[Part 1 out of 8 articles; the others will arrive as I get time to type them up. Watch for the asterisk "*". It FOLLOWS the name of the people still thought to be living in 1907. It does NOT precede the name. I just follow the pattern used in the article, as well as the spelling used in the article, excepting where I know it to be wrong.] >From a front page article in The Tupelo Journal Friday, January 11, 1907 Town Creek Rifles The following muster roll of the Town Creek Rifles, afterward Company C, 2nd Miss. Infantry Volunteers Confederate States Army Northern Va., prepared by W.C. Bessonet and J.M. Beachum in 1894 from memory, and corrected and revised in 1906 by J. Stevens and J.P. Stovall. Those marked with a * were still marching on when last heard from and numbered 31 about 5 years ago, but those known to be still living not more than 23 and they loiter and linger, as it were, waiting the order to "cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Capt. - W.C. Bromley; 1st Lieut. - W.M. Pounds; 2nd Lieut. - J.L. Sargent;* 3rd Lieut. - A.R. Walker; 1st Sargeant - S.S. Owen, appointed adjutant 1862, killed at Petersburg, Va., April 3, 1865; 2nd Sargeant - J.F. Story,* elected captain; 3rd Sargeant - L.T. Davis, elected lieutenant; 4th Sargeant - Thomas Deaton, Sr.; 5th Sargeant - Wm. Davis. Privates W.T. Ashford; J.L. Anderson, killed at battle of the Wilderness, Va., May, 1864; J.A. Atkins, killed at Suffolk 1863; R.A. Armstrong; W.C. Borum, killed at 3rd battle Manasses; W.C. Bessonet,* elected lieutenant, wounded at Petersburg; J.W. Brown, elected lieutenant; J.A. Bean;* J.G. Bell, killed at Gettysburg, Va., 1863; Geo. Bean,* captured at Gettysburg, sent to Ft. Delaware; Robt. Bell, killed in 2nd battle Manasses; Mabern Birmingham, captured, died in prison Point Lookout; Wm. Bazemore, killed in battle; Jno. Bazemore; Jack Brazeal; * Jno. Bromley, died in service; Wm. Bell, killed at Gaines' Mill, June, 1862; John Cayson, killed 2nd Manasses; Jim Conner;* C.C. Clayton; Joshua Clayton; Absolom Clayton, killed in battle; Henry Carrol;* Thos. Coker; Geo. Coke, killed in battle; Bose Crayton;* Jim Davis, of Priceville; F.M. Duvall, Sr.; Thos. Deaton, killed in 1st battle Manasses, July 21, 1861; Jim Deaton; F.M. Duvall, Jr.; Jack Eubanks; Jim Evans; John English, killed in battle; John Flynn; J.C. Flynn; Jim Francis, killed in battle; Joe Green, sub. Henry Carroll; John Greek, killed in battle; Doss Green;* Thos. Gray; Dock Hughes, killed in battle; Wade Hughes; Robt. Harris, killed at Sharpsburg, 1862; Elim Hobbs, killed in battle; Wilfor Holeman, killed at Manasses; Jacob Lesley; Nathaniel Lesley, killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863; Dan Lesley; Sebe Loony; R.H. Marson;* Geo. Martin; Jim Marshal, killed at Gettysburg, 1863; John Mayfield; A.D. Martin,* dis; W.M. Mullins;* Wm. E. Miles, killed or shot; T.T. Mabry; Osburn Massey; Martin Mayfield; Jim McCarty;* W.D. McCarty; John McHenry, killed in battle; Fowler Merchant, killed 1st battle Manasses, July 21, 1861; Jack McDonald; L.W.D. Nelson, killed in 1st battle Manasses; Frank Pettigrew, killed in battle; Wm. Pettigrew;* Jim Pettigrew;* John Palmer; Steve Price; Wm. Spears; Tom Sargent; F.O. Sargent, dis.; Jno. Sargent, killed in battle; Jeff Sisk, dis.; Ruben Roberts; Ruffin Roberts, killed at Gettysburg; Alford Roberts; Bob Roberts;* A.M. Rea;* Tom Rea; A.R. Riddle, died at Lynchburg with measles, 1861; Jim Rogers, dis.; Sam Rowland;* Rom Sargent;* Riley Stevens, killed in battle; H.H. Story, killed at Gettysburg; J.K.P. Stovall;* G.D. Stovall;* Oscar Stevens; Alf Scales; Emit Scales, killed in battle; Dr. F.A. Scales, elected capt.; John Sanders;* D.H. Traylor, killed in 1st battle Manassas; Tom Traylor; Geo. Turner, killed in battle; Peter Turner; Jim Turner; W.H. Tabler;* John Taylor; Dr. J.C. Thorn, died with smallpox; Chas. Vinson, killed in 2nd battle Manasses; Wm. Vinson; D.T. Walker, elected lieut.; Jim Walker, died at Petersburg; A.R. Wiygul, killed at 2nd Manasses; Mayfield Wiygul;* W.G. Williams; Doc Wardlaw, dis.; Lee Wigley;* Jack Wigley;* Wm. Westbrooks, killed in 1st battle Manasses; E.G. Wilson, elected lieut.; Augustus Watson;* Will Wren, dis.; Jim Wheeler, went to Cuba; Bob Young; Jack Champion; George Champion, killed at Wilderness; Tom Franklin; Frank Goar; Roland West; Nick Dalton;* Tobe Morris, killed 2nd battle Manasses; John Wise, Joe Stockton; Gom Westmoreland;* Geo. Brown, dis.; John Liles; Wm. Lancaster; J.M. Bachum.* This above is a muster roll of the Town Creek Rifles, which was organized March 18, 1861 at Old Richmond, Itawamba County, Miss., and rendezvoused at Corinth, Miss., May 1st, 1861 and became Co. C of 2nd Miss., and left for Lynchburg, Va. about May 10 and enlisted in the service of the Confederate States about June 1st and was ordered to Harper's Ferry, Va. about June 10, 1861. W.C. Bromley was elected as delegate to the convention from Itawamba. He was opposed to secession, but when the ordinance was passed, he, like all other patriots, joined and gave himself to his State and offered his services to Gov. Pettus and obtained a commission as captain and came home and raised a company and he, having had some military experience (by reason of having been with Jeff Davis in Mexico) was elected captain and I remember well his reply to the boys who were all greeners and said they would flay the Yanks before breakfast and be back home before the dinner horn blew, he told them it might be late bedtime before we got back, and he was surely right. Well, the boys would halt and absolutely refuse to go until we could get passenger coaches to ride in at first and the captain would say, "Boys, you will be glad to get flats after awhile." But our real military life never begun until about the time we left Harper's Ferry, and we were getting very anxious to have a chance to whip the Yanks and go back home and we really thought that we were going to have it right now. We were drawn up in full battle array, and the cyuriers were dashing back and forth with orders and conducting regiments to a position until nightfall and we were ordered to sleep on arms. We of course thought that we would have the chance for our before-breakfast-spell the next morning. So the matter was easily explained by Col. Faulkner and Capt. Bromley, who said both armies were so large that they could not get into position in time to fight to a finish before nightand so we were to sleep every man with gun in hand, expecting to meet the Yanks next morning and about two hours before day we were ordered up and took a beeline to the turnpike road to Winchester, and the Yanks were going on the other end of the same road for Williamsport, Johnson giving McDowd the slip and vice versa and I never saw a madder set of boys in my life; but the captain said, "Boys, you will all be glad for a chance like this before this is done with." So military life went on drilling and making believe that we were going to fight until the evening of the 18 of July we were ordered on force march to Manasses and after marching all night and all day the 19, we camped at a little station on the Manassas Gap R.R., sleepy, hungry, footsore from marching on pike roads, and sure enough, as the captain said, we were all glad to ride on flat cars down to Manassas on the 20th. We went out on the front line and camped and as we passed on we saw many of the boys who had had some experience on the 18th at Bull Run. We guyed and taunted the boys and they would reply, "Here, you fellows may have our place." We struck camp on the fighting line about sundown. With loaded guns in hand we slept that night and were woke up the next morning by Winfield Scott's signal gun and after eating some hard tack, salt meat and coffee we put in the day at manouvering and double quicking from one point to another, every fellow holding out as long as he could stand it until about 3 p.m. we found a place where the Yanks were driving some Georgia Crackers off and we had a chance to show what stuff we were made of, and in speaking of it affterward Capt. Beck of Co. D said that he took (1?)80 men up to the muzzle of long Tom and left 90 of them lying there and when he had nobody to protect him he thought that it was high time for him to get out. Co. C did not fare so badly as Co. D was said to have fared, but we got enough in that battle to make the captain's prophecy true and after that we were always glad when the time came to turn the other way, although we always waited for orders and then went back in good order: but the ardor of the boys for fighting was considerably cooled down and they never refused a chance to ride on any kind of vehicle and many times some feigned sickness to get to ride. But from first to last Co. C had 167 names on the roll and we left many on the battlefield, many other sickened and died, while less than half survived the war and we do not know positively now that more than 23 are still living, though we have marked 31 as still marching on when last heard from and we who still survive are just waiting, as it were, for the orders of the Captain General to pass over the river and rest in the shade of the trees. And now, comrades, this little bit of history of Co. C 2nd Miss., is just applicable to all other companies that went into the service during the first year and although many talk and write of those who went first as being more heroic and more patriotic than those who went later but I can't see it that way, because there were only a few of the first who had even a remote idea of what was ahead of him, while those who went later on knew something of the horrors of war. -J.P. Stovall