Post-Gettysburg Recovery and Bristoe Station

A Sketch of the History of the Second Mississippi Infantry Regiment:
Post-Gettysburg Recovery and Bristoe Station​

Compare the 7/1/63 Strength Bar to the 9/1/63 Bar to See the Graphic Results of the Gettysburg Campaign on the 2nd Mississippi

The Gettysburg Campaign was the last major action of 1863 for the bloodied 2nd Mississippi.  However, the regiment did suffer some additional casualties at Bristoe Station in October when A. P. Hill unwittingly sent his troops into a cleverly set Federal trap.  And, although the men anticipated a fight at any time, the Mine Run Campaign in November and December resulted in little actual fighting and few casualties for the 2nd Mississippi.

The regiment spent the winter of 1863-64 in Virginia.  As the months went by, the unit regained some of its former strength in numbers.  Many of the Gettysburg wounded recovered sufficiently to rejoin the regiment, some prisoners were exchanged, and a handful of new recruits and transfers arrived.  By March 1, 1864 the regiment mustered about 260 effectives.[1]  On March 24, 1864, two units from the Army of Tennessee, the 26th Mississippi and 1st Confederate Battalion, were ordered east to strengthen Davis’ weakened brigade.[2]



[1] CMSR.

[2] O.R., 32, pt. 3, p. 676; Crute, Units), pp. 66, 181; Sifakis, Compendium: Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and the Confederate Units and the Indian Units, pp. 180-181, and Mississippi, pp. 114-115; InfoConcepts, Inc., Volume I – the Confederates, computer database software; Rowland, Military History of Mississippi, pp. 116-121, 129.  It is unclear as to the exact time these two units joined Davis’ Brigade, but it was prior to the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-6, 1864.  Even though many order of battle listings do not identify these two units as part of Davis’ Brigade, (including the O.R. lists), their presence was clearly noted in first-hand accounts of the fighting.

Three companies of the six-company 1st Confederate Infantry Battalion came from the disbanded 2nd Alabama Infantry Regiment.  There was one company each from Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee.  Many of the men of the 26th Mississippi came from the same part of the state as the 2nd Mississippi.