In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, we will be highlighting collections related to the military history of Mississippi and veterans who served the state beginning with the territorial militia in 1797 through World War II (the most recent engagement for which we have collections). Special thanks to Jim Pitts, of the MDAH Government Records section, for compiling the military records and their descriptions.
From the establishment of the Mississippi Territory in 1797 until statehood in 1817, a territorial militia was maintained and then carried over into statehood. This militia eventually became the Mississippi National Guard. Occasionally elements of this militia were called to national service (similar to the current practice of federalizing the National Guard).
The image above is of the compiled service record of a volunteer in the Mississippi Territory Militia. MDAH holds these records on microfilm. See the other types of military service records at MDAH by going to the “Military Records” section of the “Master List of Microfilm” search option on the catalog page.