- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
Brooks County lies in southern Georgia, along the border with Florida. In March 1862, a company known as the “Brooks Volunteers” was raised at Quitman, the county seat. It became Company K of the 50th Georgia Infantry, part of the brigade commanded by Brigadier General Paul J. Semmes at Gettysburg. Like many Georgia units, its service records are spotty for the period of the campaign, and since no brigade report was submitted by the mortally wounded Semmes, it is not easy to reconstruct the regiment’s role at Gettysburg. We are least fortunate in having one excellent account by a member of the company – Sergeant William M. Jones. In addition, the acting company commander, Lieutenant John G. McCall, was a prominent figure. Otherwise, we are compelled to rely upon dry facts about individual soldiers, although some insight is derived from post-war pension applications.
We can be certain that the company and the regiment as a whole suffered terribly on July 2 from Federal artillery. Company K received one of those particularly destructive single shots just as it stood up to begin the advance, which killed two men, wounded two more gravely, and perhaps others less seriously. During its advance to the farm dwellings of George Rose, it endured a gauntlet of fire from 18 cannon at close range, namely three batteries under the command of Captains A. Judson Clark, Charles A. Philips and John Bigelow. The apparent net effect was to whittle the regiment down from an estimated initial strength of about 30 officers and 272 enlisted men, to just a few dozen effectives, within the span of 45 minutes.
So far as is known, Company K entered the fight with but one officer and approximately 27 enlisted men, if it was of average size. The following list identifies the officer and 16 of those men, in addition to three detailed non-combatants. My draft map (attached) map depicts the 50th Georgia while it was huddling in disorder around the Rose house due to ongoing fire from enemy artillery posted on or near the Wheatfield road. Only 40 or so men subsequently rallied to support the 3rd South Carolina of Kershaw’s brigade as it withstood the attacking Federal infantry brigades of Zook (Freudenberg) and Kelly.
John Goldwire McCall, 1st Lieutenant, present, commanding Company K. “In looking over the battlefield for a wounded brother [Wilson C. McCall], he came near to being caught by the ambulance corps of the Federal army, who by agreement had been allowed to come over and bury their dead.” (Normally an informal truce existed between opposing search parties. On the night of July 3, it was also the case that Federals from McCandless’ brigade gathered up Confederates who ventured near the Rose buildings.) During the retreat of the army, while guarding a bridge over Antietam Creek on July 10, a ball (gunshot) shattered McCall’s right jaw. On July 25, he was admitted to General Hospital #4 in Richmond, and was given a furlough for 60 days on July 27. His wound healed rapidly, however. Born on January 18, 1836 in Screven County, Georgia, he graduated from Union University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1858. He became professor of Greek and Hebrew at the university until the war broke out. Post-war he served as a probate judge and the mayor of Quitman. In 1917, William Moore Jones described him as a “gallant and trustworthy officer, always ready to perform all the duties devolving upon him, and worthy of everything coming his way.” On August 26, 1920, he vouched for the pension application of a former soldier, James A. Groover. McCall died on December 3, 1921 in Brooks County. (Confederate Reminiscences and Letters, 1861-1865, Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Atlanta, Georgia (1995-2000), vol. 6, pp. 38-39; Memoirs of Georgia: Containing Historical Accounts, Atlanta, GA: The Southern Historical Association, 1895, vol. 1, p. 384; Confederate Military History, Extended Addition, vol. VII, Georgia, pp. 803-804; Compiled Service Records, Fold3; The History of Brooks County, Georgia, 1858-1948, Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, Publishers, 1978, pp. 119-123; Georgia’s Virtual Vault, Confederate Pension Applications, Thomas County and Brooks County; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30170823/john-goldwire-mccall)
Wilson C. McCall, [4th?] Sergeant, wounded. Brother of Lt. John G. McCall. He enlisted at Quitman on March 4, 1862. Following his wounding at Gettysburg, he was admitted to General Hospital #9 in Richmond on July 25. He was afterwards promoted to sergeant major of the regiment. He died in 1914. (Compiled Service Records, Fold3; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37769109/wilson-c-mccall)
William Moore Jones, 5th Sergeant, wounded. During the advance on July 2, a canister ball struck his right leg between the ankle and knee joint. Carried off the field on a stretcher by James Brice and Clem Humphreys, his foot was amputated in a field hospital by brigade surgeon George Rogers Clark Todd (the brother of Mary Todd Lincoln), aided by the 50th’s Assistant Surgeon Henry J. Parramore. On the retreat, Jones occupied an ambulance with Captain A. J. McBride of the 10th Georgia, but he was left behind in Williamsport, Maryland and taken to a field hospital in Hagerstown. From there he was sent on to the General Hospital near Chester, Pennsylvania, followed by confinement at Point Lookout, until he was exchanged on March 17, 1864. He retired from active service on October 25, 1864. Born September 13, 1841 to Malachi D. Jones (father) and Sarah (mother), he enlisted in his hometown of Quitman, where his family had a plantation. He was wounded at Chancellorsville two months prior to Gettysburg. Jones died and was buried in Boston, Thomas County, Georgia on March 3, 1936. (Georgia’s Virtual Vault, Confederate Pension Applications, Thomas County and Brooks County; Reminiscence by Sgt. William Jones, 50th Georgia Infantry, by Keith Bohannon, Military Images, May-June 1988; War Services and Diary of Sgt. William Moore Jones, Confederate Reminiscences and Letters, 1861-1865, Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Atlanta, GA: 1995, vol. V, p. 118)
Kasper G. Duncan, 3rd Corporal, wounded in the foot. He enlisted on March 4, 1862 at Quitman. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
James “Jim” M. Alderman, Corporal, killed. As noted, an artillery shell exploded above Company K just as the advance began on July 2, killing Alderman and James Dixon, and wounding George H. Merriman, Jesse N. Stephens and others. He had enlisted March 4, 1862 at Quitman. His owed back pay and allowances were given to his father, George Alderman, on February 3, 1864. (Reminiscence by Sgt. William Jones, 50th Georgia Infantry, by Keith Bohannon, Military Images, May-June 1988; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
William R. Alvis, Private, wounded, captured. Wounded in the heel and hip, he was left behind and sent to DeCamp General Hospital on David’s Island, New York, where he was paroled on August 24, 1863. He was captured again toward the close of the war, and when released from Point Lookout on June 22, 1865, was described as having a dark complexion, dark hair, hazel eyes, and standing 5’ 2 1/2” tall. He enlisted April 24, 1862 at Quitman. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
(David) James Brice, Private, present. James Brice was detailed as an ambulance driver in the regiment, and he also served as a litter bearer during the battle, taking wounded men off the field on the night of July 2, including Sgt. William M. Jones. (Reminiscence by Sgt. William Jones, 50th Georgia Infantry, by Keith Bohannon, Military Images, May-June 1988; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
James “Jim” M. Dixon, Private, killed. Killed by the same exploding artillery shell that claimed James Alderman and wounded several others prior to the advance on July 2. He had enlisted on May 13, 1862 at Quitman. (Reminiscence by Sgt. William Jones, 50th Georgia Infantry, by Keith Bohannon, Military Images, May-June 1988; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
Virgil A. Giddings, Private, wounded. The nature of his wound is not known. He enlisted May 6, 1862 at Quitman, and was killed at Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
James A. Groover, Private, present. He enlisted on March 4, 1862 at Quitman, and died on May 9, 1882 in Brooks County. (Georgia’s Virtual Vault, Confederate Pension Applications, Thomas County)
Clement T. “Clem” Humphreys, Private, present. Humphreys was detailed as an ambulance driver/litter bearer in the regiment, and he worked with James Brice in removing the wounded from the battlefield on the night of July 2, including Sgt. William M. Jones. In 1862, he had been detached as a nurse to a hospital in Macon, Georgia. When paroled at Thomasville, Georgia on May 17, 1865, he was described as being 5’ 8” tall, with dark hair, black-colored eyes and a fair complexion. (Reminiscence by Sgt. William Jones, 50th Georgia Infantry, by Keith Bohannon, Military Images, May-June 1988; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
Tarlton B. Joyce, Private, wounded, captured. Wounded in the hip, he was left behind when the army retreated. Taken to DeCamp General Hospital in New York City for only a few weeks, he was paroled on August 24, 1863 and returned to duty. He had enlisted on March 20, 1862 at Quitman. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
James M. Kelly, Private, wounded. The nature of his wound was not described, but he rejoined the regiment until he was captured at the end of the war on April 6, 1865. He enlisted March 4, 1862 at Quitman. When he took the oath of allegiance at Point Lookout on June 28, 1865, he was listed as having light brown hair, blue eyes, a light complexion and stood 5’ 4 1/2” tall. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
John Hardy King, Private, wounded. The nature of his wound was not indicated, but he recovered and was subsequently seriously wounded at Knoxville on November 29, 1863. He enlisted May 11, 1862 at Quitman. He died in 1912 in Berrien County, Georgia and was buried at Fellowship Baptist Church Cemetery in Cook County. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3; Confederate Casualties at Gettysburg by John W. Busey and Travis W. Busey, 1:485; Georgia’s Virtual Vault, Confederate Pension Applications, Berrien County)
John G. F. McCall (his relationship to the McCall brothers above is not known), Private, wounded. The nature of his wounds were not mentioned, and he was admitted to Winder Hospital in Richmond. Returning to his regiment, he was killed at Petersburg on June 19, 1864. He had enlisted March 4, 1862 at Quitman. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
George Henry Merriman, Private, wounded, captured. He was wounded in the left breast and lung by a shell fragment which caused hemorrhage and difficult respiration. Left behind in a field hospital after the battle, he arrived at DeCamp General Hospital on David’s Island, New York by July 24. Paroled on August 24, he was admitted to a Petersburg, Virginia hospital on August 28, and furloughed on September 4. Throughout 1864, he spent time in a hospital at Tallahassee, Florida. He was retired from the service on November 22, 1864, and was paroled at Madison, Florida on May 20, 1865. Merriman had enlisted on April 20, 1862 at Quitman. His wife, Caroline Lewis, applied for a pension in Jefferson County, Florida in 1888. (Florida Confederate Pension Applications; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
Jesse N. Stephens, Private, wounded. He was wounded just over the left eye and left temple by a fragment from an exploding shell at the start of the advance, which fractured three inches of bone and permanently blinded him in the left eye. He was received at General Hospital #9 in Richmond on July 20, 1863 and sent the next day to Camp Winder General Hospital. He had enlisted at Quitman on March 4, 1862 and was paroled at Thomasville on May 21, 1865. Stephens was born on April 7, 1833 in Liberty County, Georgia. His wife Cornelia applied for a pension in Suwannee County, Florida in 1896. (Compiled Service Records, Fold3; Florida Confederate Pension Applications)
Henry H. Strickland, Private, wounded. He enlisted March 4, 1862 at Quitman. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
Benjamin Franklin Whittington, Private, present. He was detailed during the battle, probably in a non-combatant role. (Confederate Reminiscences and Letters, 1861-1865, Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Atlanta, Georgia (1995-2000), vol. 2, p. 35; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
Leonard Winters, Private, wounded, captured. Type of wound not described. He was captured at Cashtown on July 5 or else at Falling Waters on July 14. Being sent to the General Hospital at Chester, Pennsylvania, he died from pneumonia on either September 23 or 30, 1863. (Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, July 31, 1863, casualty list; Compiled Service Records, Fold3)
Attachments
Last edited by a moderator: