Pontotoc County, Mississippi
Genealogy and History
Peggy A. Young, County CoordinatorJeff Kemp - State Coordinator Denise Wells - Assistant State Coordinator
Ann Allen Geoghegan - Assistant State Coordinator
41ST MISSISSIPPI INFANTRY
The Forty-First Mississippi Infantry was organized at Pontotoc, Mississippi, during the summer of 1862. It was mustered into Confederate service there. The unit contained eleven companies when accepted into service, one more company than authorized for an infantry regiment. More detailed information has been found on seven of the unit's companies. This material appears below.
- Company "A" nicknamed the Pope Walker Reserves
- Company "B" nicknamed the Southern Rejecters of old Abe; also known as Abe's Rejectors
- Company "E" nicknamed the Verona Rifles; men from Lee County
- Company "F" nicknamed the Ponototoc Guards; men from Pontotoc County
- Company "G" men from Monroe County
- Company "K" nicknamed the Mississippi Rip Raps
- Company "L" nicknamed the Okolona Guards; men from Chickasaw County
- Company "H" men from Rocky Ford
Like almost all Civil War units, the Forty-First Mississippi Infantry was often known by an alternate designation derived from the name of its commanding officer. Names of this type used, by or for the regiment, are shown below.
- William F. Tucker's Infantry
- Lewis Ball's Infantry
- J. Byrd Williams' Infantry
- Lafayette Hodges' Infantry
- Williams C. Hearns' Infantry
- H.B. Richardson's Infantry
- S.E. Melson's Infantry
- N.J. Beckett's Infantry
- R.E. V. Yates' Infantry
- James M. Hicks' Infantry
- George W. Spooner's Infantry
Not long after being mustered into Confederate service, the Forty-First Mississippi Infantry was assigned to duty in the Army of Tennessee. The unit served in that Army throughout its career, Listed below are the specific higher command assignments of the regiment.
- Nov. 22, 1862 First Brigade, P. Anderson's Division, Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- Dec. 31, 1862 Second Brigade, Second Division, Polk's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- April 1, 1863 P. Anderson's Brigade Withers' Division, Polk's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- Sept. 1, 1863 Anderson's Brigade, Hindman's Division, Polk's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- Oct. 31, 1863 Andersons' Brigade, Hindman' s Division, Cheatham's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- Dec, 10, 1863 Anderson' s Brigade, Hindman' s Division, Breckenridge's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- Dec, 31, 1863 Henderson' s Brigade, Hindman' s Division, Hindman's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- April 30, 1864 Tucker's Brigade, Hindman's Division, Hood's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- July 18, 1864 Sharp's Brigade, Anderson's Division, Lee's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- Aug. 31, 1864 Tucker's Brigade, Anderson's Division, Lee's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- Sept. 20, 1864 Tucker's Brigade Johnson's Division, Lee's Corps, Army of Tennessee
- March 31, 1865 Sharp's Brigade, Hill's Division, Lee's Corps, Army of Tennessee
The Forty-First Mississippi Infantry participated in a number of various type engagements during its career. These are identified below. Numbers after the events locate them on the maps following this history.
- Battle, Perryville, Ky. (1)Oct. 8, 1862
- Retreat from Perryville (1) to London (2), Oct. 10-22, 1862 Ky.
- Operations against the Advance on Dec. 26-30, 1862 Murfreesborough, Tenn. (3)
- Battle, Stone's River, Murfreesborough, Dec. 30, 1862 - Tenn. (3) Jan. 3, 1863
- Skirmish, Unionville, Tenn. (4) (detachment) Jan. 31, 1863
- Action, Rover, Tenn. (5)Feb. 13, 1863
- Campaign in Middle Tennessee (Tullahoma June 23-July 7, 1863 Campaign)
- Occupation of Middle Tennessee , Passage of Aug. 16-Sept. 22, 1863 the Cumberland Mountains, and Chickamauga, Ga. (6) (Campaign)
- Skirmish, Davis' Cross Roads (Davis House) Sept. 11,1863
- (7) near Dug Gap (8), McLemore's Cove, Ga.
- Battle, Chickamauga, Ga. (6) Sept. 19�21, 1863
- Siege, Chattanooga, Tenn. (9) Sept. 24-Nov.23,, 1863
- Campaign, Chattanooga, Tenn (9) and Nov. 23-27, 1863 Ringgold, Ga. (10)
- Actions, Tunnell Hill, Terminus of Nov. 24�25, 1863 or Missionary Ridge, Tenn. (11)
- Assault and Capture, Missionary Ridge, Nov, 25,1863 Tenn. (11)
- Operations against the Demonstration Feb. 22-27, 1864 on Dalton, Ga. (12)
- Actions, Tunnell Hill (13) Buzzard's Roost Feb. 23�25, 1864 Gap (14) and Rocky Faced Ridge (15), Ga,
- Atlanta Campaign May 1-Sept. 8, 1864
- Operations against the Demonstration on May 8-9, 1864 Rocky Faced Ridge, Ga. (15)
- Combat, Buzzard's Roost Gap (Mill Creek), May 8-9, 1864 Ga. (14)
- Battle Resaca, Ga. (16)May 14-15, 18
- Combats near Cassville, Ga. (17) May 18-19, 18
- Operations on the line of Pumpkin Vine May 25-June 5 Creek (18) and Battles about Dallas
- (19), New Hope Church (20), and Allatoona Hills (21), Ga.
- Combat, New Hope Church, Ga. (20) May 25, 1864
- Action, Pickett's Mills, Ga. (22) May 27, 1864
- Operations about Marietta (23) and against June 10-July 2, 1864 Kenesaw Mountain (24), Ga.
- Combats about Pine Hill, Ga. (25) June 11-14, 1864
- Combats about Lost Mountain, Ga. (26) June 15-17, 1864
- Combat, Noyes' Creek, Ga. (27) June 19, 1864
- Combat, Kolb's Farm, Ga. (28) June 22, 1864
- Assault, Kenesaw Mountain, Ga. (24) June 27, 1864
- Operations on the line of Nickajack Creek, July 2-5, 1864 Ga. (29)
- Operations on the line of the Chattahoochee July 5-17, 1864 River, Ga. (30)
- Battle, Peach Tree Creek, Ga. (31) July 19-20, 1864
- Battle, Atlanta, Ga. (32)July 22, 1864
- Siege, Atlanta, Ga. (33)July 23-Aug. 25, 1864
- Battle, Ezra's Chapel, Ga. (34) July 28, 1864 Hood's Operations in Northern Georgia and Northern Alabama Sept. 29-Nov. 3, 1864
- Skirmish, Florence, Ala. (35) Oct . 30, 1864
- Skirmishes on the line of Shoal Creek Nov. 16-20, 1864 Ala. (36)
- Battle, Franklin, Tenn. (37) Nov. 30, 1864
- Battle, Nashville, Tenn. (38) Dec. 15-16, 1864
- Retreat to the Tennessee River near Dec. 17-28, 1864 Bridgeport, Ala. (39)
- Campaign of the Carolinas Jan. 30-April 26, 1865
- Battle, Averysborough (Taylor's Hole March 16, 1865 Creek), N.C. (40)
- Battle, Bentonville, N.C. (41) March 19-21, 1865
- Surrender, Bennett's House, Durham April 26, 1865 Station, N,C. (42)
Nothing in either official nor unofficial sources had been found to show exactly how many members of the Forty-First Mississippi Infantry surrendered in North Carolina in late April, 1865. It is doubtful if more than one hundred members of the regiment were still with it at that time, however.
See Service Records of Valentine B. Orr
Contributed by Robert C. Daniel .