William Worthington, Confederate Cavalry Lieutenant from Mississippi

William Worthington’s family were plantation owners in Washington County, MS, northeast of Vicksburg. William Worthington began his Civil War service as an officer in Company H, 1st Mississippi Cavalry, commanded by Captain William Montgomery. Captain Montgomery described his wartime experiences which include William Worthington in a paper he wrote for the Washington County Historical Society after the war. The paper covers the exploits of the 1st Mississippi at Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta, and the Middle Tennessee Campaigns. In Tennessee, they served under the command of Nathan Bedford Forest, the “wizard of the saddle.” The article tells stories of the deaths of friends in battle, whose clothing and shoes were then stripped from the bodies by soldiers who lacked their own. Captain Montgomery also told stories of the lighter moments they experienced in this trying period of the war.