Mississippi State Troops

The Mississippi State Troops were military units formed by the Mississippi Legislature for State defense (rather than Confederate service) during the American Civil War. Five infantry regiments, four infantry battalions, and one cavalry battalion were drafted from the Mississippi militia in 1862. Two of the infantry regiments participated in the 1863 siege of Vicksburg, and several State Troop cavalry units were later reorganized and brought into Confederate service. However, most of the State Troop units were kept in military camps and never saw combat. In 1864, another set of State Troop units was created, with all white men aged 16–55 required to report for 30 days military service. Reserve State Troop units were also organized in 1864, consisting of men and boys who were otherwise too young or too old for regular military service. All of the remaining State Troops were officially disbanded when Confederate Lieutenant-General Richard Taylor surrendered all Confederate forces in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana to United States authorities on May 4, 1865, at Citronelle, Alabama.

The Mississippi territorial militia was first organized on September 8, 1798, when the Mississippi Territory was created. All free males between age 16 and 50 except government officials, doctors, and clergymen were subject to militia service. The Mississippi territorial militia arrested Aaron Burr in 1807, and fought against the Creek Indians and the British in the War of 1812.

Upon Mississippi gaining statehood in 1817, the organization of the state militia continued along the same lines. The militia could be called out for military service in the event of war or domestic disturbance, but was not a standing army with government-issued weapons or professional officers. Officers were elected by the public with the governor as Commander-in-chief, and men enrolled in the militia were required to bring their own weapons. All free white males 18-45 were subject to militia duty, failing to appear was punished with a $5 fine. The Governor could draft men from the militia to serve full-time in the military in times of war. The county-level militia companies had to muster four times a year for training, a local historian described the amateurish character of these musters: "After a brief parade, which consisted in a blundering execution of unwarlike tactics, these men would start drinking and usually several fights occurred."

As sectional tensions rose through the 1850s, there were proposals to create a standing army for the state, but this was not followed through. In 1858, the state organized and provided equipment to 4 volunteer militia companies: the Quitman Light Infantry, Quitman Guards, Covington Guards, and Light Guard. And in 1860, a state military board was created and tasked with securing arms from American and European manufacturers, but no formal state military force beyond the militia existed as of yet.

Prior to the formation of the Confederate States Army in the spring of 1861, the state was responsible for managing its own defense in the early stages of the secession crisis. In January 1861, the state secession convention adopted an ordinance to organize Mississippi's military forces, proposing 4 brigades of two regiments each for state service. Jefferson Davis was chosen as major general of the state forces, with Earl Van Dorn, Charles Clark, James L. Alcorn, and Christopher H. Mott as brigadier generals. These generals and the governor comprised the military board and were tasked with organizing and managing the armed forces of the state. However, shortly afterwards Jefferson Davis was elected as President of the Confederacy and he left his position in the Mississippi state military. Van Dorn, Clark, and Mott all joined the Confederate army, they were replaced by John W. O'Ferrall, Charles G. Dahlgren, and Absolom M. West as brigadier generals of Mississippi forces. Alcorn was promoted to major general and Reuben Davis also joined as major general. Alcorn's brigade was sent to Kentucky and was mustered into Confederate service (rather than state service) as the 23rd Mississippi Infantry on October 28, 1861.

In the fall of 1861, in response to a call for assistance from Confederate forces in Kentucky, a poorly-organized and unequipped volunteer force known as the Army of 10,000 was sent north under the command of militia generals Alcorn and Davis. These troops had to supply their own weapons and clothing, and they contributed very little to the Confederate effort in Kentucky. The Mississippi generals refused to take orders from Confederate officers, and the Army's usefulness was limited because the troops had volunteered for only 60 days. After suffering from extreme winter weather and outbreaks of disease, the Army returned to Mississippi in February 1862 and was disbanded. The state military board was abolished by the legislature on December 20, 1861. After the fiasco in Kentucky, it was clear that the state militia needed to be reorganized in order to become an effective military force.

The Mississippi State Troops, also known as the "minute men" were organized by an act of the state legislature enacted on January 29, 1862. Tullius C. Tupper was commissioned as Major General of the state troops and tasked with organizing regiments from the existing state militia companies. Colonels of the local county militias were required to supply companies of men enlisted for six months service, although some State Troops extended their service for longer. Originally there were 70 infantry and 13 cavalry companies called up in the fall of 1862, these were organized into 5 regiments of infantry, 4 battalions of infantry, and 1 battalion of cavalry. Although men serving in the State Troops were not officially part of the Confederate army, the 1862 law creating the State Troops specified that they were subject to the orders of Confederate officers, and during the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg, two units of the State Troops did serve under the overall command of Confederate General John C. Pemberton. Unlike the antebellum militia, where men stayed at home and only assembled a few times a year locally, the State Troops were stationed in military camps far from home (although still within the state) during their term of service. General Tupper believed the State Troops should be sent back to their communities to act as a traditional home guard militia after an initial period of military training, but Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus advocated a centralized system that kept the State Troops in camps.

Many of the men called into State Troops service were older and had families, an analysis of the 3rd Battalion State Troops Infantry found that the average age in that unit was 37, compared to an average age of 25 for men in the regular Confederate army. The initial mobilization of the State Troops in 1862 interfered with the harvest season, which generated numerous complaints from the men called to serve, as well as their families. With many of the younger men serving in the Confederate Army, and the older men called to serve in the State Troops, many white Mississippians feared a lack of manpower to police the enslaved population would result in a slave uprising. Many soldiers, including officers, sent petitions to the governor complaining about being forced into service and requesting to be sent home, and rates of desertion, absence without leave, and requests for medical discharge from the State Troops were high. Organization was extremely poor, such that Mississippi officials could never provide their Confederate military counterparts with an accurate count of the number of State Troops under their command.