29th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

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29th Mississippi Infantry Regiment
Active1862–1865
Country Confederate States
Allegiance Mississippi
Branch Confederate States Army
TypeInfantry
SizeRegiment
BattlesAmerican Civil War
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Edward C. Walthall
William F. Brantley
James B. Morgan

The 29th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was a unit of the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War. The Regiment fought in many major battles of the Western theater, taking severe casualties before surrendering in April 1865 in North Carolina.

History

The 29th Mississippi Infantry was organized at Grenada in April, 1862.[1] The commanding officers, Edward C. Walthall and William F. Bradley had both previously served in the 15th Mississippi. Assigned to the infantry brigade of General James R. Chalmers, the first major action of the new regiment was at the Siege of Corinth in May, 1862, where Union forces took control of a strategic railroad junction from the defending Confederates.

The regiment joined the Confederate Heartland Offensive into Kentucky in the fall of 1862, fighting at the Battle of Munfordville in September, losing 5 killed and 36 wounded there.[1] In recognition of his service at Munfordville, commander of the regiment Colonel Edward Walthall was promoted and given command of a brigade including the 29th that fought at the Battle of Stones River in Tennessee at the close of the year. During this battle the regiment was heavily engaged, charging federal fortifications and losing 34 killed and 202 wounded.[1]

At the start of 1863, the 29th was moved to Georgia and temporarily consolidated with the 24th Mississippi. The 29th took major losses at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, suffering 194 casualties from a total strength of 368 men.[1] Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel James B. Morgan was severely wounded in this battle.[2] In the subsequent Chattanooga campaign, the regiment fought at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, where the Confederate lines held by Walthall's brigade were overrun by Union troops. A number of men from the regiment were captured before Colonel William F. Brantley of the 29th could regroup the Mississippi brigade.[3] In the subsequent Atlanta Campaign, Walthall was promoted to command a division and Brantley took command of the brigade. The 29th fought as a consolidated unit with the 30th Mississippi at Resaca, Cassville, and Jonesboro before the Confederates were overwhelmed and retreated from Atlanta.

During the Franklin-Nashville Campaign the 29th took part in intense combat at the Battle of Franklin, where commanding officer Major G.W. Reynolds was killed.[1] Following further defeats including the Battle of Nashville in December, the brigade retreated into north Mississippi for the winter. In February 1865, the 29th Mississippi was sent to join the Carolinas Campaign. At this late stage of the war, Brantley's brigade, including the 29th Mississippi was thinned by losses to less than regimental strength, and the 29th was consolidated with the 24th, 27th, and 34th Mississippi Regiments. The Confederate forces in North Carolina then surrendered on April 26, 1865.

Commanders

Commanders of the 29th Mississippi Infantry:[1]

Organization

Companies of the 29th Mississippi Infantry:[1]

See also

References

  1. Rowland, Dunbar. (1908). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, Volume 2. Mississippi Department of Archives and History. pp. 657–665.
  2. United States War Department (1895). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume 30, Serial 51. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. p. 273.
  3. United States War Department (1895). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume 31, Serial 55. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. p. 701.