Mississippi in the American Civil War

This article is about the Confederate state of Mississippi between 1861 and 1865. For the ship, see CSS Mississippi. For other uses, see Mississippi (disambiguation).

Mississippi
Nickname(s): "The Magnolia State"
Flag of Mississippi
Flag
State seal of Mississippi
Seal

The Confederate States of America
Map of the Confederate States
CapitalJackson
Largest cityNatchez
Admitted to the ConfederacyMarch 29, 1861 (5th)
Population
  • 790,530 total
  •  • 353,899 (44.77%) free
  •  • 436,631 (55.23%) slave
Forces supplied
  • - Confederate Troops: 80,000
    - Union Troops: 17,545 (17,000 black; 545 white) total
Major garrisons/armoriesCorinth
Governor1859–1863  John J. Pettus
1863–1865  Charles Clark
Senators
RepresentativesList
Restored to the UnionFebruary 23, 1870
Part of a series on the
History of Mississippi
Great Seal of Mississippi
flag Mississippi portal
Seal of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States
in the
American Civil War
Dual governments
Territory
Allied tribes in
Indian Territory

Mississippi was the second southern state to declare its secession from the United States, doing so on January 9, 1861. It joined with six other southern states to form the Confederacy on February 4, 1861. Mississippi's location along the lengthy Mississippi River made it strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy; dozens of battles were fought in the state as armies repeatedly clashed near key towns and transportation nodes.

Mississippian troops fought in every major theater of the American Civil War, although most were concentrated in the Western Theater. Confederate president Jefferson Davis was a Mississippi politician and operated a large cotton plantation there. Prominent Mississippian generals during the war included William Barksdale, Carnot Posey, Wirt Adams, Earl Van Dorn, Robert Lowry, and Benjamin G. Humphreys.