Quitman was established in 1839 and named as the county seat. During the
Civil War, a hospital built with funds raised in
Galveston and
Houston, among other places, was built there for the care of
Confederate soldiers from
Texas. Originally staffed by Louis Bryan with supplies purchased in Mexico, he was joined, and later supplanted, by Enos Bonney, a surgeon from Enterprise, Mississippi, who stayed until the hospital was burned down. Though it cared for troops from any state, the hospital was colloquially known as "The Texas Hospital." Wounded soldiers from the
Second Battle of Corinth,
Battle of Iuka,
Battle of Jackson, Tennessee, and more local engagements, as well as those suffering from wartime diseases, were treated at the hospital. A cemetery was established adjacent to the hospital for those who succumbed to disease or wounds. During
General Sherman's
Meridian Campaign, Brigadier General Walter Q. Gresham, Commander of the Third Brigade, Fourth Division,
17th Army Corps, was detached and sent to Quitman to destroy bridges crossing the Chickasawhay river and through Alligator Swamp, as well as any other infrastructure that could be of any use to the Confederacy. The force arrived at Quitman and proceeded to burn the town jail, courthouse, various stores, the railroad depot, and the Methodist Church, which was being used as a hospital. Troops then burned down the entire Texas Hospital complex, which included two main buildings as well as twelve to fifteen barracks. The hospital was never rebuilt. Quitman was officially recognized by the Mississippi Legislature on February 13, 1839, and was named for the second Chancellor of the State, Gen.
John A. Quitman, a strongly pro-slavery politician, leading
Fire Eater, veteran of the
Mexican–American War. ==Geography==