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12th Mississippi Infantry

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this unit’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Muster In: Organized in May 18611
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Colonel Merry B. Harris
MerryBHarris12thMS3

Lieutenant Colonel Samuel B. Thomas
Commander Image

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. Manlove (of the 48th MS)
Commander Image

Captain Sampson Bolters
Commander Image

Captain Archie K. Jones
Commander Image

Captain Rufus R. Applewhite
Commander Image

Commander 7
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Anderson’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army4

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Anderson’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army5

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Merry B. Harris (wounded on June 24, 1864)6
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Anderson’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army7

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Samuel B. Thomas8
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army9

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel Samuel B. Thomas (wounded and captured on August 21, 1864)10
    • Captain Sampson Bolters (at least August 21 & 30, 1864)11,12
  • Unit Strength:
    • 131 officers and men PFD (August 30, 1864)13
  • Weapons: Springfield and/or Enfield Rifles14

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army15,16

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. Manlove (of the 48th MS)17,18
  • Unit Strength: 127 officers and men PFD (September 30, 1864)19
  • Weapons: Enfield Rifles and Springfield Rifles20

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army21

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. Manlove (of the 48th MS)22
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army23,24

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. Manlove (of the 48th MS)(November & December 1864)25,26
    • Captain Rufus R. Applewhite (December 1864)27
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army28,29,30,31

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (January 1865)32
    • Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. Manlove (wounded and captured February 7)(February 1865)33
    • Captain Rufus R. Applewhite (February 1865)34
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: Harris’ Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army35,36

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (March 1865)37
    • Captain Archie K. Jones (April 1-2, 1865)38,39
    • Lieutenant Colonel James H. Duncan (of the 16th MS)(captured April 2)(commanded both the 12th and 16th Misssissippi in Fort Gregg on April 2)(April 1-2, 1865)40
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles41:

  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Mississippi by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 92-93 ↩
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Mississippi by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 92-93 ↩
    3. Merry B. Harris; circa 1861-1865 (From the Harris (Merry B.) Papers. Color enhanced computer scanned image of a photograph of Merry B. Harris in his Confederate Army uniform. Harris was a resident of Copiah County, Mississippi. He served as a captain and later colonel of the Pettus Company of Volunteers, 12th Mississippi Infantry.). (n.d.). Retrieved August 06, 2020, from https://digitalcollections.usm.edu/uncategorized/digitalFile_4fe66a86-6483-4072-977f-c10e47ec3380/ ↩
    4. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    7. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121 ↩
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121 ↩
    9. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130 ↩
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130 ↩
    11. Confederate Inspection Report 5-P-17: Harris’ Brigade, August 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    12. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130 ↩
    13. Confederate Inspection Report 5-P-17: Harris’ Brigade, August 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    14. Confederate Inspection Report 5-P-17: Harris’ Brigade, August 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    15. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 138 ↩
    16. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1312. ↩
    17. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 138 ↩
    18. Confederate Inspection Report 13-P-24: Harris’ Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    19. Confederate Inspection Report 13-P-24: Harris’ Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    20. Confederate Inspection Report 13-P-24: Harris’ Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    21. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 149 ↩
    22. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 149 ↩
    23. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 157 ↩
    24. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165 ↩
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 157 ↩
    26. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165 ↩
    27. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165 ↩
    28. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 175 ↩
    29. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1174: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General R. E. Lee, January 31, 1865”; This list contains many commanders who were not there.  They were the “official” commanders but may have been gone on leave.  I have used none of the leaders from this list as a result. ↩
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184 ↩
    31. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1272: “Organization of the Infantry and Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, February 28, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from February 28, 1865.  However, leaders listed are from January.  I’ve chosen to ignore the leaders and just use this source for the organization of the order of battle. ↩
    32. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184 ↩
    33. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184 ↩
    34. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 185 ↩
    35. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193 ↩
    36. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203 ↩
    37. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193 ↩
    38. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 405 ↩
    39. “The Death Grapple at Petersburg! Last Days of Harris’ Mississippi Brigade.” The Clarion (Jackson, MS). September 24, 1884, p. 1 col. 4-6: “Gen. Harris placed the 12th Mississippi under Capt. A. K. Jones, and the 16th (Mississippi) regiment under Capt. J. H. Duncan, both under the immediate command of Lt. Col. James H. Duncan, of the 19th (Mississippi) regiment, in Fort Gregg. The 19th (Mississippi) and 48th (Mississippi) regiment were placed in Whitworth, and were under the personal command of Gen. Harris. Cols. R. H. Phipps and Joseph M. Jayne commanded the latter two regiments.” ↩
    40. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203 ↩
    41. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Mississippi by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 92-93 ↩

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    { 1 comment… add one }
    • Brett Schulte August 6, 2020, 8:57 am

      If you have original letters, diaries, and other information about the 12th Mississippi, researcher Shelly Liebler is looking for this type of information for a future book. Feel free to contact her at her email address: salsjourney@gmail.com

      And if you have information specific to Petersburg, please use our Contact link at the top right of this page and every page at The Siege of Petersburg Online.

      ∞

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