Formed in 1862, mostly of men from Copiah County, Mississippi, the 36th Regiment fought in many battles of the Western Theater of the American Civil War before being captured at Fort Blakely, Alabama in the closing days of the conflict.

[1] The 36th first saw action during the Siege of Corinth, fighting at Farmington on May 9, where the Regiment earned praise from General James Patton Anderson, who wrote: "A large portion of the Thirty-sixth Mississippi regiment, although never having formed a line of battle or heard a hostile gun before, behaved with that gallantry and spirit which characterized the troops of that chivalrous State on every field.

On July 4, the defenders of Vicksburg surrendered, and the 36th Regiment was taken prisoner along with the rest of the Confederate garrison.

The regiment was exchanged, reorganized, and assigned to the brigade of General Claudius W. Sears before being sent to Georgia in the spring of 1864.

[1] After the Confederate defeat at Atlanta, the 36th Regiment joined General John Bell Hood's Franklin–Nashville campaign, fighting at Allatoona, Franklin, and Nashville.