In honor of Pvt. Nathan R. Oakes, CSA

150 years ago, my great grandfather, Nathan Richardson Oakes, served as a private in Company D of the distinguished 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment in the Army of Tennessee. He participated in the great Civil War campaigns, including the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Atlanta, Franklin, Nashville, and Bentonville. I am writing about his engagements as well as some details about fighting for the Lost Cause. I hope to honor him and commemorate the events and individuals that contributed to making this a renowned unit in the Confederate Army of Tennessee.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Mississippi Secedes, 1861

On this date in 1861, Mississippi became the second Southern state to secede from the United States. A month later, it joined with 6 other Southern states to form the Confederate States of America (more would join in the months ahead). The state's strategic location along the Mississippi River made it key to both the North and South during the war. Dozens of battles were fought in the state as armies repeatedly clashed near key towns and cities.

Mississippi provided an incredible number of soldiers in the war, both for the South and the North. Eighty thousand men from Mississippi fought in the Confederate Army, among whom were relatives of mine. I plan to write about one of them, my great grandfather, Nathan Richadson Oakes, following his enlistment in his state's militia in 1861, and then in Confederate army at Corinth in March 1862. Some 500 white Mississippians fought for the Union, together with more than 17,000 Mississippi slaves and freedmen.

Source: Access Genealogy