16th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

Confederate Regiments & Batteries > Mississippi

1861
April-May The 16th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was organized at Corinth, Mississippi.
June 8 Mustered in about 950 men under Colonel Carnot Posey, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Clarke, Major Thomas J. Bankston and Adjutant Thomas R. Stockdale.
June 17 Adjutant Stockdale replaced Thomas Bankston as major.
Sent to Virginia and assigned to Trimble’s Brigade
August Camped next to the 21st North Carolina (which was already suffering from a measles epidemic), 15th Alabama and 21st Georgia.
Mid-September Changed camp to the Centreville area, named Camp Toombs.
1862
April 28 In the spring reorganization Captain James J. Shannon of Company F was elected to lieutenant colonel and Captain Samuel E. Baker of Company D to major.
Attached to Trimble’s Brigade of Ewell’s Division
May

Jackson’s Valley Campaign

Crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Luray Valley to join Jackson’s Army of the Valley.
May 25
First Battle of Winchester
June 8-9
Cross Keys – Port Republic

The regiment lost 6 killed and 28 wounded
June
Gaines’ Mill
July 1
Malvern Hill

The regiment lost 15 killed, 51 wounded, 19 missing during the Seven Days Battles
July Transferred to Featherston’s Brigade of Wilcox’s Division
Augusy 28-30
Second Battle of Manassas
September The regiment, along with with Wilcox’s Division was merged into Anderson’s Division of Longstreet’s Command
Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam)

The regiment was commanded by Captain Abram Feltus. It brought 228 men to the field and lost 27 men killed and 117 wounded.
November 1 Longstreet’s Command was designated as the First Army Corps.
December 13
Battle of Fredericksburg
December 20 Lieutenant Colonel Shannon resigned due to illness. Colonel Posey was promoted to brigadier general. Major Baker was promoted to colonel, Captain Feltus to lieutenant colonel and Captain Edward Councill of Company D to major.
1863
May
Battle of Chancellorsville

The regiment suffered 76 casualties
June Assigned to Posey’s Brigade of Anderson’s Division of the newly created Third Corps.
July 1-3
Battle of Gettysburg

The regiment brought 385 men to the field under Colonel Baker. It lost 3 men killed and 16 wounded.

From the brigade monument on the Gettysburg battlefield:

July 2. Arrived and took position here in the morning. Through some misunderstanding of orders instead of the Brigade advancing in compact ranks in support of the troops on its right in their assault on the Union lines the regiments were ordered forward at different times. Deployed as skirmishers and fighting in detachments they pushed back the Union outposts and drove some artillerists for awhile from their guns but did not join in the attack upon the Union position on Cemetery Ridge.

July 3. Was held in reserve here supporting artillery in its front.
1864
May 5-6
Battle of the Wilderness
May 8-21
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
May 12
Battle of the Muleshoe

Colonel Baker and Lieutenant Colonel Abram Feltus were both killed. Major Councill was promoted to colonel and Captain Seneca Bain of Company E was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
August 21
Weldon Railroad

Colonel Councill was mortaly wounded and captured and Lt. Colonel Bain was captured. Captain Jonathan S. Lewis took command as senior surviving officer.
September 10 Colonel Councell died in Northern captivity in Alexandria, Virginia.
October 31 Lieutenant Colonel Bain was exchanged and returned to the regiment
1865
April 9
Appomattox Court House

The 16th Mississippi Infantry Regiment surrendered 4 officers and 68 enlisted men