3d Mississippi Cavalry Regiment explained
| Unit Name: | 3d Mississippi Cavalry Regiment |
| Dates: | 1863–65 |
| Disbanded: | May 12, 1865 |
| Type: | Cavalry |
| Size: | Regiment |
| Nickname: | "Third Mississippi" |
| Colors: | Yellow |
| Colors Label: | Facings |
| Battles: |
|
| Battles Label: | Battles |
| Commander1: | Colonel John McGuirk |
| Commander1 Label: | Commanding officer |
The 3d Mississippi Cavalry Regiment (also known as the "Third Mississippi") was a cavalry formation in the Western Theater of the American Civil War commanded by Colonel John McGuirk.[1]
History
The regiment was organized on June 9, 1863, in the Mississippi State Troops at Panola of cavalry from new and existing companies, as the 3d Mississippi State Cavalry Regiment and assigned to the 5th Military District, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana.[2] In the summer and fall of 1863 it served in North Mississippi and Tennessee, opposing Federal cavalry raids, and taking part in various counter-raids against Union-controlled railroads and garrisons, including the Battle of Collierville in October 1863 and numerous other skirmishes.[3]
The regiment was reorganized in April, 1864, and mustered into Confederate service on May 3, 1864, as the 3d Mississippi Cavalry Regiment. It reported a strength of 325 men upon transfer to Confederate service under Gholson's brigade. In 1864, it was again active in North Mississippi, opposing Sherman's Meridian campaign, fighting in various skirmishes as well as the Battle of Okolona. In late July the regiment was sent to Georgia and assigned to Walthall's division on the Atlanta defensive lines, fighting at the Battle of Ezra Church and Battle of Jonesborough. The remnants of the 3d Mississippi retreated to Alabama, where it was disbanded on May 12, 1865, at Gainesville.[4]
Regimental order of battle
Units of the 3d Mississippi Cavalry Regiment included:[5]
- Company A
- Company B
- Company C
- Company D
- Company E
- Company F
- Company G
- Company H (Kilgore Rangers)
- Company I (Webb’s Rangers)
- Company K (Barksdale’s Rangers)
See also
References
Sources
- Book: Crute, Joseph H. Jr. . 1987 . Units of the Confederate States Army . 2nd . Gaithersburg, Md. . Olde Soldier Books . 0-942211-53-7 . 8443216M.
- Book: Evans . Brig. Gen. Clement A. . Clement A. Evans . 1899 . Confederate Military History. Volume VII . Atlanta, Ga. . Confederate Publishing Company . 02017198 . 951143 . 6918120M.
- Book: Rowland . Dunbar . Dunbar Rowland . 1908 . Military History of Mississippi: 1803-1898 . Spartanburg, S.C. . The Reprint Company . 2011 . 978-0-87152-266-5 . 881684681 . 78-2454.
- Book: Sifakis, Stewart . 1995 . Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Mississippi . New York . . 0-8160-2292-5 . 90023631 . 31712711.
Further reading
- Book: Allardice, Bruce S. . 2008 . Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register . Columbia . . 978-0-8262-1809-4 . 2008018253 . 227191547 . 16839816M . registration .
- Book: Jordon . [Brig.] Gen. Thomas . Pryor . J. P. . 1868 . The Campaigns of Lieut.-Gen. N.B. Forrest, and of Forrest's Cavalry, with Portraits, Maps and Illustrations . New Orleans, La., Memphis, Tenn., and New York . Bielock & Company . 02017133 . 22938592M.
- Book: Roberts . Bobby . Moneyhon . Carl . 1993 . Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Mississippi in the Civil War . Fayetteville . . 1-55728-260-9 . 92021637 . 636462586 . 1718833M.
- Book: Smith, Timothy B. . 2012 . James Z. George: Mississippi's Great Commoner . Jackson . University of Mississippi Press . 978-1-61703-231-8 . 2011024062 . 731192042 . 25343440M.
Notes and References
- Sifakis 1995, pp. 41-42.
- Evans 1889, p. 130.
- Book: Rowland, Dunbar. . 1908 . The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, Volume 2 . Mississippi Department of Archives and History . 904–911 .
- Crute 1987, pp. 166-67.
- Rowland 1908, pp. 518-20.
