds, 1840-1911, Methodist minister and prominent Mason : biography and highlights from his early life and Civil War memoirs. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990),


 * 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),


 * 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),