Forrest Ancestor and Forrest's Cavalry

PerkinsCSA

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Apr 21, 2017
As I mentioned in another post, the search is ongoing for my gggrandfather's civil war records. His name was Solomon E. Perkins from McNairy County, TN b. April 1846 d. May 1914. According to his wife's, Nancy Elizabeth Wardlow Perkins, widow's pension applications dated 1921 and 1924, Solomon served from 1862 to the end of the war and was under the command of officers named Wisdom, Damron and Wilson. I read somewhere several years ago something that led me to believe Solomon might have been in Forrest's Escort Cavalry, but I no longer have the reference. Do any of you have any information that might shed some light on this?

Much thanks,
Ray Perkins
 
From the subordinate officers you named, I believe that this would have been the 18th Regiment or Newsom's Cavalry. It was recruited behind federal lines in 1864 and many members had previous experience in other units.

Captain John Robert Damron - Company F
Captain William Wilson - Company C
Colonel Drew M Wisdom

It served under Forrest but was not part of the escort....

from NPS>Battle Unit Details

18th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Newsom's)
Overview:
18th Cavalry Regiment [also called 19th Regiment] was organized in May, 1864, by consolidating six companies of Newsom's Tennessee Cavalry Regiment and four companies of Forrest's Alabama Cavalry Regiment. Its members were recruited in Hardeman, Madison, Henderson, and McNairy counties. The unit was assigned to T.H. Bell's Brigade in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. In Mississippi it sustained 22 casualites at Brice's Cross Roads and 95 at Harrisburg. Later the regiment was active in Tennessee and in March, 1865, was consolidated with the 20th Tennessee Cavalry. It moved to Alabama and on May 3, the 18th/20th contained 29 officers and 217 men. The next day they were included in the surrender of the department. The field officers were Colonels John F. Newsom and Dew Moore Wisdom, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph D. Ozier, and Majors William Y. Baker and William T. Parham.
 
Welcome! Always glad to see a new face here - looks like you've gotten an answer already. :D We're not too shabby at it here where all things Forrest come to roost!
 
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