8th Mississippi Inf Help

[Sheltowee]

Hey Folks,
Looking for a bit of a push here. For whatever reason, CW vets in my family tree are few- and especially Confederate. So when I found this record of Doswell "Dauz" Stephens, I was very excited. Dauz was born in Kentucky (1822)- supposedly served in the 8th MS Inf, and is buried in Smith County. MS (1863).

I have attached photos- hope they display. Here is where it gets murky. I can find no record of this man in the 8th MS- let alone Co. C. The regiment roster I located has no listing for him. I can find no widow pension application. All I can find is a headstone application from 1940- note the "not found C.S.A." remark at top left.

Seems there should be some account of his service? Any help would be most gladly received.

 

[lupaglupa]

I couldn't find Doswell Stephens in the 8th MS either. I did find three other Stephens in Company C, two of whom died. All three were listed in the Smith County Roster of Soldiers, held by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. That county wide roster does include a D. Stephens in Company H of the 46th Mississippi. Could this be Dauz? Records at Fold3 show D. Stephens enlisted in April of 1862 for one year. He was sent home sick July 2, 1862. Place of enlistment is Raleigh. There are no other cards.

Could it be that later generations got the units mixed up? The request was made 80 years after his death and the children were young when he died. Maybe the information passed down to them was inaccurate.

 

[Sheltowee]

I couldn't find Doswell Stephens in the 8th MS either. I did find three other Stephens in Company C, two of whom died. All three were listed in the Smith County Roster of Soldiers, held by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. That county wide roster does include a D. Stephens in Company H of the 46th Mississippi. Could this be Dauz? Records at Fold3 show D. Stephens enlisted in April of 1862 for one year. He was sent home sick July 2, 1862. Place of enlistment is Raleigh. There are no other cards.

Could it be that later generations got the units mixed up? The request was made 80 years after his death and the children were young when he died. Maybe the information passed down to them was inaccurate.

Thanks so much! I will certainly investigate.

 

[OldSarge79]

Reading that gravestone application, there is something which merits further investigation.

Note the term in quotation marks, "True Confederates," which appears to be the source of the information. Those quotation marks indicate that it is some kind of titled list or publication. Those specific dates of enlistment and discharge had to come from somewhere.

Have you checked with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History?

 

[lupaglupa]

Reading that gravestone application, there is something which merits further investigation.

Note the term in quotation marks, "True Confederates," which appears to be the source of the information. Those quotation marks indicate that it is some kind of titled list or publication. Those specific dates of enlistment and discharge had to come from somewhere.

Have you checked with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History?

"True Confederates" is the nickname of Company C.

 

[OldSarge79]

"True Confederates" is the nickname of Company C.

Well, that explains that. I had hopes.

 

[OldSarge79]

The applicant, O.L. Stephens, must have been a relative. Do you know who that was, and can you check with his descendants to see if any paperwork he had might still be in a box somewhere?

 

[Sheltowee]

The applicant, O.L. Stephens, must have been a relative. Do you know who that was, and can you check with his descendants to see if any paperwork he had might still be in a box somewhere?

I have found a grandson O.L. in another tree- sent a message to owner. Hoping i get a reply to clarify. Thank you for your help!

 

[DixieRifles]

I love a good mystery when it comes to Missippy regiments.

The history of the 46 Mississippi Regiment says it was formed from the 6th BATTALION Infantry on Dec 2, 1862.
The history of the 6th Battalion says it was assembled in Meridian in April 1862. It was ordered to Vicksburg where it was under the bombardment if May 20 to July 27, 1862. The battalion suffered from sickness.
Then it says some of the companies were sent to Virginia. These companies were captured and exchanged, returning to Mississippi. They reformed as the 46th Mississippi Regiment.

I thought I would find some connection of the 8th Mississippi Regt with either the 46 Miss or 6 Battalion— nothing so far.

Source: Dunbar Rowland's "Military History of Mississippi".

 

[DixieRifles]

That county wide roster does include a D. Stephens in Company H of the 46th Mississippi. Could this be Dauz? Records at Fold3 show D. Stephens enlisted in April of 1862 for one year. He was sent home sick July 2, 1862. Place of enlistment is Raleigh.

I think so, too.
Where was he living in the 1860 Census.

 

[Sheltowee]

I love a mystery, as well, but this one is driving me a bit batty!

True Confederates matches Co. C- which matches Smith County MS..... but finding nothing. I did check the possible 46th Miss Inf connection, but not able to turn up anything definitive, yet. Some of the 6th Battalion was indeed raised in Smith Co.

Kind of important to me- as I have very little CW ancestors. My people are from the upper Cumberland plateau- which apparently produced either indifference to the war- or marauders who used the conflict to wage their own isolated "civil war".

I have found blood ancestors in the 1st Ky Cav (US) and 2nd Tenn Mtd Inf (US)- both of whom died in Andersonville. And several who "served" in a home guard unit- East Tennessee National Guards. Have one who was in the 12th Ky Inf (US), and one in the 3rd Ark Cav (US).

The only definite confederate I have found is a gr gr gr granduncle who saw combat around Chattanooga and Georgia as part of the 26th Tenn Inf. So finding this connection to the 8th Miss would be really neat.

Like everyone, I'm just trying to build my own storyline- but it must be accurate. Appreciate all the kind responses!

 

[Sheltowee]

I think so, too.
Where was he living in the 1860 Census.

View attachment 421876

View attachment 421877

Thanks again- I do find 1860 census record of him living in Smith Co. Hoping my request to another ancestor provides more details.

 

[DixieRifles]

I have found blood ancestors in the 1st Ky Cav (US) and 2nd Tenn Mtd Inf (US)- both of whom died in Andersonville. And several who "served" in a home guard unit- East Tennessee National Guards. Have one who was in the 12th Ky Inf (US), and one in the 3rd Ark Cav (US).

Did you check for him in a Union regiment from Tennessee? There was an 8 Tenn Infantry regiment. But now we are just guessing.

So he was residing in Smith County, Miss. in 1860?
Im not sure where that is.

 

[Sheltowee]

Did you check for him in a Union regiment from Tennessee? There was an 8 Tenn Infantry regiment. But now we are just guessing.

So he was residing in Smith County, Miss. in 1860?
Im not sure where that is.

County seat is Raleigh. So it is possible he was originally in the 6th Bn.

 

[lupaglupa]

If I had to weave a story, I'd say that he did join the 6th (which became the 46th). He served a short time before becoming sick and came home. He never really recovered from the illness and died. There were other Stephens men from the close family who served in the 8th. The one who survived came home with stories and left a vivid memory in the mind of Dauz Stephen's children/grandchildren. They wanted to honor him with a tombstone. They used the memory they had - which was strongly of the 8th - to fill out the form. No deception involved, just poor record keeping by a grieving family.

 

[DixieRifles]

They used the memory they had - which was strongly of the 8th - to fill out the form. No deception involved, just poor record keeping by a grieving family.

Sounds reasonable.
I thought the best clue was they remember the company name "True Confederates". But they could have remember the company for the other relatives.
I would recommend a search of local libraries and even Court House for a list of citizens who served. They can have errors too as it is based upon recollection of veterans years later. Ive found an informal list of names in a court house.

 

[Sheltowee]

If I had to weave a story, I'd say that he did join the 6th (which became the 46th). He served a short time before becoming sick and came home. He never really recovered from the illness and died. There were other Stephens men from the close family who served in the 8th. The one who survived came home with stories and left a vivid memory in the mind of Dauz Stephen's children/grandchildren. They wanted to honor him with a tombstone. They used the memory they had - which was strongly of the 8th - to fill out the form. No deception involved, just poor record keeping by a grieving family.

I like it- A likely narrative. I will continue looking- will try to check Smith County archives.

 

[lupaglupa]

I like it- A likely narrative. I will continue looking- will try to check Smith County archives.

It looked to me like Dauz's widow had remarried by 1870 and the children were some with her, some not. Is that correct? One possible source could be a pension record, if she got a pension. You can read the applications online but you have to have the name the widow filed under. I did not see an application under Martha Stephens. Nor did I see one for a D. Stephens. There are lists online of who was receiving assistance in each county. If she stayed in Smith County AND got a pension, she will be on those lists.

 

[Sheltowee]

Yes- according to another tree, she remarried. Her name of record is Martha Wooley. But, as usual, I am unable to locate a widow's pension.

 

[lupaglupa]

Yes- according to another tree, she remarried. Her name of record is Martha Wooley. But, as usual, I am unable to locate a widow's pension.

I don't know the ins and outs of Mississippi's pension rules but they do always ask if the widow has remarried - that may well have made her ineligible.