War Between the States
16th Mississippi Infantry
Contributed
by Jymie Carol Ford Inmon
December
21, 2005
Alonzo R. Broome
Co. C 16th Regiment Mississippi
Vols.
Enlisted May 1, 1861by Captain Davis for 2 years or the war. September, October, November, and December 1862 he was absent on furlough because he was wounded at Sharpsburg. A.R. Broom appeared on a Roll of Prisoners of War sent for exchange from Fort Delaware, Delaware to Aikens Landing, Virginia October 2, 1862; declared and exchanged November 10, 1862 at Aikens Landing, Virginia. He was listed as taken September 17, 1862 at Murfsborough.By April 15, 1863 he was a Corporal. Captured by the enemy at The Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. He remained in the custody of Union troops until at least the fall of 1864.
A.R. Broome, Corporal Co. C 16th regiment Mississippi appears on a record of Prisoners of War at Fort McHenry, Maryland. Confined July 6, 1863 by General Schenk. Sent to Fort Delaware July 1863. Prisoner of War captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. Exchanged September 30, 1864 Fort Delaware, Delaware.
A.R. Broome, Corporal Co. C 16th Regiment Mississippi Infantry names appears as signature to a Roll of Prisoners of War paroled at Fort Delaware September 28, 1864, until exchanged. It was not dated, the roll was indorsed "Roll of Confederate Prisoners of War delivered by John E. Mulford, Major and assistant Agt. For exchange, Varina, Virginia. A.R. Broome appears on a Roll of Prisoners of War at Fort Delaware, Delaware transferred to Aiken's Landing, Virginia for exchange September 30, 1864.
A.R. Broome appears on a Muster Roll of a detachment of paroled and exchanged prisoners at Camp Lee, near Richmond, Virginia to August 31, 1864.A.R. Broom appears on a receipt roll for clothing at General Hospital, Camp Winder, Richmond, Virginia on October 7, 1864, also on a receipt roll for clothing October 11, 1864, signed A.R. Broome, Paroled Prisoner.
The Hazelhurst Courier
"The Famous 16th Mr. C.E. Hartwell of Wesson writing to the Crystal Springs Meteor under date of September 17th says of this famous regiment:""On the 17th of September 1862 the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland, was fought--just forty-five years ago. Historians call it the bloodiest battle of the war in proportion to the number engaged. In that battle, the 16th Mississippi Regiment lost 65 percent of the men, killed and wounded. It took into action and as Company C of that Regiment was from your town (Crystal Springs), I send you a list of its casualties on that awful day, thinking it might be of interest to any of the surviving relatives and friends and prove of some historical value:"
Killed: Lieutenant T.C. Rumph, Sergeant J.N. Myers, Corporal E.S. Broome, Privates R. Alford, W.S. Bostick, R.W. Daniels, A. Slay, B.F. Porter (8)
Wounded: W.S. Catchings, A.R. Broome, B.D. Hennington, James Bowles, D.M. Ellis, D.W. McIntosh, W.l. Redder, J.W. Broome, J.J. Morris, J.P. Ford, J.J. Kirkpatrick, H.W. Lewis, R.A. Shirley, D.Y. Howell, A.A. Sawney, William Slay. Wounded and captured Captain E. Slay. (19)
History of the 16th Regiment Mississippi Infantry with Dunbar Rowland's History of the 16th from Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898
Company A-Summit Rifles (raised in Pike County, MS)
Company B-Westville Guards (raised in Simpson County, MS)
Company C-Crystal Springs Southern Rights (raised in Copiah County, MS)
Company D-Adams Light Guard No. 2 (raised in Adams Co, MS)
Company E-Quitman Guards (raised in Pike County, MS)
Company F-Jasper Greys (raised in Jasper County, MS)
Company G-Fairview Rifles, aka Claiborne Rangers (raised in Claiborne County, MS)
Company H-Defenders (raised in Smith County, MS)
Company I-Adams Light Guard No. 1 (raised in Adams County, MS)
Company K-Wilkinson Rifles (raised in Wilkinson County, MS)
All 10 of the companies were among the 50 state militia companies ordered into the active service of the Confederate States by the General Order issued on 21 May 1861:
21 May 1861
Jackson, Mississippi
General Orders Headquarters,
Army of Mississippi"The following companies, viz Summit Rifles, Captain J.P. Blincoe; … Westville Guards, Captain George J.D. Funchess; … Crystal Springs Southern Rights, Captain J.C. Davis; … Adams Light Guard 1, Captain Robert Clark; … Adams Light Guard 2, Captain S.E. Baker; … Smith Defenders, Captain W.H. Hardy; … Quitman Guards, Captain Samuel A. Matthews; … Wilkinson Rifles, Captain C. Posey; … Jasper Rifles, Captain J.J. Shannon; … are ordered into active service and will proceed forthwith to Corinth, Mississippi, to the camp of instruction there established and report to Maj. Gen Charles Clark, commanding. They will take with them all arms and military property in their possession. All deficiencies in arms will be supplied at Corinth. The companies will provide themselves with cooked rations sufficient to subsist them to Corinth. The several railroads will furnish transportation, and the companies will proceed by the nearest route. An officer from each company will be sent forthwith to report to these headquarters the condition and strength of their companies. The Captains of the several companies above mentioned are charged with the execution of this order."
W.H. Brown Adjutant and Inspector General
[OR Series I, Vol 52, Pt 2, Pg 25]Upon receipt of this order the companies made their departure for Corinth where the companies were officially mustered into the service of the Confederacy.
Thus, by the 1st of June, the 10 companies that formed the 16th Regiment Mississippi Infantry had all been mustered into the Confederate service for 12 months, and their individual company identities were replaced with the military designators.
The first order of business after formation of the Regiment was the election of officers. Carnot Posey of the Wilkinson Rifles was elected Colonel, Robert Clark of Adams Light Guards 1 was elected Lt. Colonel, and Thomas Stockdale of the Quitman Guards was elected Major.
Regimental Officers
Colonels:
Carnot Posey-promoted Brigadier-General; mortally wounded Bristoe Station
Samuel E. Baker-killed at Bloody Angle
Edward C. Councill-mortally wounded at Weldon Railroad
Lt. Colonels:
Robert Clark
James J. Shannon
Abram M. Feltus-killed at Spotsylvania
Seneca McNeil Bain
Majors:
Jeff H. Bankston
Samuel E. Baker
E.C. Councill
S.M. Bain
Thomas R. Stockdale
Surgeons:
A.B. Snell
G. Alston Groves-died at GettysburgAssistant Surgeons:
_______ Gwin
_______ GrovesChaplains:
S.H. Ross-died 12 February 1863
A.H. Lomax-1863-65The Companies were in camp three months at Corinth as State troops, before being called into the Confederate States service. June 17, 1861, is given as the date of organization of the regiment. Captain Carnot Posey, formerly a Lieutenant in Col. Jefferson Davis' Mexican War Regiment, was elected Colonel. His commission dated from June 4. On July 22, news of the Battle of Bull Run (July 18-21, 1861) came. General Polk, at Memphis, commanding the Confederate Army on the Mississippi River, telegraphed to the Secretary of War, "I have had a conference with Governor Harris as to your call for six regiments. He says he can spare only five. As your call is pressing, I send you the Sixteenth Mississippi Regiment from Corinth." General Charles Clark telegraphed that the Sixteenth with Colonel Posey commanding and 900 strong, left for Richmond, Virginia on July 26. It was detained at Lynchburg [VA], its destination being Manassas [VA], and was ordered there August 8.
In Northeastern Virginia the regiment was assigned to a brigade commanded by Gen. George B. Crittenden. They remained near Centerville through the winter, and in the spring fell back with the army behind the Rappahannock. When the main part of Johnston's army was moved to meet McClellan before Richmond, Ewell's Division, including the Sixteenth Regiment, remained on guard on the Rappahannock until ordered to join Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. They crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains to Luray Valley in May.
Under the command of Colonel Posey, and in Trimble's Brigade of Ewell's Division, this regiment was the only Mississippi command that participated in the famous Valley campaign of Stonewall Jackson in May and June 1862. They were at the Front Royal (on May 24) and Winchester (on May 25) battles against N.P. Banks in the Shenandoah Valley; and Jackson's and Ewell's celebrated retreat from Harper's Ferry, after driving Banks' forces out of Virginia, eluding the junction of Fremont and Shields to intercept them at Strasburg. They shared the forced marches of the army, but were not actively engaged until Cross Keys and Port Republic, June 8-9, where the Sixteenth Regiment was one of the most closely engaged, they and Colonel Posey winning the praise of General Ewell. General Trimble specially mentioned Captain James Brown of Company A, who, with parts of his command had during the campaign killed 12 of the enemy and captured 64 men and 25 horses. The loss of the regiment in this last fight of the campaign was 6 killed and 27 wounded.
At Cross Keys, 5 regiments of Blenker's Germans (US) were sent forward to the attack. Their onslaught was directed against the Confederate right, and here, within the woods, Trimble had posted his brigade in a most advantageous position. The pickets soon gave way and crossing the meadow found cover within the thickets, where Trimble's 3 regiments lay concealed. The long wave of bayonets following close upon their tracks was within 60 paces of the covert when the thickets stirred suddenly with sound and movement. The Southern riflemen rose swiftly to their feet. A sheet of fire ran along their line, followed by a crash that resounded through the woods, and the German regiments, after a vigorous effort to hold their ground, fell back in disorder across the clearing. Later, sending one of his regiments to attack on the flank, Trimble, reinforced by 6 regiments from Ewell, threw Blenker's whole line of 11 regiments and 2 batteries back to the shelter of Fremont's line of guns. (Henderson's "Stonewall Jackson")
From the valley they started June 18 with Jackson for the flank movement against McClellan's army before Richmond.
In the Seven Days Campaign, Trimble's brigade marched from Ashland June 26, past the Battle of Mechanicsville, and on the 27th approached the Federal position at Cold Harbor, where the battle was already on and many Confederate commands were falling back declaring the day was lost. The Sixteenth was particularly distinguished in the gallant charge that followed and drove McClellan's troops from their supposedly impregnable position. Trimble said that "the charge of the Sixteenth Mississippi and Twenty-First North Carolina, sustained from the first movement without a falter, could not be surpassed for intrepid bravery and high resolve." He mentioned the conspicuous gallantry of Captain Brown, shot dead in front of his company while cheering on his men. July 1 found the Sixteenth in battle at Malvern Hill. The loss in the two battles was 15 killed, 51 wounded and 19 missing.
After this campaign, the regiment was transferred to Featherston's Mississippi Brigade of Wilcox's Division, Longstreet's Corps.
In the 2nd Manassas campaign in August of 1862, General Wilcox reported the gallant action of the Sixteenth and Twelfth, near Kelly's Ford of the Rappahannock, August 21: The companies of Captains Feltus and Hardy, posted as pickets, were surrounded by Federal Cavalry who demanded their surrender, but Feltus gave the command to fire, and the cavalry drew off with considerable loss. A larger body of U.S. Cavalry charged the line of the Twelfth Regiment, but Posey hurriedly supported them with the Sixteenth, and the volleys from the two regiments repulsed the enemy in confusion and with heavy loss.
At the Battle of Manassas (2nd), August 30, 1862, General Featherston was given command of the division and Colonel Posey commanded the brigade, which behaved with great gallantry during the four hours' action. Their fighting was in the direction of the stone house. The loss of the brigade was 26 killed and 142 wounded.
After this campaign, the Sixteenth was brigaded with three other Mississippi regiments: the 12th, 19th, and 48th. These four regiments became a part of R. H. Anderson's Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
Marching into Maryland in September, the Sixteenth waded the Potomac at Leesburg and after reaching Fredericksburg, were ordered to Harper's Ferry. Colonel Posey continued in command of the brigade through the capture of Harper's Ferry and battle of Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862, and until November, when Featherston returned. Captain A.M. Feltus, commanding the Sixteenth, made a report of the battle of Sharpsburg, which is one of the most remarkable in the annals of the war:
Official Records --SERIES I--VOLUME XIX/1 [S# 27]
SEPTEMBER 3-20, 1862.-The Maryland Campaign
No. 232.--Report of Capt. A.M. Feltus, Sixteenth Mississippi Infantry, of Featherston's Brigade, Anderson's Division, of the battle of Sharps-burg.
SEPTEMBER 22, 1862.
COLONEL: I herewith submit a report of the part taken by the Sixteenth Mississippi Regiment in the action of the 17th instant, near Sharps-burg, Md.:
The regiment was on the left of the brigade. About 10 a.m., being ordered to advance in the direction of the enemy, did so in good order. We advanced in line of battle, having the brigade of General Pryor in our front. Passing by a large barn, we proceeded, under a heavy fire of artillery and small-arms, several hundred yards farther, and came on General Pryor's brigade and a brigade of North Carolina troops lying down in a road beyond the first corn-field after passing the barn. The regiment, as did the brigade, passed over these troops and confronted the enemy in line of battle, who were drawn up some 300 yards from the road, pouring a destructive fire in our ranks. During this time the losses in the regiment had been heavy. A murderous fire of grape, canister, shell, and small-arms played on us. Notwithstanding, this regiment gallantly held its position until ordered to retire, which it did in as good order as could be expected from its thinned ranks. When we retired as far as the road, a scene of great confusion ensued from the mingling together of different brigades. We continued to fall back until we reached the barn, where the remnant of the regiment was rallied in its position on the left of the brigade. In this position we advanced again upon the enemy, and met them in the corn-field beyond the barn. Here, after a desperate fight, we fell back, by orders, to our original position, on account of the terrific cross-fire of the enemy's batteries. We remained in this position, under a heavy fire of shell and solid shot, for about an hour, when the enemy advanced upon us in line of battle. This was about 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The remnant of the regiment, in its proper position in the brigade, moved forward and met the enemy in the orchard by the barn and drove them back. After this, night ensued and the fight ended. The number of men carried into the action was 228; of them, 144 were killed or wounded, leaving only 84 men. The officers and men acted with laudable gallantry during the entire engagement.
A.M. FELTUS,
Captain, Commanding Sixteenth Mississippi Regiment.
Col. C. POSEY,
Commanding Featherston's BrigadeOur Ford and Broome men suffered greatly in this deadly battle. The J.W. Broome listed as 'wounded' in the newspaper account on page 1 is, I believe, John Matthew Broome. The A.R. Broome listed is our Alonzo R. Broome. He is listed only as 'wounded' in the newspaper account, but we know from his war records that he was also captured on that day, September 17, 1862. He was interned at Fort Delaware, Delaware until he was brought to Aiken's Landing, Virginia on October 2, 1862 and exchanged and paroled on November 10, 1862. The J.P. Ford listed as 'wounded' was John Prentiss Ford, older brother of our George Bryant Ford. His wounds were mortal; he died less than 2 months later on 30 November 1862. He is buried in Bear Creek Cemetery, Hinds County, Mississippi. At this time [Dec 2005] I am unfamiliar with the Corporal E.S. Broome who was listed as killed on that day. Further research will be necessary to determine where he fits into our family tree. He was most likely close kin since he was with the 16th Mississippi. I do not believe it could be Elliott Broome, brother of John Matthew and Alonzo Broome, since he (Elliott) joined Cobb's Scouts, which served mainly in Hinds County.
I do not have the war records of Rowan Ford, (uncle to our George Bryant Ford) but we do know he was killed in the War. His death is listed as 22 September 1862. Further research will show what unit he served with and where he died. He is buried in Bear Creek Cemetery in Hinds County, Mississippi.
Page Created December 22, 2005