42nd Regiment, Mississippi Infantry

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Brief History
42nd Infantry Regiment was organized at Oxford, Mississippi, in May, 1862, and in June moved to Virginia with about 750 officers and men. Its companies were recruited in the counties of Carroll, Coahoma, Tate, De Soto, Panola, Lafayette, Union, Pontotoc, Marshall, Benton, and Tippah. For a time it served on garrison duty in the Department of Richmond, then was assigned to General J.R. Davis' Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. The 42nd was active from Gettysburg to Cold Harbor, endured the hardships of the Petersburg siege south of the James River, and saw action around Appomattox. It lost forty-six percent of the 575 engaged at Gettysburg, had 8 disabled en route from Pennsylvania, and had 6 killed and 25 wounded during the Bristoe Campaign. The regiment surrendered 1 Lieutenant, 1 Chaplain, and 5 enlisted men on April 9, 1865. The field officers were Colonels William A. Feeney, Hugh R. Miller, and Andrew M. Nelson; Lieutenant Colonel Hillery Mosely; and Major Robert W. Locke.

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.