Alan Pitts
Camp Beauregard
Sat Dec 23 13:03:33 2000


Dan,
Here's what I know about Camp Beauregard, at least the one that existed near Mayfield. Most of this comes from the Official Records. Active during the last three months of 1861, General Polk ordered it to be broken up on Christmas Eve. The first regiments from Camp Beauregard arrived at Bowling Green on December 30(OR 7:790, 808-09). Evidently Polk left Brewer's Battalion in the area.

On September 30, aggregate present was 3713 (OR 3:712)
Infantry at Camp Beauregard by the end October:
1st Missouri Regiment, Col. John S. Bowen
10th Arkansas Regiment, Col. Thomas D. Merrick
22nd Mississippi Regiment, Col. D. W. C. Bonham
1st Mississippi Valley Regiment, Col. John D. Martin
Kentucky Battalion, Major H. C. King
Capt. Alfred Hudson's (Miss.)Pettus Flying Artillery
Alabama cavalry cos. led by Capts. Bowie & Faulkner.
Present for duty: 2453 Aggregate present: 3338
(OR 4:494; see also OR 3:723 for Bowen's command)
By the end of November strength had increased to 3361 presnt for duty and 4260 aggregate present. New units at camp included the following:
9th Arkansas Regiment, Col. Isaac L. Dunlop
Capt. Daniel Beltzhoover's Watson Battery, New Orleans
Capt. W. Orton Williams' Battery, Memphis
Capt. Warren Cole's Louisiana Mounted Rangers
(OR 7:728)
Polk later called King's Battalion "Mounted Infantry", and as you know they became part of the 1st Confederate Cavalry. Incidentally, King's new camp at Paris, Tennessee was also called Camp Beauregard. Martin's 1st Miss. Valley was later called the 2nd Confederate Infantry Regiment. It included two Alabama and three Mississippi companies. I can check on the others if you wish. It appears that the 27th Tennessee, listed in an OR report as the 22nd, was assigned to Bowen's command, but was "detached" and not counted on strength tables.

Finally, Camp Beauregard was an unpleasant winter home for what its commander termed "shot-gun militia". These were three sixty-day Mississippi regiments under command of Brig.Gen. James L. Alcorn. Arriving early in December, they were transferred to Union City for the remainder of their brief term of service on January 2nd. Descriptions of these units are found in Dunbar Rowland's Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898, pp. 368-372. See also OR 7:803, 812-813 & 816. They numbered about 1700 men and suffered from disease and exposure while visiting in Kentucky.

Information about Brewer's Cavalry Battalion came from National Archives microfilm on the 8th Confederate Cavalry. There may have been an entry under his name in the General and Staff microfilm as well.

• Camp Beauregard, Graves County, KY — D.A. Lonsway, Sat Dec 23 15:04
• Camp Beauregard, Graves County, KY — D.A. Lonsway, Sun Dec 24 00:28
• your list of units — Alan Pitts, Mon Dec 25 20:37
• lists of units- clarifying and mystery — Daniel A. Lonsway, Tue Dec 26 13:51
• Units in the area — Alan Pitts, Wed Dec 27 13:55
• Camp Beauregard- sorting it all out. — Daniel Allen Lonsway, Mon Dec 25 23:24
• Brewer's Cavalry Battalion — Alan Pitts, Wed Dec 27 22:04
• Walker's/Baskerville's Cav. Battalion — Hayes Lowe, Fri Dec 29 11:39
• Camp Beauregard — Alan Pitts, Mon Dec 25 12:16
• Camp Beauregard, Ky Info & Pictures — Daniel A. Lonsway, Thu Dec 28 15:58