Creator: Territorial Governor (RG 2).

Collection Summary: A collection of records pertaining to military affairs in the Territory.  These records can be classified as follows:
•    Correspondence and miscellaneous materials – Letters of request or recommendation regarding appointments and officers; letters and a petition regarding expeditions and leadership; miscellaneous items such as certifications of work done or estimates of arms.
•    Orders & receipts – Orders from commanding officers (usually the Territorial Governor) for military goods to be delivered to various military outfits, often with corresponding receipts signed by official receiving the goods that the items were received as ordered.  These military goods consisted of muskets, gunpowder, lead and flints, bayonets and swords, camp equipage, and infantry handbooks. 
•    Muster rolls, lists, and returns – various enumerations of soldiers (for example, a muster roll of a detachment of militia serving on the eastern frontier, or a list of officers to head Ranger units, or a return of the Fifth Regiment of the Mississippi militia).
•    Reports – reports (comparable to returns) which list soldiers within a unit; morning reports for several units of militia.
•    Choctaw Indian records – Muster rolls and payrolls for Choctaw Indians under the command of Pushmataha in the service of the United States.  These documents are negative photostats, often marked “R. & P.O. War Dept…” – whereabouts of the originals is unknown (possibly National Archives?). 
Many of these items are undated but can be approximately dated in the territorial time period.

Access Restrictions: Original records in this series are restricted due to age and/or fragility. 

Date(s): 1807-1815; n.d.

Volume: 1.00 Cubic Feet.

Finding Aid Created By: Colby Cox in March 2025.

Related Materials: TBD.

Record Group History: The Territorial Governor of Mississippi was the figure selected by the U.S. Congress to be the leading political figure of the Mississippi Territory. The Office of the Territorial Governor was created on April 7, 1798 when the creation of the Mississippi Territory was authorized. The Territorial Governor initially had full power over the creation of legislation until a general assembly was formed to represent the state in May of 1800. The Territorial Governor additionally served as the commander-in-chief of the Mississippi militia and was given authority over affairs with native peoples. The office was abolished once Mississippi became a full state in 1817.

Collection Inventory:
Box Content 

Box Number

Correspondence, Orders & Receipts, Lists19000
Muster rolls, Lists, Reports and Returns18999
Muster rolls, Returns (also inspection), Choctaw Indian Records00116