Confederate Biography on a Tombstone



Grave of Confederate Soldier John Harrod
New Hope Cemetery, Georgia 

While exploring the New Hope Cemetery, Paulding County, Georgia, I was very interested to see that someone, perhaps a descendent of the deceased, has placed a biography of Confederate Lt. Col. John Harrod on his tombstone.  This is a great idea, and inspires me to do something similar on the graves of my own Confederate ancestors in Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky.  Wouldn't it be a great idea if many other Confederate descendents would perpetuate the memory of their ancestors in a similar manner.


The text is below: 

John Harrod
1st Lt. Co. G
then Major
Then Lt. Colonel

John Harrod was born December 24, 1826 in Alabama. He was the son of William L. Harrod (October 20, 1786-September 1, 1866) and Sarah Chewning (May 5, 1785-July 16, 1856). At some point his family moved to Cadaretta, Choctaw Co., MS. At the age of 35, he was elected 1st Lieutenant of Co. G, "Sons of Liberty" which later became the "Davis Guards," of the 33rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment. On August 19, 1863 he was promoted to Major of the regiment. Compiled Service Records do not indicate the exact date he was promoted to Lt. Colonel, but it was probably early January 1864. As the war for the 33rd Mississippi Infantry moved into Georgia, it was at New Hope Church, a few miles from Atlanta, that the Lt. Colonel was wounded "while gallantly leading his regiment in an attack" and later died on June 11, 1864.

According to his daughter's recollections of the war,

"He was shot through the hand and the knee, just as he raised up from behind a tree with his hand on his knee. They had discovered the Yankee scouts on the other side of the hill. Father's boys gave the blood curdling Confederate yell and the Yankees fled; and so they were able to carry Father back to camp. The little church was used as a hospital. They amputated his leg, and when it was nearly healed, gangrene set in, and he died, like thousands of others, died for lack of proper antiseptics...They made him a coffin of one of the church doors, wrapped him in his soldiers (sic) blanket, and buried him there in a nameless grave." (1)

Prior to the war, On March 6, 1851, John had married Sophia Ann Coleman Smith (May 8, 1833-June 21, 1902) in Cadaretta, Choctaw Co., MS. They had five children. After the war she and the children moved to California.

Eyewitness Account of a Confederate Train Wreck

This monument at Fort Hill Cemetery, Cleveland, Tennessee, memorializes the 17 Confederate soldiers of the 33rd Alabama Volunteers, CSA, who died November 4, 1862, in a train wreck south of Cleveland, en route to Chattanooga, during the War Between the States.  In addition to the 17 dead, another 67 soldiers were injured in the accident.


The monument, listing the names of each of the 17 soldiers, was dedicated November 4, 1989, 127 years after the accident. It stands beside another, much older monument which marks the mass grave of 270 unknown Confederate soldiers.

At the time of the accident, the Alabama 33rd had just fought a battle in Kentucky and were on their way to Chattanooga.  There was no time for burials and the ded were laid in hastily dug graves beside the railroad tracks.  The marker for those graves was long since lost so the exact location is known only to God. 

A fascinating eyewitness account of the train wreck was written by a survivor, Pvt. Marvin L. Wheeler, Company A, 33rd Alabama Infantry Regiment. Pvt. Wheeler enlisted July 1862 at Stevenson, Alabama. He was wounded at Chickamauga. The following is taken from Pvt. Wheeler's memoirs:

"It was then the ladder part of October and first of November. Climatic conditions caused Knoxville to be the smokest place we were at, the smok from our green oak wood fires did not rise but settled and remained in a heavy black bank just above the earth and kept our eyes running water nearly all the time that we were not laying down, it being less dense just next to the earth, and we wer glad to leave there one morning early in November in box cars, a company in a car, with three days cooked rations of flour bread, fresh beef and bacon.

"The engines could pull but ten loaded box cars, say twenty four to thirty six feet long. The 33rd moved in the cars, that time by the left flank, the regimental staff officers or those who were along at the time and part of the baggage, the cooking utensils, axes and medicine chest, occupying the rear or tenth box and this time it fell to the lot of Company D, thought its place was not on the extreem right of the battalion, to occupy a box in the second section or train to our rear, the engine of which train frequently pushed our train up the grains when we stalled, as it did up the grade two or three miles south of Cleveland. And while running fast down grade our trained was wrecked about one or two p.m. the day we left Knoxville, south of Cleveland, killing nine or ten of Company G, one or two of Company E and of Company F and of Company H. Seventeen in all, whom we buried the next morning in a long ditch we dug on the southeast side of the railroad track, and built a worn rail fence around them. We pad put sixty seven crippled ones in box cars and sent them back to the hospital at Cleveland the evening of the wreck, soon after getting them out of it.

"Company B was in the box car next to the tender which was heaping full of split wood and it was supposed that a stick of wood dropped off the tender breaking the front axle under our car. At any rate all the wheels suddenling came out from under our car, causing a dreadful jar and clogged under the second car, which Company G Cooper's Co. from Daleville were in. Many were riding on top of the cars as was usual when moving by rail, and were shuck off like shaking peaches off a tree and badly jolted when they hit the ground.

"The coupling Company B's and Company G's boxes parted and the primitive engine carried Company B's box bouncing along without any wheels under it for two or three hundred yards, and it was the roughest riding we ever experienced. Those of Company B in the front end of the box got out at the doors on either side, some of the alighting on their heads.

"The company guns, accountrements, knapsacks and things soon all worked back to the rear end of the box in bouncing along would strike the rails it would us men and things a foot or more from the floor then when the floor would come in contact with us some would be beneath the pile and get bruised and mashed and were all banged up and badly frightened when the old fashioned engine stopped and after gettin out and find we had no broken bones we hurried back to where the cars were piled up in and on top of each other and assisted while men pried up or chopped to pieces the boxes in getting the crippled or dead out.

"We were delayed about twenty four hours, then we rode in a coal car to Chattanooga where we drew crackers and bacon."

Myra Inman, a local Cleveland woman whose Civil War diary has been published, made this entry on the day of the train wreck:

"Wednesday, 5: cloudy day, rained a little this morning. A gloom was spread over our town this morn. Caused by a sad accident which occurred 16 miles from here. The cable of a car broke, which caused 18 men to lose their lives, while 70 were wounded. There brought to the hospitals."

Fort Hill Cemetery, Cleveland, Tennessee
Left: Monument in memory of the 17 dead from the Alabama 33rd Volunteers train wreck.
Right:  Mass Grave Marker for 270 unknown Confederate dead.

Photos by J. Stephen Conn - click on image to enlarge

Sixteen Unknown Confederate Dead in Pikeville, Tennessee

In the remote, beautiful Sequatchie Valley of East Tennessee, about 50 miles north of Chattanooga, are the graves of sixteen unknown Confederate dead. The headstones, pictured here, can be found in the Pikeville City Cemetery, Bledsoe County. Since I live near Pikeville, I have had opportunity to ask several local people about these 16 Confederate soldiers. It is very rare to find a local person who even knows that the tombstones exist, and I have never yet found a person who seems to know much about them. It is so unfortunate that so many American people are oblivious to their their own history.

In the book "Bledsoe County, Tennessee: A History," written by Pikeville native Elizabeth Parham Robnett in 1993, I learned this about the monument:

"According to tradition, General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his troops were in Pikeville for a brief rest while passing through the valley. During their brief stay sixteen of his men die and were buried in the Pikeville City Cemetery. Their graves may been seen there today; marked, "16 Unknown Confederate Soldiers. The site of their camp was on the hill near the Lafayette Academy. Tradition also tells that General Forrest was a guest in the home of Judge Frazier, whose home was near the academy."

Similar grave markers can be found in obscure, old cemeteries throughout the South - sober reminders of a past which we forget at our own peril.

Photo by J. Stephen Conn

Last resting place of Alexander H. Stephens

Alexander H. Stephen's Grave and Statue in front of Liberty Hall



Alexander H. Stephens (1812-1883) is buried in front of his beloved Liberty Hall in Crawfordville, Georgia. He was a United States Congressman both before the War Between the States and after Reconstruction.  He also served in the U.S. Senate and at the time of his death he was serving as the 50th Governor of the State of Georgia.  His highest office was that of Vice President of the Confederate States of America and he held that position for eight days longer than Jefferson Davis served as President.  Stephens took his oath seven days before Davis' inauguration and was captured the day after Davis.

 

Alexander H. Stephens was frail and sickly throughout his life and never weighed more than only 96 pounds. However, because of his superior intelligence, judgement and eloquence, a northern newspaper described him as "the Strongest Man in the South." 

A lifelong bachelor, Stephens acquired a degree of wealth during his lifetime and he shared virtually all of it with the less fortunate.  His generosity was legendary.  He personally financed the education of more than 100 students, including black and white, male and female. His house, Liberty Hall, was always open to travelers or tramps, even when he was Governor of Georgia. So prodigious was his charity, that he died virtually penniless.

The inscription on the grave of Alexander H. Stephens reads:

THIS TABLET

IS A TRIBUTE FROM THE

OLD GUARD

OF THE

GATE CITY GUARD

IN MEMORY OF THEIR

DEPARTED FRIEND

ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS

PATRIOT AND FRIEND

VICE PRESIDENT

OF THE

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA
BORN FEBRUARY ELEVENTH 1812
DIED MARCH FOURTH 1883 
HIS REMAINS REST BENEATH THIS TABLET
***

DEDICATED OCTOBER NINETEENTH 1913

Photos by J. Stephen Conn

Confederate Avenue and a Confederate Victory at the Battle of New Hope Church

Paulding County Courthouse

While passing through the town of Dallas, Georgia recently I was  very interested to notice that the main intersection of town is Confederate Avenue and Main Street.  Dallas is the county seat of Paulding County, which is in the  Atlanta metro area and one of the fastest growing counties in the United States.

Here in Paulding County during the War Between the States, Union General William T. Sherman's invading troops were soundly defeated by the Confederates, May 26-27, 1864, at the battle of New Hope Church.  The Yankees suffered 1,600 casualties at the hands of Confederate defenders under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston.  I'm proud to say that among the Confederates who mauled the Yankee hoards in Paulding County was one of my great, great uncles, Pvt. John Thomas Conn.  Unfortunately, Uncle John Thomas was the only one of four Conn brothers from Georgia who survived the War.  The Yankees had already killed three of his brothers - two of my uncles and my great, great grandfather. 

My Conn ancestors lived in Big Shanty (now Kennesaw), Georgia.   The town was called Big Shanty because it consisted of just a big cluster of shanties occupied by poor tenent farmers and railroad workers along the tracks where it skirts Kennesaw Mountain.  The only crime of the people of Big Shanty was that they dared to defend their homes (shanties) and their families against a brutal and merciless invading Union army.  After Sherman and his men murdered all the people they could in Big Shanty, they burned the town, leaving the survivors (women, children and feeble old men) destitute and homeless.

This Confederate Flag, now surrounded by the urban sprawl of Metropolitan Atlanta, still waves proudly. and defiantly, over the graves of Confederate dead at the New Hope Cemetery in Paulding County.

Fort Lancaster, on the Confederacy's Western Frontier

Ruins of Historic Fort Lancaster in West Texas

Of all the places that comprised the Confederate States of America from 1861–1865, few were as remonte as Fort Lancaster, on the high, arid plains of west Texas.

Established in 1855, Fort Lancaster was one in a series of forts erected along the western Texas frontier. It was located on 82 acres in the Pecos River Valley of Crocket County, 33 miles west of the small county seat town of Ozona. The fort's purpose was to guard the mail, supplies, and immigrants moving along the lower San Antonio–El Paso Road.

Fort Lancaster housed approximately 150 men and 3 officers. In 1856 a United States Army Inspector visited the fort and found that the soldiers were so untrained, he didn’t want them to demonstrate rifle firing. He also discovered 76 prisoners in the guardhouse, 15 of them there for drunkenness. The Inspector reported, "they desire nothing better than to get drunk and lay in the guardhouse." The problem stemmed partly because of lack of officers and also poor conditions at the fort. The men were living in what was called "hackadales," portable frames covered with canvas. The living quarters were soon improved.

The fort saw little action, but in 1857, a wagon train was ambushed by Indians about 25 miles away. The soldiers were able defeat the Indians, with the loss of only one sergeant.

Fort Lancaster was surrendered to the Texans in 1861, at the beginning of the War Between the States. The fort became a part of the Confederate far western frontier line. It played a role in protecting the supply line from Arizona in the New Mexico Campaign of 1861-62. The campaign was intended to make the Confederacy a nation which would have stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Confederate “Minute Men” from the 2nd Texas Calvary occupied this lonely post. The fort was inspected by Confederate General Henry Hopkins Sibley in the fall of 1861. Regular patrols guarded supply trains and checked Indian activities. When things became dull, the troops entertained themselves by putting out a camp newspaper and spiced things up with the nightly sport of shooting pesky coyotes.

The fort was abandoned in 1867, only to be reactivated briefly as a sub-post during the Kiowa-Comanche troubles of 1871. Today Fort Lancaster is a State Historical Site, operated by the Texas Historical Commission. A handful of graves on the property contain the remains of those who died at this remote, windswept outpost. One of them was a Confederate soldier, Private J. H. Norris, whose tombstone is a silent reminder of the War for Southern Independence.

The lonely grave of Confederate Private J. H. Norris, Fort Lancaster, Texas

Why My Confederate Uncles Fought at Perryville

In my last post, I shared the #1 most interesing photo out of more than 15,000 travel pictures I have on Flickr.com. Today I am posting the #2 favorite, along with the description I give on Flicker. It is especially interesting to me that both of these top favorites - as determined by the amount of views from the general public - are on Confederate themes, when 98% of my Flickr travel pics have absolutely nothing to do with the Confederacy. This is an indication of the intense worldwide interest people have in America's War Between the States.



This is the final photo in a set in which I share the tragic story of two of my great uncles, Confederate soldiers from Georgia, who fought to defend their homeland against an invading Northern army in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky.

In war the victors write the history, and the politically correct version of America's un-Civil War heard most often today is that the North fought to free the slaves in the South. Virtually no serious historian believes that, but many average citizens do.

The Conn family, like the vast majority of Southerners, owned no slaves. My Conn ancestors came to America as indentured servants from Ireland. Some of my other ancestors were Cherokee - Native Americans. There were more abolitionists, anti-slavery societies and free blacks in the South than in the North. More than 60,000 blacks, both slave and free, were in the Confederate army.

The Southern commander, General Robert E. Lee, called slavery "a moral and political evil" years before the war. When Lee inherited slaves, through his wife's family, he freed them. General Ulysses S. Grant, the Union commander, was a slave owner who refused to give up his slaves even after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Slavery would have soon ended in the South without war, and the needless slaughter of 620,000 men and tens of thousands of innocent Southern civilians, including blacks, whites women and children. Slavery would have ended peacefully in the South just as it did in Massachusetts (Which had slaves for decades before Georgia did), New York (The largest of the slave trading states - all of them in the North), and in scores of other countries, all without war.

The battle of Perryville, where two of my great uncles fought, took place during the second year of the War, and it was not until the beginning of the following year that Abraham Lincoln made his Emancipation Proclamation in an effort to change the course of his war for power and empire. Lincoln called his proclamation a "war measure." It was rhetoric that did not free a single slave, including slaves in several northern states. Freedom didn't come until the ratification of the 13th Amendment, months after the war was over.

At the Perryville Visitors Center are many quotes from soldiers who fought there. Among them I did not see a single mention of slavery. In their own words, the Southern men fought to defend their homes and families. They felt that America should remain a confederacy of sovereign states with a limited federal government, as outlined by our founding fathers in the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln and the North fought to squash states rights and institute an all powerful, centralized empire. Before the war America was always called "these" United States. Now it is "the" United States.

There are many good books that tell the truth about the War Between the States, but you won't find many of them in Federally funded public schools.

***

You may see the entire story on my Flickr site by clicking here: http://flickr.com/photos/jstephenconn/2886700867/in/set-72157607484183354/

-

Photo and Article by J. Stephen Conn

Confederate Veteran John Wesley Colquett Honored

By Curtis Thomasson
Andalusia Star-News

ANDALUSIA, ALABAMA - A memorial service was held in honor of Confederate Veteran John Wesley Colquett on Saturday, November 15, at his grave site in the historic Bullock Community Cemetery, located adjacent to the Friendship Baptist Church in the Southern area of Crenshaw County. The Colquett family requested that the Covington Rifles Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans assist them in paying tribute to their ancestor and unveiling a grave marker designating his service.

In addition to the grave of John Wesley Colquett, there are 18 others in this cemetery for Confederate Veterans. A local citizen of the area, Louise Marler, placed Confederate Battle Flags at the graves of each of these prior to the dedication ceremony.

More than 100 descendants of John Wesley Colquett along with friends and members of Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Daughters of the Confederacy and Confederate Reenactors gathered for the historical occasion. Following a military call for attention, Curtis Thomasson, commander of the Covington Rifles who served as emcee for the program, recognized Jeanine Bozeman, great granddaughter of the veteran, to welcome those in attendance. Lex Colquett, a great great grandson voiced the invocation.

Curtis Thomasson presented opening comments expressing the pleasure of the Covington Rifles to be assisting in the program and the significance of honoring one’s Confederate ancestor and heritage through this project. He briefly described the five flags of the Confederacy, which formed the background for the ceremony and then led the group in saluting the Confederate Flag. This was followed by Rex Harrison, great great grandson, leading the group in singing “Dixie.”

William Harrison, another great great grandson, presented a brief sketch of the veteran’s life and service in the Confederate Army. Most appropriately, a great great great grandson, Jon Wesley Colquett, who was named for the ancestor, unveiled the new Confederate marker. Then two great great great great grandsons, Trey and Walt Spurlin, posted two small Confederate Battle Flags at the headstone. Angela Colquett Nelson, great great granddaughter, who coordinated the occasion, placed a memorial wreath next to the grave marker.

Bob McLendon, Commander of the SCV Camp in Troy, gave a brief report from the book which he has written on the history of the 53rd Alabama Partisan Rangers. He was wearing a uniform typical of those worn by men in the unit such as the Colquett brothers. Bob made his books available for sale during the fellowship following the ceremony.

Next, three Confederate reenactors, Bob McLendon, Dallas Hudson, and Joe Rich, fired a traditional three-gun military salute. They then furled the Confederate Battle Flag, and the program was concluded with the playing of “Taps” by Straughn High School Bandsman Erica Zigler.

Following the taking of pictures, those in attendance were invited to fellowship and refreshments in the church’s fellowship room. There were displays of family history and photos along with a guest registry book.

The honored veteran, John Wesley Colquett was born April 22, 1846, in Monticello, Pike County, Alabama. His parents were William Bethea and Mary (Miles) Colquett, natives of South Carolina who moved to Alabama during the 1830s. William Bethea Colquett was a prominent physician and citizen in the Bullock community. He had a large house on the Old Three Notch Road next door to his son, John Wesley. He was responsible for founding the Bullock School, an academy located adjacent to the Friendship Church.

As the War Between the States advanced, the rural community of Bullock became more and more affected. John Wesley Colquett along with many men responded to the call for volunteers. In November 1862, John Wesley enlisted at the age of 16 years. He was assigned to Company H, 53rd Regiment of the Alabama Partisan Rangers. He served with this unit until the end of the war in 1865.

There's more. For the full story go to: http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/news/2008/dec/06/confederate-vet-john-wesley-colquett-honored-satur/

Three charged with desecrating Confederate officer's grave

Tidewater News
By Jena Passut, http://www.tidewaternews.com/news/2008/dec/02/three-charged-desecrating-confederate-officers-gra/

COURTLAND, VIRGINIA — Three men have been arrested and charged in connection with the June desecration of a Confederate grave at the Gillette family cemetery east of Courtland. Kyle Sinclair Burks, 21, Aaron Richard Howard, 20, and Justin Thomas Rainey, 23, were charged with one count each of violation of sepulcher and attempted grand larceny. Southampton County authorities who made the arrest would not speculate on the men's motive.

Southampton County lawmen have made arrests in last summer's desecration of a Confederate grave site.

The three are accused of digging up the grave of Maj. Joseph Ezra Gillette, the man for whom the Urquhart-Gillette Camp 1471 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans was named.
Gillette served as a captain and then a major in the 13th Virginia Cavalry. He died at his family’s ancestral home, “Cedar Lawn,” on Nov. 1, 1863, from wounds he received at Brandy Station. He is buried in a small family cemetery that is maintained by the local SCV camp.

Detective Cpl. Richard Morris, a spokesman for the Southampton Sheriff’s Office, said after the incident that vandals had dug 4 feet into the grave and there was “nothing to indicate” that the vandals had reached Gillette’s remains.