6th MS Infantry - After Shiloh

6th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

After Shiloh . . .

The army retreated to their familiar camps in Corinth. There, it was learned that the 6th had suffered 70.5% losses at Shiloh. The Sixth had approximately 100 able-bodied men and was temporarily under the command of Captain Harper. By the end of April, most of the Sixth's slightly wounded men had returned to the ranks and had about 170 able-bodied men.

At the end of April, the Sixth was tranferred to General John C. Breckinridge's command. The Sixth became part of General John Bowen's Brigade. To the delight of the men, they were removed from the defenses of Corinth and placed in reserve status. New officers were elected and New recruits, mostly conscripts, filled the ranks and by June there was an estimated 450-500 members of the Sixth. Robert Lowry was elected Colonel.

By the end of May, the Union army, commanded by General Halleck, had slowly crept south from Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee and was close to Corinth. As summer came, the weather turned into a drought. Water supplies dried up and the army grew thin and many were sick. Finally, at the end of May, General Beauregard decided to withdraw from Corinth. Breckinridge's Brigade served as rear guard for the withdrawl.

The army headed South along dry, dusty Mississippi roads. There were many scragglers who fell by the roadside. The army stopped briefly near Baldwyn, Mississippi, then went to Tupelo. While the army wast at Tupelo, General Beauregard was relieved of overall command and replaced by General Braxton Bragg.

In June, New Orleans fell into Union hands. Vicksburg became the next goal for the Union army. Bragg sent Breckinridge's Brigade to aid the forces around Vicksburg. The brigade marched to Abbeville, Mississippi where they boarded the cars for Vicksburg on June 25th. On the 27th, the cars arrived at Jackson. The army changed trains in Jackson and headed to Vicksburg. By the last day of June, the Sixth had set up camp near Vicksburg, on the east side of the Yazoo River near the community of Milldale.

In late July, Breckinridge was ordered to send about 5,000 troops to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area. The Sixth headed south in early August. They took the cars to Jackson, changed trains and headed south to Camp Moore, Louisiana. They marched from Camp Moore to the Comite River. The Sixth was in Southern Louisiana for a little over two weeks, and left on August 24th for Jackson. Soon after arrival, the Sixth was transferred to Major General Earl Van Dorn who was forming a new army.

This page was last updated on August 8, 2000.