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 and to Nan Prince, Museum Division, for compiling the artifacts.
The War of 1812 began on June 12, 1812 when the United States declared war on Great Britain. The Americans disputed the British practice of impressing American sailors into the Royal Navy and other trade and border issues. The Mississippi Territorial Militia was called into action in 1813 against the British-allied Creeks and later against the British themselves.
This image is a compiled service record card of a soldier in Major Thomas Hinds’ battalion of mounted riflemen (Mississippi Territory Militia) who fought with Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. It is from the National Archives microfilm of the service records of Mississippi territorial units, which is available to view on microfilm at MDAH.