TX Oswald Cemetery, Clifton, and Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery, Smiths Bend, Bosque County, Labor Day Weekend 2021

Pvt. Anthony C. Warren, Co. B, 30th Texas Cavalry (1st Texas Partisan Rangers). 3 fold3 pages...an Index Card, Company Muster-in Roll and Company Muster Roll. He mustered-in at age 32 at Camp McCullough (which I believe was in Waco) on July 1, 1862 for 3 years or the war. The only CMR is for July/August 1863 and he was "Present". About the 30th Texas Cavalry from NPS:

"30th Cavalry Regiment [also called 1st Texas Partisan Rangers] was organized at Waco, Texas, during the summer of 1862. It was formed with about 800 from Waco and Round Rock, and Hill Country. Assigned to D.H. Cooper's, Gano's, and Parsons' Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Department, it fought in Arkansas and later in the Indian Territory. The unit reported 16 casualties at Poison Spring and 19 at Cabin Creek. During May, 1865, it disbanded at Austin, Texas."

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CTX0030RC

He filed a Pension Application on 9/17/1925, approved 9/24/1925. He said he enlisted in July 1861 and was discharged in July 1865. He was a farmer in Coryell County with his wife and 2 kids in the 1870 Census. He was in Mills County with his wife as a farmer in the 1910 Census. He died in 1930. His wife, 1 daughter and 5 grandchildren are buried there also. His gravestone, as I found it, looked worse than it did in the 10 year old picture in FindAGrave.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67023682/anthony-c-warren


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Sgt. William J. Harper, Co. F, 51st Georgia Infantry. 14 fold3 pages. He enlisted as 3rd Sgt. on March 4, 1862 for 3 years. He was captured at Frederick, MD on 9/12/1862 and sent to Fort Delaware. He was sent to Aikens Landing, VA on 10/2/1862 for exchange and exchanged on 11/10/1862. There is a gap in his records there. There are a couple of 1864 Company Muster Rolls and a Jan/Feb 1865 CMR that say he was "Absent. Captured Dec. 24, 1863." They don't say where he was captured or sent. He was "Absent with leave." on the March 1865 Regimental Return. Looking at the NPS description of the 51st Georgia Infantry, I am guessing he was captured during the Knoxville Campaign:

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CGA0051RI

He had 2 brothers that served in other Georgia regiments. I could not find anything about when he moved to Texas. His FindAGrave memorial has some good biographical information. Knowing the size and shape of his gravestone from the FindAGrave picture helped me find it. It was hard to read. I sprayed it good before I left.


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67023511/william-jefferson-harper


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Pvt. William S. Callaway, Co. M, 12th Louisiana Infantry. 2 pages in fold3...an Index Card and a Company Muster Roll. He originally enlisted in Co. K, 9th Louisiana Infantry on February 12, 1862 for the war. He and other recruits were captured while on furlough in Huntsville, Alabama in April 1862. After being exchanged at Vicksburg, they were attached to the 12th Louisiana Infantry and became Co. M. This is on a Company Muster Roll dated September 22, 1862. The 12th Louisiana Infantry saw a lot of action:

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CLA0012RI

He filed a Pension Application in August 1899, approved September 1899. He said he enlisted in Co. K, 9th Louisiana Infantry and served 4 years. One of the witnesses said he enlisted in June 1861. He is on the 1900 Census in Bosque County as a day laborer. He died in 1904. His father and a sister are also buried there.


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69082124/william-smith-callaway


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I took a few more pictures on the way out of Oswald Cemetery. The times on my first and last pictures there show that I was there an hour and 50 minutes. I would like to go back there some day but realistically, probably not. I am not often close to there and there are so many on my list that I have yet to visit. Added another one to the list a couple of days ago. :D


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Pvt. Anthony C. Warren, Co. B, 30th Texas Cavalry (1st Texas Partisan Rangers). 3 fold3 pages...an Index Card, Company Muster-in Roll and Company Muster Roll. He mustered-in at age 32 at Camp McCullough (which I believe was in Waco) on July 1, 1862 for 3 years or the war. The only CMR is for July/August 1863 and he was "Present". About the 30th Texas Cavalry from NPS:

"30th Cavalry Regiment [also called 1st Texas Partisan Rangers] was organized at Waco, Texas, during the summer of 1862. It was formed with about 800 from Waco and Round Rock, and Hill Country. Assigned to D.H. Cooper's, Gano's, and Parsons' Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Department, it fought in Arkansas and later in the Indian Territory. The unit reported 16 casualties at Poison Spring and 19 at Cabin Creek. During May, 1865, it disbanded at Austin, Texas."

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CTX0030RC

He filed a Pension Application on 9/17/1925, approved 9/24/1925. He said he enlisted in July 1861 and was discharged in July 1865. He was a farmer in Coryell County with his wife and 2 kids in the 1870 Census. He was in Mills County with his wife as a farmer in the 1910 Census. He died in 1930. His wife, 1 daughter and 5 grandchildren are buried there also. His gravestone, as I found it, looked worse than it did in the 10 year old picture in FindAGrave.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67023682/anthony-c-warren


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That looks like outright vandalism. Granite stones don't just break like that. I suppose it could have been hit by machinery (mower ?) but it's not just age and weathering. Aside from the missing corner piece I could fix that. Several of the others are definitely fixable with a little work. Who knows how many markers in these kinds of little cemeteries are just slowly falling apart and becoming buried. When I see photos I always want to get my stuff and run over there and fix 'em. The old ones were such beauties; shame to lose them.

Keep up the good work !
 
That looks like outright vandalism. Granite stones don't just break like that. I suppose it could have been hit by machinery (mower ?) but it's not just age and weathering. Aside from the missing corner piece I could fix that. Several of the others are definitely fixable with a little work. Who knows how many markers in these kinds of little cemeteries are just slowly falling apart and becoming buried. When I see photos I always want to get my stuff and run over there and fix 'em. The old ones were such beauties; shame to lose them.

Keep up the good work !
I am quite certain that he has kinfolk still living in Bosque County and Coryell County. That cemetery is very much off the beaten path. Besides the mowers, I doubt it gets a lot of visitors in the course of a year. Some that aren't damaged like his are unreadable. I saw some in broken pieces on the ground and sprayed Roundup around them hoping at least that they won't get covered or buried.
 
Sunday morning, September 5th, I visited Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery in the community of Smiths Bend, Bosque County. It got added to my big visit list the Monday before and literally got added to the weekend itinerary on the Wednesday night before when I realized it was only 5 minutes from the lodge we were staying at. These pictures were from the tail end of my visit when the lighting was better. It was a beautiful morning.

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The picture of the cemetery's historical marker that I took when I first got there turned out better than the later pictures.

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My first picture at Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery shows that I arrived at 7:20am. According to FindAGrave there are 834 burials at Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery. There are 7 Confederate veterans buried there...3 have military gravestones and 4 have civilian gravestones. There is one Union veteran with a civilian gravestone buried there. Normally, I don't go to cemeteries that big when I am on family trips because it can take too long to find all the veterans and I don't like to be rushed. There is plenty of room for future burials there too. This on the cemetery's FindAGrave page convinced me to go there on this trip:

"However, just inside the entrance, the cemetery association has erected a large display board. As of April 2011, on one side of the board is a small map of the cemetery divided into 20 sections, and an alphabetic census of the graves with section numbers. On the other side of the board is a map-like representation of each section with labeled squares indicating the approximate location of each grave."

I had my list of veterans and when I got there, I looked them up on the board and wrote down the section they were in. Even with that, at least one was still hard to find. I wish I had taken a picture of that display board because there is not one on the FindAGrave page.

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/6985/smith-bend-coon-creek-cemetery
 
Pvt. Benjamin T. Prather, Co. H, 19th Texas Cavalry. 5 fold3 pages.
He enrolled for duty and Mustered-in at age 17 on April 2, 1862 in Waco for the war. Paid his $50 bounty on June 26, 1862. He's on a Receipt Roll dated February 7, 1863 for commutation of transportation from Washington, Ark. to Waco. That's it in his fold3 records. From NPS about his regiment:

"The unit was attached to Hawes', G.W. Carter's, Flourney's, W. Steele's, and W.H. Parsons' Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Department. During Marmaduke's Missouri Raid, the unit reported 5 killed, 19 wounded, and 9 missing. It went on to skirmish in Arkansas, then was involved in the operations against Banks' Red River Campaign. Later it was again active in Arkansas and ended the war at Marshall, Texas, where it disbanded in May, 1865."

He is on the 1900, 1910 and 1920 Census in Bosque County as a farmer. He died in 1921. His wife and 3 of his kids are buried there also. He and wife have a shared gravestone. His father was married twice and had children in both marriages. One of Pvt. Prather's half-brothers was a President of The University of Texas.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18078856/benjamin-thomas-prather


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Pvt. Thomas J. Smith, Co. A, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery . 11 fold3 pages. He enlisted in Bosque County on July 17, 1862 for the war. He was "Present" on the November 1862 - February 1864 Company Muster Rolls. The Jan/Feb 1863 CMR says "Lt. Lefever's Battery". The May 1864, December 1864 and March 1865 Regimental Returns have him on furlough. The April 1865 RR says "Absent without leave since April 28." The 1st TX HVY ARTY was mostly stationed in Galveston during the war. He died on 12/31/1882. I couldn't find any postwar Census records for him . His wife, 7 children and 6 siblings are buried there too. I had to put the gloves on and do a little landscaping at his gravesite.


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18119212/thomas-jefferson-smith


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Pvt. Elisha Cummins Hallmark, Co. C, Morgan's Regiment Texas Cavalry. 3 fold3 pages...an Index Card, Company Muster Roll and Company Return. He enlisted on June 21, 1862 in Crockett, Texas for 3 years. He is "Present" on the Sept/Oct 1862 Company Muster Roll. He is "Present" on the November 1862 Company Return and "At Division Head Quarters on daily duty." The name of the regiment and roster of soldiers is in the NPS database but there is no unit history. He died in 1880. He had a large family but only he and one son are buried there. I could not find a Headstone Application. As you can see, his civilian gravestone is pretty much gone. His military gravestone says he was a Corporal but that isn't on any of his 3 Muster Records. His widow filed a Pension Application in May 1900, approved March 1901. There were 3 witnesses, 2 in the same Company as her husband.


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6794327/elisha-cummins-hallmark


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Pvt. Anthony C. Warren, Co. B, 30th Texas Cavalry (1st Texas Partisan Rangers). 3 fold3 pages...an Index Card, Company Muster-in Roll and Company Muster Roll. He mustered-in at age 32 at Camp McCullough (which I believe was in Waco) on July 1, 1862 for 3 years or the war. The only CMR is for July/August 1863 and he was "Present". About the 30th Texas Cavalry from NPS:

"30th Cavalry Regiment [also called 1st Texas Partisan Rangers] was organized at Waco, Texas, during the summer of 1862. It was formed with about 800 from Waco and Round Rock, and Hill Country. Assigned to D.H. Cooper's, Gano's, and Parsons' Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Department, it fought in Arkansas and later in the Indian Territory. The unit reported 16 casualties at Poison Spring and 19 at Cabin Creek. During May, 1865, it disbanded at Austin, Texas."

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CTX0030RC

He filed a Pension Application on 9/17/1925, approved 9/24/1925. He said he enlisted in July 1861 and was discharged in July 1865. He was a farmer in Coryell County with his wife and 2 kids in the 1870 Census. He was in Mills County with his wife as a farmer in the 1910 Census. He died in 1930. His wife, 1 daughter and 5 grandchildren are buried there also. His gravestone, as I found it, looked worse than it did in the 10 year old picture in FindAGrave.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67023682/anthony-c-warren


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Wonderful pictures and history as always bdtex! It appears the headstone was possibly damaged by a tree. The stump can be seen behind it in the other photos you listed.
 
It appears the headstone was possibly damaged by a tree. The stump can be seen behind it in the other photos you listed.
I hadn't thought about that. That's possible. In the picture below, the back of that stone is partially visible just below where the sun is peeking through the tree. It's partially obscured by the iron rail on that fenced plot in the center. That might be a tree stump in front of it. Good eye.

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Lt. Ahira Butler, Co. H, 18th Texas Cavalry. 12 fold3 pages. He enlisted on February 10, 1862 for 1 year. He mustered-in at age 46 on March 15, 1862. He was elected 1st Lt. on May 26, 1862. He is "Present" on the Company Muster Rolls from Feb. - Dec. 1862. He got a Certificate of Disability on January 8, 1863. It says "Gunshot wound to left thigh, permanent injury, atrophy..." He tendered his resignation on the same day which was accepted by Lt. Gen. Holmes at Head Quarters, Trans-Mississippi Department, Little Rock on Jan. 10, 1863." Not sure where he was wounded. According to NPS the regiment fought and was captured at Arkansas Post but that battle was Jan. 9-11, 1863 and his Certificate of Disability is dated Jan. 8.

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CTX0018RC

He was born in Tennessee and came to Texas in 1828. He is on the 1870 Census with his wife and 6 kids in Bosque County. He was a farmer. He and his wife had 9 kids. He died in 1900. He, wife and 5 kids are buried there. I actually missed his memorial when I scrolled through the burials at the cemetery on FindAGrave and wrote the names of the veterans down. I might not have seen his gravesite if it hadn't been near Pvt. Smith's and Pvt. Hallmark's gravesites. It was a pleasant surprise and I had extra grave marker flags with me.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31038479/ahira-butler


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There are 2 Texas Muster Cards for Lt. Butler in records available through Ancestry. "Darnell's Regt." is the 18th Texas Cavalry.:

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Musician/Principal Musician James W. Spaulding, Co.'s A and F&S, 22nd Indiana Infantry. 1 General Index Card in fold3 and 1 Pension Card in Ancestry. Indiana records say he enrolled for service on August 15, 1861, was transferred to F&S on April 25, 1864 and was discharged on July 3, 1865. According to NPS, the 22nd Indiana Infantry saw a lot of action in the Western Theater but who knows how much action the regimental band saw.

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UIN0022RI

According to the 1900 Census, he and wife, Marinda, and 5 sons were living in Milam County and he was a farmer. He named one of his sons William Tecumseh Spaulding. He died in November 1911. It appears that none of his family members are buried in Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery. His gravestone kinda sits off by itself in the section of the cemetery it is in. I need to go back and spray it.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18078647/james-westbrook-spaulding



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Musician Spaulding filed a Pension Application in August 1890. His widow, Marinda, filed one in January 1912.


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