Camp Jefferson Davis - Soldiers Return From The Mexican War - 1848

Camp Jefferson Davis - Soldiers Return From The Mexican War - 1848. . After the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February, 1848, ending the Mexican War, 80,000 US Troops returned to the US for reassignment or discharge. To alleviate the crowded port conditions of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile, and St. Louis, the War Department authorized that a re-organization camp and hospital for regular army troops be established near Pascagoula. , In June, 1848, 2000 soldiers of General David E. Twiggs Brigade arrived from Vera Cruz, Mexico and established Camp Jefferson Davis for one half mile along this coast line. The Brigade consisted of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th US Infantry Regiments and the 2nd US Dragoons. To reach the shore in the shallow bay, all troops and supplies were transferred to light draft steamers. Camp Lawson, a significant hospital complex was established one half mile southeast on the point of Greenwood Island. Camp Corrine, named for a local belle, Corrine Krebs, was established two miles north of the village, near the river for the 2nd Dragoons and their horses. Camp Davis was named for the hero of the Battle of Buena Vista and the new senator from Mississippi a man that would someday be President of the Confederacy. The camp was in the open with no barracks or tents and the troops conditions were little better than the conditions in Mexico. The officers were quartered in hotels in the village of Pascagoula one mile to the west. , During the brigades 6 month stay, 800 soldiers were discharged, 600 new recruits arrived, 100 deserted, and 137 perished. By the end of November, 1848, the brigade had been broken up and scattered to numerous posts across the new American frontier from Texas to California. Of the fewer than 100 officers at Camp Jefferson Davis, 26 would later become generals during the Civil War. The most famous was First Lieutenant Ulysses Grant of the 4th Infantry, stationed at Pascagoula for a week before obtaining a furlough to be married in St Louis., Legacy: Some of the first roads in Pascagoula are named for the battle victories of the soldiers camped here in 1848: Buena Vista, Resaca de la Palma, and Churubusco Streets., [Photo Captions] , Left bottom: Lt. U. S. Grant , Right top: Regimental Colors of 4th Infantry