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Gents,
This is a summary of both general knowledge type stuff, along with information mainly found in Grady Howell's regimental history of the 6th Miss, called "Going to Meet the Yankees." While it centers on Co. A (I originally sent this to the members of my company), I believe some of y'all might like to read it, anyway.
Origins:
Rankin County lies in central Mississippi, just to the east of Hinds County, where the state capital of Jackson lies. The seat of Rankin County is Brandon. Grady Howell describes the men who comprised the 6th Mississippi:
"The men who composed the regiment came from varied though not altogether different walks of life before entering the military. Farmers, merchants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, students and at least two sheriffs were represented within the new regiment's ranks. Of all these vocations those most representative of the bulk of the unit's manpower were the small subsistence farmers from the central woodlands of the State and the clerks from the towns and settlements which dotted that area. Many of the men were leading citizens of the communities from which they had come, especially the officers. None of the men were professional soldiers. John J. Thornton, Pat Henry and a handful of men from the old "Rankin Guards" were the only members able to claim any military experience of consequence. A mere handful owned slaves.
"All of the men were remarkably similar in ethnic background. Most were of Anglo-Saxon stock and typical of the populace of central Mississippi. Because of this many were States-Rights Democrats who held membership in one of the area's major Portestant denominations, particularly Methodist and Baptist. The diversity of the regiment was most noticeable in the difference of the economic and educational backgrounds of the men. There was also a wide difference in ages represented. The oldest man admitted to 53 years of age, while the yongest soldier was a lad of only 14. Altogether one would have to conclude that this regiment was as homogenous a unit as could be fielded by either the Union or Confederate armies in 1861." (p. 33)
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Other towns in Rankin County are Pearl and Richland. The Rankin Rough & Readies were formed from the communities of Cato and Steen's Creek. The entire western border of the county is formed by the Pearl River, which separates Rankin from Hinds County and Jackson. The Natchez Trace roughly follows a track just north of the Pearl River, so it does not enter the county, but it does come quite close to it.
The Rankin Rough & Readies received the position of honor as Company A because its Captain, Elijah Runnels, was the second most senior officer in the Regiment. The most senior officer--Dr. John Jones Thornton, "a prominent 32 year-old Brandon physician"--had been the captain of the Rankin Greys, and the Rankin Greys would have otherwise taken the Company A designation, but once Thornton became Colonel of the regiment, that left Runnels as the most senior company commander. A side note: The Rankin Greys were the second incarnation of a prewar militia unit founded in 1858 called the Rankin Guards. There was also a third company in the 6th Mississippi raised from Rankin County--"The New Guard." The new commander of the Rankin Greys was actually the most junior company commander in the regiment.
Of interest, Col. Thornton was the lone member of Mississippi's secession convention to refuse to sign the state's Ordinance of Secession. When asked about it, Thornton replied that "his constituents elected him to vote and work against secession, and the fame of the Caesars or Alexander could not induce him to forfeit the trust imposed in him."
The leading newspaper in Rankin County appears to have been the Brandon Republican.
Howell, pp. 17-18:
"On May 22nd (1861) Captain Elijah J. Runnels of the "Rankin Rough and Readies" received his company's marching orders. In essence they read that the "Rough and Readies" along with numerous other companies were to proceed forthwith to Corinth, an important railroad junction in northeastern Mississippi. There they would be supplied and trained. Runnels' Comapny went into camp near Steen's Creek Settlement in south Rankin on May 27th whereupon its marching orders were countermanded. The men temporarily returned to their homes.
"The Rankin Rough and Readies" was a typical central Mississippi company. Originally known as the "Cato Company," it had been hurriedly formed by devout patriots who feared that the war would be over before they could get to it. The men were from southern Rankin County, principally Cato and Steen's Creek communities, and each possessed no basic fundamental knowledge of even the most routine rules of military life. Before departing the neighborhood of Cato the homefolks honored their departing enlistees with a farewell picnic. The daughter of a doctor of the community was chosen to present a flag to the company lovingly sewn by some of the volunteers' wives and mothers. On April 27th, a bare three months after their conception, the ninety-six man green company was sworn into State service. [The Army of Mississippi]. After its initial call up and cancellation the unit remained at home for three months, was passed over and not integrated with any other regiments and finally ordered to repor to the Water Valley Camp of Instruction. [Note: The Camp of Instruction ended up being moved to Grenada, just south of Water Valley, a larger town than Water Valley, and also site of two women's colleges...:) ].
"Individual marching orders reached the remaining companies by mid-August. Each was ordered to be in readiness to proceed to Water Vally, Mississippi by August 24th Each company's full complement of men was ordered to report there no later than the end of the same month. At that point they would all be consolidated to form the Sixth Regiment."
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The Regiment:
The 6th Mississippi was mustered into the provisional Army of the Confederacy for a period of 12 months on August 24, 1861. Sworn in by Gen. A.M. West.
Co. A, Rankin Rough & Readies, Capt. Elijah J. Runnels (Rankin County) [pronounced "RAIN-kin"]
Co. B, New Guards, Capt. E.L. Alford (Rankin County)
Co. C, Quitman Southrons, Capt. William E. Hall (Leake County) [pronounced "LEEK"]
Co. D, Lowry Rifles, Capt. William J. Finch (Smith County)
Co. E, Lake Rebels, Capt. William L. Towner (Scott County)
Co. F, Crystal Springs Guards, Capt. A.B. Lowe (Copiah County) [pronounced "cuh-PI-uh"]
Co. G, Rockport Steel Blades, Capt. Archibald Steele (seriously) (Copiah County)
Co. H, Simpson Fencibles, Capt. Enoch R. Bennett (Simpson County)
Co. I, Rankin Greys, Capt. W.B. Shelby (Rankin County)
Co. K, East Mississippi Greys, Capt. A.Y. Harper (Scott County)
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Camp of Instruction:
The 6th was in Camp of Instruction at Grenada from August until late October of 1861. In late October, it originally had orders that would have likely placed it at Fort Donelson, but those were changed to place the 6th at Bowling Green, Kentucky, where it spent the Winter of 1861-62. While at Grenada there were over 900 names on the muster rolls, the regiment never fielded that many.
Winter at Bowling Green, KY:
Disease decimated the regiment while at Bowling Green, as did exposure--most of the soldiers had never been anywhere as cold as Kentucky in the winter before. However, some soldiers did find that they could feign sickness for an opportunity to ride the train from Bowling Green to the hospitals in Nashville, in order to kill the boredom of life in Winter camp.
During its time at Bowling Green, as part of Cleburne's brigade, the 6th became extremely well drilled. The men warmed to Cleburne, and he reciprocated by eventually giving them a position of honor on the right flank of his brigade.
When Albert Sidney Johnston learned of the fall of Henry and Donelson, he immediately pulled back his defensive line, abandoned Nashville, and marched from Nashville, south to Decatur, Alabama, and west from there to Corinth, where he and Beauregard reorganized the Army. During the retreat from Nashville, Cleburne's brigade formed the rear guard of the army, speaking to their discipline and training.
Corinth:
In late March, when the 6th arrived in Corinth, they were issued some Enfield rifles that had just come in from one of the first blockade runners.
Johnston, knowing his newly-named Army of the Mississippi of approximately 40,000 men could not defeat the combined strength of the Federals in the west, struck out from Corinth to Pittsburg Landing in an effort to strike the Yankees at Pittsburg Landing before Don Carlos Buell's three divisions of the Army of the Ohio could unite with that army's other two divisions, as well as the entire Army of the Tennessee.
About armament at Shiloh:I spoke with Grady Howell, author of the regimental history on the 6th Miss., a few weeks ago when he was randomly in Oxford at a gun & knife show and he was of the opinion that the Enfields probably went to the best shots in each company. He didn't have any solid documentation on this to the 6th in particular, but did have documentation of it as a practice in other regiments.
But, on pp. 42-43 of Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee, Larry J. Daniel quotes a snippet from a letter he says was written by a soldier in the 6th Miss. (unfootnoted!) that says, "We have received a large number of Enfield Rifles, Co. B & A have to take these as they are the wings of the Regt." However, it's not clear that everybody in each of those companies got a rifle, or simply that those companies got the rifles that were available.
This is a summary of both general knowledge type stuff, along with information mainly found in Grady Howell's regimental history of the 6th Miss, called "Going to Meet the Yankees." While it centers on Co. A (I originally sent this to the members of my company), I believe some of y'all might like to read it, anyway.
Origins:
Rankin County lies in central Mississippi, just to the east of Hinds County, where the state capital of Jackson lies. The seat of Rankin County is Brandon. Grady Howell describes the men who comprised the 6th Mississippi:
"The men who composed the regiment came from varied though not altogether different walks of life before entering the military. Farmers, merchants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, students and at least two sheriffs were represented within the new regiment's ranks. Of all these vocations those most representative of the bulk of the unit's manpower were the small subsistence farmers from the central woodlands of the State and the clerks from the towns and settlements which dotted that area. Many of the men were leading citizens of the communities from which they had come, especially the officers. None of the men were professional soldiers. John J. Thornton, Pat Henry and a handful of men from the old "Rankin Guards" were the only members able to claim any military experience of consequence. A mere handful owned slaves.
"All of the men were remarkably similar in ethnic background. Most were of Anglo-Saxon stock and typical of the populace of central Mississippi. Because of this many were States-Rights Democrats who held membership in one of the area's major Portestant denominations, particularly Methodist and Baptist. The diversity of the regiment was most noticeable in the difference of the economic and educational backgrounds of the men. There was also a wide difference in ages represented. The oldest man admitted to 53 years of age, while the yongest soldier was a lad of only 14. Altogether one would have to conclude that this regiment was as homogenous a unit as could be fielded by either the Union or Confederate armies in 1861." (p. 33)
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Other towns in Rankin County are Pearl and Richland. The Rankin Rough & Readies were formed from the communities of Cato and Steen's Creek. The entire western border of the county is formed by the Pearl River, which separates Rankin from Hinds County and Jackson. The Natchez Trace roughly follows a track just north of the Pearl River, so it does not enter the county, but it does come quite close to it.
The Rankin Rough & Readies received the position of honor as Company A because its Captain, Elijah Runnels, was the second most senior officer in the Regiment. The most senior officer--Dr. John Jones Thornton, "a prominent 32 year-old Brandon physician"--had been the captain of the Rankin Greys, and the Rankin Greys would have otherwise taken the Company A designation, but once Thornton became Colonel of the regiment, that left Runnels as the most senior company commander. A side note: The Rankin Greys were the second incarnation of a prewar militia unit founded in 1858 called the Rankin Guards. There was also a third company in the 6th Mississippi raised from Rankin County--"The New Guard." The new commander of the Rankin Greys was actually the most junior company commander in the regiment.
Of interest, Col. Thornton was the lone member of Mississippi's secession convention to refuse to sign the state's Ordinance of Secession. When asked about it, Thornton replied that "his constituents elected him to vote and work against secession, and the fame of the Caesars or Alexander could not induce him to forfeit the trust imposed in him."
The leading newspaper in Rankin County appears to have been the Brandon Republican.
Howell, pp. 17-18:
"On May 22nd (1861) Captain Elijah J. Runnels of the "Rankin Rough and Readies" received his company's marching orders. In essence they read that the "Rough and Readies" along with numerous other companies were to proceed forthwith to Corinth, an important railroad junction in northeastern Mississippi. There they would be supplied and trained. Runnels' Comapny went into camp near Steen's Creek Settlement in south Rankin on May 27th whereupon its marching orders were countermanded. The men temporarily returned to their homes.
"The Rankin Rough and Readies" was a typical central Mississippi company. Originally known as the "Cato Company," it had been hurriedly formed by devout patriots who feared that the war would be over before they could get to it. The men were from southern Rankin County, principally Cato and Steen's Creek communities, and each possessed no basic fundamental knowledge of even the most routine rules of military life. Before departing the neighborhood of Cato the homefolks honored their departing enlistees with a farewell picnic. The daughter of a doctor of the community was chosen to present a flag to the company lovingly sewn by some of the volunteers' wives and mothers. On April 27th, a bare three months after their conception, the ninety-six man green company was sworn into State service. [The Army of Mississippi]. After its initial call up and cancellation the unit remained at home for three months, was passed over and not integrated with any other regiments and finally ordered to repor to the Water Valley Camp of Instruction. [Note: The Camp of Instruction ended up being moved to Grenada, just south of Water Valley, a larger town than Water Valley, and also site of two women's colleges...:) ].
"Individual marching orders reached the remaining companies by mid-August. Each was ordered to be in readiness to proceed to Water Vally, Mississippi by August 24th Each company's full complement of men was ordered to report there no later than the end of the same month. At that point they would all be consolidated to form the Sixth Regiment."
--------------------------------------------------------
The Regiment:
The 6th Mississippi was mustered into the provisional Army of the Confederacy for a period of 12 months on August 24, 1861. Sworn in by Gen. A.M. West.
Co. A, Rankin Rough & Readies, Capt. Elijah J. Runnels (Rankin County) [pronounced "RAIN-kin"]
Co. B, New Guards, Capt. E.L. Alford (Rankin County)
Co. C, Quitman Southrons, Capt. William E. Hall (Leake County) [pronounced "LEEK"]
Co. D, Lowry Rifles, Capt. William J. Finch (Smith County)
Co. E, Lake Rebels, Capt. William L. Towner (Scott County)
Co. F, Crystal Springs Guards, Capt. A.B. Lowe (Copiah County) [pronounced "cuh-PI-uh"]
Co. G, Rockport Steel Blades, Capt. Archibald Steele (seriously) (Copiah County)
Co. H, Simpson Fencibles, Capt. Enoch R. Bennett (Simpson County)
Co. I, Rankin Greys, Capt. W.B. Shelby (Rankin County)
Co. K, East Mississippi Greys, Capt. A.Y. Harper (Scott County)
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Camp of Instruction:
The 6th was in Camp of Instruction at Grenada from August until late October of 1861. In late October, it originally had orders that would have likely placed it at Fort Donelson, but those were changed to place the 6th at Bowling Green, Kentucky, where it spent the Winter of 1861-62. While at Grenada there were over 900 names on the muster rolls, the regiment never fielded that many.
Winter at Bowling Green, KY:
Disease decimated the regiment while at Bowling Green, as did exposure--most of the soldiers had never been anywhere as cold as Kentucky in the winter before. However, some soldiers did find that they could feign sickness for an opportunity to ride the train from Bowling Green to the hospitals in Nashville, in order to kill the boredom of life in Winter camp.
During its time at Bowling Green, as part of Cleburne's brigade, the 6th became extremely well drilled. The men warmed to Cleburne, and he reciprocated by eventually giving them a position of honor on the right flank of his brigade.
When Albert Sidney Johnston learned of the fall of Henry and Donelson, he immediately pulled back his defensive line, abandoned Nashville, and marched from Nashville, south to Decatur, Alabama, and west from there to Corinth, where he and Beauregard reorganized the Army. During the retreat from Nashville, Cleburne's brigade formed the rear guard of the army, speaking to their discipline and training.
Corinth:
In late March, when the 6th arrived in Corinth, they were issued some Enfield rifles that had just come in from one of the first blockade runners.
Johnston, knowing his newly-named Army of the Mississippi of approximately 40,000 men could not defeat the combined strength of the Federals in the west, struck out from Corinth to Pittsburg Landing in an effort to strike the Yankees at Pittsburg Landing before Don Carlos Buell's three divisions of the Army of the Ohio could unite with that army's other two divisions, as well as the entire Army of the Tennessee.
About armament at Shiloh:I spoke with Grady Howell, author of the regimental history on the 6th Miss., a few weeks ago when he was randomly in Oxford at a gun & knife show and he was of the opinion that the Enfields probably went to the best shots in each company. He didn't have any solid documentation on this to the 6th in particular, but did have documentation of it as a practice in other regiments.
But, on pp. 42-43 of Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee, Larry J. Daniel quotes a snippet from a letter he says was written by a soldier in the 6th Miss. (unfootnoted!) that says, "We have received a large number of Enfield Rifles, Co. B & A have to take these as they are the wings of the Regt." However, it's not clear that everybody in each of those companies got a rifle, or simply that those companies got the rifles that were available.
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