The 6th Regiment, Mississippi Volunteers (African Descent) was organized on August 27, 1863, at
Natchez, Mississippi. Most of the soldiers were former slaves from Mississippi who had escaped to Union lines. The first colonel of the Regiment was Absalom S. Smith, formerly of the
14th Wisconsin. Newly-recruited units of Black troops were used to garrison strategic points along the
Mississippi River, freeing up veteran Union troops for service elsewhere. By the summer of 1864, the majority of the 5,000 Union troops garrisoning Natchez were from Colored Troops regiments. A detachment of the 6th Mississippi Regiment was sent on a scouting expedition on November 11, 1863, when they were fired on by Confederate cavalry 2 miles outside of Natchez. The Union troops drove off the attack, but suffered 4 killed and 6 wounded in the skirmish. The regiment was redesignated as the 58th
USCT Infantry on March 11, 1864. Following the good inspection report in July, the 58th Regiment, along with the white
29th Illinois Infantry, was designated as the Natchez reserve force to be "constantly held in readiness to move by land or water at an hour's notice". Although by 1864 the Union Army controlled all the major strategic points along the Mississippi River, Confederate cavalry still roamed the countryside, looting plantations and skirmishing with Union troops. In early August, the 58th was sent on an expedition to the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River in search of Confederates. Troops from the 29th Illinois and the
4th Illinois Cavalry accompanied the 58th, disembarking at
Vidalia, Louisiana and marching over swampy terrain towards Trinity, Louisiana. On August 5, the Union forces clashed with a Confederate force near the Gillespie plantation, with a small number killed and wounded on each side. The 58th spent the remainder of the war at Natchez, and mustered out of service on March 8, 1866. Combat casualties of the 58th Regiment: 4 killed, 6 wounded, 1 missing at Natchez (November 1863). ==Commanders==