2nd Mississippi Cavalry Reserves?

[mterry]

Hello - I've been doing research on my family for a couple years now and have been specifically trying to figure out which regiments my family served in during the civil war. Here's one:

NameL.W. Dalton
SideConfederate
Regiment State/OriginMississippi
Regiment2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves
CompanyIRank InCorporalRank OutCorporalFilm
NumberM232 roll 10
Other Records2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves

Lacy Washington Dalton. The question is specifically related to the Reserves portion... was this an official part of the regiment? He was only 15 when Civil War started... so maybe he was kept in rear as he was younger? I really have no idea and just looking for some help.


Thanks
mike

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Hello - I've been doing research on my family for a couple years now and have been specifically trying to figure out which regiments my family served in during the civil war. Here's one:

NameL.W. Dalton
SideConfederate
Regiment State/OriginMississippi
Regiment2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves
CompanyIRank InCorporalRank OutCorporalFilm
NumberM232 roll 10
Other Records2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves

Lacy Washington Dalton. The question is specifically related to the Reserves portion... was this an official part of the regiment? He was only 15 when Civil War started... so maybe he was kept in rear as he was younger? I really have no idea and just looking for some help.


Thanks
mike

Welcome. Don't have a great deal more info than you do. The last Confederate conscription, late in the war, called up men ages 17-50. Perhaps Lacy applied for a Confederate Pension in his later years. You can find those here: https://www.familysearch.org/ All that's needed is for you to create a free account. Look for Mississippi Confederate Pension Applications.

Second Battalion, Mississippi Reserve Corps
(Cavalry)

The following was taken from the Supplement to the Offical Records:



Record of Events for Second Battalion,
Mississippi Reserve Corps (Cavalry).


Field and Staff

J. B. Baskin, Lt.Col.
H. C. Horton, Maj.


W. N. Archer, Capt., Cavalry Second and Third Battalions
Berry Loughridge, Capt., Company B
W. G. Bodenhamen. 1st Lt., Company B, r. January 20, 1865
H. A. Raburn, Capt., Company D
James L. Bagwell, 2nd Lt., Company D
No rolls.
See Parole Rolls No. 48-55, Columbus, Mississippi.

Company Officers
J. B. Baskin, Lt.Col.
William Thompson, Capt., Company A
W. N. Archer, Capt., Company B
W. P. F. Darby, Capt., Company C
H. A. Raburn, Capt., Company D
J. B. Driskell, Capt., Company E
J. W. Lyles, Capt., Company F
[William] H. Ashby, Capt., Company G
G. P. Lake, Capt., Company I

[M861-Roll #27]

 

[mterry]

i believe his wife applied for a pension when he passed in 1929 per the records i saw. any idea what battles the Mississippi Reserve Corps (Cavalry) were involved in? i did a quick google search and either couldn't find anything or don't understand what i should be looking for. thanks for all the help.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

i believe his wife applied for a pension when he passed in 1929 per the records i saw. any idea what battles the Mississippi Reserve Corps (Cavalry) were involved in? i did a quick google search and either couldn't find anything or don't understand what i should be looking for. thanks for all the help.

I'd be surprised if they were in any major engagements. Helping chase raiding Union cavalry maybe ? If his widow applied for a pension, there may be some specific info there on his service.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Hello - I've been doing research on my family for a couple years now and have been specifically trying to figure out which regiments my family served in during the civil war. Here's one:

NameL.W. Dalton
SideConfederate
Regiment State/OriginMississippi
Regiment2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves
CompanyIRank InCorporalRank OutCorporalFilm
NumberM232 roll 10
Other Records2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves

Lacy Washington Dalton. The question is specifically related to the Reserves portion... was this an official part of the regiment? He was only 15 when Civil War started... so maybe he was kept in rear as he was younger? I really have no idea and just looking for some help.


Thanks
mike

Hello Mike, welcome aboard !

Do you have access to the fold3 records site ?

If you don't, let me know and I'll download the unit information cards for you.
These cards may give some specifics about the 2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves.

 

[DixieRifles]

Do you have access to the fold3 records site ?

If you don't, let me know and I'll download the unit information cards for you.
These cards may give some specifics about the 2nd Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry Reserves.

Welcome aboard. This is another one of the confusing cavalry units.
My primary source is Dunbar Rowland's "Military History of Mississippi; 1803-1898" by Dunbar Rowland. I have the new edition with supplement by H. Grady Howell, Jr., published by Chickasaw Bayou Press, 2003.
There are several different types and names of 2nd cavalry: regiments, battalions, etc. I can't find a history for this 2nd Battalion Mississippi Reserve Corps.
However, in the new edition added by Grady Howell, it does list a breakdown of these Reserve units and it does agree with what posted by @east tennessee roots . Company I was Lake's Company raised out of Carroll and Yalobusha Counties.

Now I tried Fold3. Again some files are merged together into one file. The folder is listed as:
Second(Harris')Battalion, State Cavalry, N-W AND Second Battalion Cavalry Reserves AND Third Cavalry A-B

That is a mouthful. If you go to the Unit History under this "unit", it only has history cards for McGuirk's 3rd Mississippi Cavalry. However, if you go through the records, you will find a few cards on Capt. G. P. Lake commander of Company I, 2nd Battalion Mississippi Cavalry Reserves. I did not find anyone named Dalton. BUT... I ran a search and got a hit that was under the folder entitled:
Second Cavalry Reserves AND Second Partisans AND Second Partisan Rangers A-B

Only one card on file that records his surrender.

 

[DixieRifles]

Continuing....

Using that folder, I look at the Unit History and the first card lists the officers of the 2nd Batln Cavalry Reserves as:

Commander J. L. Morphis
Lt-Col. E. A. Cox
Major Jasper Davis
Company I - Capt W. C. I. Graham?

The first card in the Unit History file refers to 2nd Batln Cav Reserves but all 120 cards after that is for the 2nd Partisan Rangers. Could that be one and the same unit?

To be continued. . . .

 

[DixieRifles]

In Rowland's book, there is a section STATE TROOPS AND RESERVES, Mainly Troops of 1864. This section details some of the units that were raised in August 1864. The units it list include:
First Regiment Cavalry,
Third Regiment Cavalry,
Fourth Regiment Cavalry,
First Battalion Cavalry,
Third Battalion Cavalry.
But it skips SECOND both for regiment and for battalion. Then it lists independent units including Morphis' Scouts. For that unit it only one sentence, which makes me think this was only a company and not a full size regiment.

Morphis' Scouts
July 18, 1864, General Forrest orders Capt Morphis, commanding scouts, to report to Forrest's Regiment, Chalmers' Division.

Maybe we might find more files on Dalton filed under Forrest's Regiment.
{Edited to add} I checked 3rd (Forrest's) Tennessee Cavalry and did not find a record on Dalton or even Morphis.
{2nd Edit} Correction! I did find a Captain J. L. Morphis in 3rd (Forrest's) Tennessee Cavalry.

There are a few more battalions that seemed to have never completely formed or was short lived.
I still can't find the 2nd Partisan Rangers. Sometimes this is listed at start of CAVALRY section or at the end with battalions.

 

[DixieRifles]

I also found a Captain J. L. Morphis listed in Company A, 42nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He was on the roll in 1862 but was sick and absent on special duty---wonder what that could be?
The archives had hand-written note at bottom of his first card that listed:

"See Also: 4th Conf Inf, 6th Miss Cav, & Capt Morphis Indpt Co Scouts"

I thought that might be a lead but it is getting a little crazy. It sounds like your Pvt Dalton joined late in the war with the Reserves and would not have been in any of these regiments that Col. Morphis or his Captain may have served in previously.

 

[DixieRifles]

This may seem like a waste of time chasing the rabbit trails but I was hoping to find a clue about the formation of the 2nd Battalion Mississippi Cavalry Reserves. On some of the index cards, the Archives gave a brief history of the formation and consolidation of companies and/or regiments. Sometimes these seem accurate but there are a few times they cause even more confusion.
While browsing through the names that are in that Folder, I found some cards for members of 2nd Battalion Mississippi Cavalry Reserves and some for 2nd Partisan Rangers. That doesn't mean that is the same unit but that the Archives filed these together in alphabetical order of Names. Also some of the printed cards have units crossed out and corrected by hand.

Here is a statement I found on a card for a soldier in the 2nd Partisan Rangers. See if you can read anything into this about the 2nd Btln Miss Cavalry Reserves.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

This may seem like a waste of time chasing the rabbit trails but I was hoping to find a clue about the formation of the 2nd Battalion Mississippi Cavalry Reserves. On some of the index cards, the Archives gave a brief history of the formation and consolidation of companies and/or regiments. Sometimes these seem accurate but there are a few times they cause even more confusion.
While browsing through the names that are in that Folder, I found some cards for members of 2nd Battalion Mississippi Cavalry Reserves and some for 2nd Partisan Rangers. That doesn't mean that is the same unit but that the Archives filed these together in alphabetical order of Names. Also some of the printed cards have units crossed out and corrected by hand.

Here is a statement I found on a card for a soldier in the 2nd Partisan Rangers. See if you can read anything into this about the 2nd Btln Miss Cavalry Reserves.

View attachment 173825

Great Job Steve !

Thsese units are confusing. I'll admit that I didn't have enough time to read through the entire unit info cards.

However, my first thoughts were that these guys were probably a home guard/militia company.

 

[mterry]

wow. thank you so much. i really appreciate it. I suspected that may be the case based on age, time of enlistment and it being marked as "reserve"

since I am fairly new.. I guess I had another question maybe you folks can help with...

I've been mainly working through ancestry.com... if I find pension records or draft slips - between that and the civil war soldier search online I can usually pin down what regiment my ancestors were in. and then from there you can pretty easily figure out what battles those regiments fought in.

the trick for me though, is how do I know if my ancestor was actually physically present? are there records of who was actually present for that battle? I guess I just assume they took part in it, but people get sick, or injured or what have you.. it's not outside the realm of possibility that they didn't participate in it. any ideas? or is assuming pretty much all we're left with 160 years later?

there's been some pretty interesting finds.. one's regiment was at Shiloh.. which is really historically important and the regiment seemed to be in a pretty active part of the battle. Another's regiment was at Murfreesboro and Franklin in TN.. I think.. and I've been to both those battle fields.. actually before I realized he may have been present so that's pretty cool in my mind.

And then one of my wife's ancestors and one of my ancestors fought on opposing sides in the red river campaign and it would be neat to actually figure out if they were taking shots at each other 160 years ago.

thanks again for the help

mike

 

[DixieRifles]

I've been mainly working through ancestry.com... if I find pension records or draft slips - between that and the civil war soldier search online I can usually pin down what regiment my ancestors were in. and then from there you can pretty easily figure out what battles those regiments fought in.

Yes, that is a delima. As you maybe saw with the aervice records for someone in the cavalry, the records are scarce. As we found with Daltin, the soldier may have only 1 card in his file. But even if his file is complete, the roll was recirded every 2 months. A lot of things could happen in thise 60 days.
I have this problem even in my research into WW2 service records. I tell the Vet's family that I know what company (250 men) he was in and I can trace where that company was, but you never know if the soldier was ordered to go deliver a message or pick up supplies which took him out of the battle.
Sometimes you sorta wish he was wounded but that still may not place him at the "front" as he could have been hit by artillery early in the day.
That is where you start looking for journals and letters from his company mates.

 

[DixieRifles]

maybe

I'd be surprised if they were in any major engagements. Helping chase raiding Union cavalry maybe ?

If they did surrender at Cintronelle, AL, that implies they were most likely with General Forrest at least in those last days.

 

[JOHN42768]

Welcome, enjoy

 

[DixieRifles]

there's been some pretty interesting finds.. one's regiment was at Shiloh.. which is really historically important and the regiment seemed to be in a pretty active part of the battle. Another's regiment was at Murfreesboro and Franklin in TN.. I think.. and I've been to both those battle fields.. actually before I realized he may have been present so that's pretty cool in my mind.

I would like to hear about your other ancestors. My ancestors were in regiments that were at both places but they were not there.

Go to the folder called Researching Your Civil War Ancestry and post about your ancestor and you will get a lot of good info from others. There hasn't been much activity there so try it out---that is what it is there for.

 

[mterry]

MD Ator - 31st Tennessee Infantry - if I am reading his card right, he started as private, left as sergeant. I THINK they participated in both Battle of Franklin and Battle of Stone Creek in Murfreesboro. He was older during the war so I thought that was interesting. Were older men like him involved in actual fighting or you think he was some sort of support personnel? It looks like his regiment took some reasonably high losses at Battle of Stone Creek.

Richard Morrison - 29th Illinois Infantry - I THINK this regiment participated at Shiloh and again, it looks like they were involved in some serious fighting. Again, just trying to figure out if he was actually present and in what capacity.

William Golden - 21st Texas Infantry - I think they were involved in fighting in the red river campaign.,
My wife's ancestor - William Ferrel was with the 16th Ohio infantry - I believe they participated in the red river campaign as well. It'd be interesting to figure out if they actually lined up opposite each other on a battle field. I have no idea how to figure that out.. I think most engagements were smaller, correct?


any more information on the regiments and what they did... anything noteworthy.. or some how being able to confirm these folks participated in these battles would be really interesting.

thanks
mike