Bradford's Company, Mississippi Artillery (Confederate Guards Artillery)

Brief History
Confederate Guards Light Artillery was organized at Pontotoc and Chickasaw counties. More than 150 officers and men were mustered into Confederate service, and they were soon ordered north. It served in the Department of North Carolina, the Department of Richmond, and later the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia. Assigned to J.C. Coit's Battalion of Artillery, the company fought at Swift Creek and Drewry's Bluff and shared in the defense of Petersburg on June 16 and 17, 1864. For a time, one section was stationed at Hicksford, Virginia, then the entire command saw action south of the James River and in the Appomattox Campaign. When the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered in April, 1865, no members of the battery were present. Captains William D. Bradford and John C. Grisham were in command.

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.