Help With A Soldier

[rgtaylor61]

Looking for any information on WF Dawson Company E 31st Tennessee Infantry

 

[Salterr]

Looking for any information on WF Dawson Company E 31st Tennessee Infantry

 

[DorwinBlack]

Only 16 when he enlisted! (actually he was 16 in 1860, so older when enlisted)

 

[DorwinBlack]

Not sure if the following is the same or a different W.F Dawson:

William F “Doc” Dawson (1844-1916) - Find a Grave...

Find a Grave memorial for William F “Doc” Dawson born 10 Apr 1844 and died 15 Oct 1916. Buried at Double Springs Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery, Humboldt, Gibson County, Tennessee, United States of America, North America

www.findagrave.com

 

[rgtaylor61]

Only 16 when he enlisted! (actually he was 16 in 1860, so older when enlisted)

View attachment 531963

thank you

 

[rgtaylor61]

Not sure if the following is the same or a different W.F Dawson:

William F “Doc” Dawson (1844-1916) - Find a Grave...

Find a Grave memorial for William F “Doc” Dawson born 10 Apr 1844 and died 15 Oct 1916. Buried at Double Springs Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery, Humboldt, Gibson County, Tennessee, United States of America, North America

www.findagrave.com

Not sure...the newspaper article lists a 123rd infantry which to my knowledge never existed..perhaps its a typo. Everything else looks accurate though. I've long been interested in the Gibson county regiments and his pension application lists him being at Franklin (another obsession)

 

[Stryker65]

Not sure...the newspaper article lists a 123rd infantry which to my knowledge never existed..perhaps its a typo. Everything else looks accurate though. I've long been interested in the Gibson county regiments and his pension application lists him being at Franklin (another obsession)

Confusing story, actually. Col Thomas J Freeman was the commander of the 22nd Tennessee Infantry, but Capt. S. H. Hale was not an officer in that regiment. That was because, in mid-1862, the 22nd Tennessee got consolidated with the 12th Tennessee Infantry, of which S. H. Hale was a lieutenant in Company I. However, I can't find a William F. Dawson in any Tennessee regiment other than the 15th, 48th, or 50th, but since they don't have him in the 12th, 22nd, or even the 31st I think there might just be missing info.

Doesn't really help much, but hope that clarifies the newspaper article a bit.

 

[rgtaylor61]

Confusing story, actually. Col Thomas J Freeman was the commander of the 22nd Tennessee Infantry, but Capt. S. H. Hale was not an officer in that regiment. That was because, in mid-1862, the 22nd Tennessee got consolidated with the 12th Tennessee Infantry, of which S. H. Hale was a lieutenant in Company I. However, I can't find a William F. Dawson in any Tennessee regiment other than the 15th, 48th, or 50th, but since they don't have him in the 12th, 22nd, or even the 31st I think there might just be missing info.

Doesn't really help much, but hope that clarifies the newspaper article a bit.

The confusing records and discrepancies is a constant frustration of mine but I must love the torture because I keep coming back. His pension application clearly states Company E 31st Tennessee (a Regiment I'm particularly interested in)

 

[lupaglupa]

Fold3 has a W F Dawson in the 12th Cavalry, also known as Green's Cavalry. The notes say this company appears to have previously served in Bennett's Battalion of TN Cavalry. They one card with info says Dawson enlisted October 1, 1863 in Gibson County. He was present for the muster roll dated February 4 - to May 11, 1864.

 

[lupaglupa]

The cards for W F Dawson in the 31rst show him enlisting September 2, 1861 in Trenton (Gibson County). May 20, 1862 he went out on a sick leave. That sick leave was later reclassified as a desertion. "Deserted and went home" is the succinct note at the bottom of the last muster roll for Dawson.

It would not be an unusual pattern for someone to enlist early in the War, become ill, go home, and decide to join a more local unit instead of returning to their original company.

 

[rgtaylor61]

The cards for W F Dawson in the 31rst show him enlisting September 2, 1861 in Trenton (Gibson County). May 20, 1862 he went out on a sick leave. That sick leave was later reclassified as a desertion. "Deserted and went home" is the succinct note at the bottom of the last muster roll for Dawson.

It would not be an unusual pattern for someone to enlist early in the War, become ill, go home, and decide to join a more local unit instead of returning to their original company.

Yes in his pension application that comes up and several regimental members state that he in fact was with them later on. its interesting how many discrepancies there are in the cards and how conflicting they are not to mention the variances in spelling of names. Its truly addicting to research this stuff and very fun. I'm new to it but love it

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Trying to reconcile the above viewed discrepant information from various sources, showing the different units in which he supposedly served.

Seems the information showing W. F. Dawson served in Co. E, 31st TN Infantry, is confirmed as solid.

This finding is supported by eliminating the other units (i.e. 13, 16 & 123 TN) mentioned above that he supposedly belonged. Could not find his name appearing on the regimental rolls of either the 13 or 16 TN, and the 123 TN never existed.

From the information provided above, it seems Dawson enlisted (at least initially, on Sep. 2, '61) in Co. E, 31 TN. If he did 'desert and go home' at some time afterwards, it may have been late in the war after Franklin (as it's apparently listed in his pension application, that he was present there). Can recall reading that following Hood's Nashville Campaign, survivors in Confederate regiments were furloughed (for 30 days), before returning to their units. Decimated units were subsequently consolidated (e.g. the 4, 5, 31, 33 & 38 TN were consolidated by the time of Bentonville) and moved to NC to join 'Joe' Johnston. (Dawson may have taken his furlough in this period, and not returned to his unit).

Also thought the 'W. F. Dawson' shown in the Find-a-Grave listing displayed in Post #4 above is probably your man. The newspaper obit. attached clearly contains an inaccurate reference to a non-existent unit and its commanders. This is likely a GIGO situation, whereby someone fed wrong information to the newspaper publisher at the time. Given the inclusion of the nickname 'Doc' in this listing, wonder whether he became a doctor postwar.

 

[rgtaylor61]

Trying to reconcile the above viewed discrepant information from various sources, showing the different units in which he supposedly served.

Seems the information showing W. F. Dawson served in Co. E, 31st TN Infantry, is confirmed as solid.

This finding is supported by eliminating the other units (i.e. 13, 16 & 123 TN) mentioned above that he supposedly belonged. Could not find his name appearing on the regimental rolls of either the 13 or 16 TN, and the 123 TN never existed.

From the information provided above, it seems Dawson enlisted (at least initially, on Sep. 2, '61) in Co. E, 31 TN. If he did 'desert and go home' at some time afterwards, it may have been late in the war after Franklin (as it's apparently listed in his pension application, that he was present there). Can recall reading that following Hood's Nashville Campaign, survivors in Confederate regiments were furloughed (for 30 days), before returning to their units. Decimated units were subsequently consolidated (e.g. the 4, 5, 31, 33 & 38 TN were consolidated by the time of Bentonville) and moved to NC to join 'Joe' Johnston. (Dawson may have taken his furlough in this period, and not returned to his unit).

Also thought the 'W. F. Dawson' shown in the Find-a-Grave listing displayed in Post #4 above is probably your man. The newspaper obit. attached clearly contains an inaccurate reference to a non-existent unit and its commanders. This is likely a GIGO situation, whereby someone fed wrong information to the newspaper publisher at the time. Given the inclusion of the nickname 'Doc' in this listing, wonder whether he became a doctor postwar.

I really appreciate this input. I've really spent time trying to see if my ancestor William W Taylor of Company E was at Franklin. WF Dawson being there dies help as William Taylor was with the 31st two weeks later when he was captured at Nashville.

 

[lupaglupa]

I don't think the desertion was late in the War. Dawson served about 8 months and went home on furlough due to illness. The date for his leaving is given as May 20, 1862. He never returned from that furlough and his status was changed to deserted. Nothing in his CMSR indicates the 31st saw him after his sick leave began.

If he joined the 12th Cavalry in October of 1863 he would have been in that unit at Franklin, if they were there.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

I don't think the desertion was late in the War. Dawson served about 8 months and went home on furlough due to illness. The date for his leaving is given as May 20, 1862. He never returned from that furlough and his status was changed to deserted. Nothing in his CMSR indicates the 31st saw him after his sick leave began.

If he joined the 12th Cavalry in October of 1863 he would have been in that unit at Franklin, if they were there.

Changing membership of units (from 31 TN to 12 TN Cavalry) with a period of absence in-between, makes sense if it's the same person being discussed.

It could possibly explain both the apparently clear entry in the pension application stating he belonged to Co. E, 31 TN, as well as the note contained therein listing him as being present at Franklin. But if he did leave (changed afterwards to 'desert') the 31 TN on May 20, '62, never to return, could he provide evidence of 'honorable service' with his pension application claim later?

He could have rejoined the 12 TN Cavalry (Green's) on Oct. 1, '63, and served in this unit at least throughout '64. This would support the pension application listing showing him being present at Franklin on Nov. 30, that same year. (Remnants of the 12 TN Cavalry were part of Rucker's brigade, in Forrest's cavalry command, at Franklin).

Alternatively, could there be two different individuals being discussed here - one belonging to the 31 TN; the other to the 12 TN cavalry?

 

[Stryker65]

Colonel E. Egbert Tansil of the 31st Tennessee actually had a similar situation to Dawson -- Colonel Tansil transferred to Forrest's cavalry after Chattanooga. I'm not thinking the two events were related at all, but it could be that Dawson, hearing of his old commander with the cavalry, joined up with the 12th. Forrest's corps did have some serious problems with taking in deserters from the Army of Tennessee, for example:

(pp 642, OR V39P2, inspection report June 10 1864)
and when considering that the many of Forrest's West Tennessee regiments' officer corps came from Tennessee infantry regiments (Colonels T. H. Bell, R. M. Russell, A. N. Wilson, and G. H. Nixon, for instance).

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Colonel E. Egbert Tansil of the 31st Tennessee actually had a similar situation to Dawson -- Colonel Tansil transferred to Forrest's cavalry after Chattanooga.

Suspect this sort of situation might have been quite commonplace, especially among the ranks of the Confederate army in the extensive western theater later in the war - i.e. soldiers taking leave from their originally enlisted units to return home, then returning later to serve in another unrelated outfit that was perhaps loosely organized or consolidated.

 

[Stryker65]

Suspect this sort of situation might have been quite commonplace, especially among the ranks of the Confederate army in the extensive western theater later in the war - i.e. soldiers taking leave from their originally enlisted units to return home, then returning later to serve in another unrelated outfit that was perhaps loosely organized or consolidated.

Colonel Tansil's situation was related to the plight of the many supernumerary officers when Bragg's army consolidated in on itself over and over again. IIRC, Colonel Tansil was forced to transfer after his 31st Tennessee was consolidated with the 33rd Tennessee, and Colonel Warner P. Jones of the 33rd placed in command. As well as Wilson, Bell, and Nixon, already mentioned, the same occurred to Colonels R. F. Looney (38th TN), J. S. Dawson (46th TN), and Mathias Martin (23rd TN). However, in many cases, the men of their old regiments joined them -- records indicate this to be especially true for Colonel Nixon's 22nd Tennessee Cavalry.

 

[lupaglupa]

It is very common to see this among Confederate soldiers, especially a change in units that brings them closer to home.

 

[Stryker65]

Several ANV officers got in trouble for that -- in 1865, Lee reported that ANV officers on recruiting or deserter-hunting duty would, upon returning home, send mail to their regiment to leave the Army and join them back home to form partisan units, suggesting that no harm would be attached to them for simply joining a different Confederate unit:

OR V46P3, pp 1355