An overview follows of my recently published book, The 10th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, A Record of the Marches, Battles, Skirmishes, and the Men of the 10th:

The Mississippi volunteer companies that would later become the 10th Mississippi Infantry Regiment began their long and arduous journey in their home state in 1861. This journey would cover just over four years and 10,000 miles ending in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1865, when General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his troops to General William Tecumseh Sherman.

This book chronicles the Civil War odyssey of the men in the regiment from the outbreak of hostilities until the surrender. These men, who would become a part of Brigadier General James Chalmers’ select “High Pressure Brigade” known for perseverance and fighting ability, often marched barefooted, ragged, and hungry into battle. The details of these travels and battles were compiled from personal diaries, letters, official battle reports, newspaper accounts, and numerous contacts with the descendants of the men who served in the 10th. Personal accounts from their diaries and letters bring the conflict and the men to life.

The men of the 10th Mississippi traveled over three thousand miles on foot and five thousand eight hundred miles by rail during their quest for victory, fighting courageously on the battlefields of Shiloh, Munfordville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Resaca, New Hope Church, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Franklin, and Nashville, along with other significant skirmishes. These men hailed from the Mississippi counties of Adams, Claiborne, Copiah, DeSoto, Hinds, Itawamba, Lowndes, Madison, Marshall, Rankin, Tippah, Warren, and Yazoo and composed the companies of the 10th Mississippi in the April of 1861 organization at Pensacola and the reorganization in March 1862 at Corinth.

Young, old, and from different backgrounds and lives, these volunteers joined together and endured the hardships of a soldier’s life in camp, on the march, and on the battlefield. The biographical information and service records at the conclusion of this book provide insights into the men’s lives prior to and following the war. Many returned home to resume their lives, some wounded, worn, weary, and forever changed. Numerous others met their fate on the battlefields of this most devastating and bloody war in America’s history. This is their story.

Written and published by Paulette Hunt French with the intent to record and preserve the history of the 10th Mississippi Regiment and can be purchased by contacting the author at paulettehfrench@gmx.com.