Shot in the dark

[Ed Aldredge]

I just joined the forum and in my intro thread I mentioned that I had a Great Great Grandfather that served in the CSA as a volunteer out of Texas. I don't ever recall being told his first name, but I did a search on the suggestion of another member and found that his name was David Furlough Aldredge and that he was born in Georgia (1843). I am unsure of where he would have joined, but I know that my Great Grandfather was born in Gilmer (Upsher County TX) in 1880.

Anyone have any sleuthing tools beyond that to see whether he actually served and what unit(s)?


Thanks,
Ed

 

[Bob Velke]

I find that he applied for a pension in Texas in 1909 claiming that he had fought in the Co. B, 8th Georgia Infantry. He claimed that he enlisted in the "Spring 1863," was "transferred at once to Light Duty (Guard etc.) Infantry," and honorably discharged in April, 1865. Pursuant to his application, the Texas Commissioner of Pensions wrote to the War Department in D.C. for confirmation of his service. The response was that they found no record that a D. F. Aldredge ever served in that regiment. (Of course, not all Confederate records survived).

Curiously, one of the affidavits in his pension file claims that Aldredge served in Co. A, 1st Georgia Reserves. Another affidavit says "Co. A, 1st Ga Regt."

The inquiry to the War Department didn't mention those regiments but I don't find any record of his service in them either.

His pension application (11 pages) is on Ancestry.com HERE. If you are not a member, then there are a variety of ways to access it for free as outlined on my blog HERE.

[If you're wondering, each southern state offered pensions to its residents who were Confederate veterans, regardless of the state for which the soldier had actually served.]

 

[lupaglupa]

He didn't leave a lot of records behind, so it's hard to trace where he might have been when he would have been eligible to serve. His death certificate says he was born in Greensboro, Georgia and his father's name was Pierce Aldredge. They Find a Grave biography for Pierce says David was his oldest son, and David's mother died not longer after his birth. Pirce then moved to Texas, leaving David behind with his in-laws. There is a record of a David Aldridge in Greene County, Georgia (where Greensboro is located) in the 1850 Census, living with a large family none of whom are named Aldredge.

The next record I find for David is a US Census record from Camp County, Texas in 1880 - D. F. Aldridge is 36 and living with his wife, S. U. Aldridge. He is not listed on the 1890 Veteran's Census.

 

[Ed Aldredge]

This is all rather amazing to read! Thanks everyone.

I'm wondering if a lack of records as noted by Bob Velke above indicates that perhaps he was less than truthful in his youthful exploits to my great grandfather and grandfather....

 

[Lubliner]

It is interesting that in the note provided above, he did some time as a guard at Andersonville. @Gary Morgan, have you ever come across his name and unit? Thanks,
Lubliner.

 

[Gary Morgan]

It is interesting that in the note provided above, he did some time as a guard at Andersonville. @Gary Morgan, have you ever come across his name and unit? Thanks,
Lubliner.

No information on that particular gentleman, but the 1st Georgia Reserves were one of four reserve units that were formed to free up the more seasoned, physically fitter guards for front line action. The Reserves tended to be made up of 16-18 year olds, and men over 50, and were reportedly poorly trained, poorly armed, and poorly fed. The guards suffered through both measles and typhoid epidemics in the summer of 1864, and I'm still trying to puzzle out just how many of them died because of diseases contracted at Andersonville - the best guess I've read in about 10%, but since many of them were close to home, they were sent home when they got sick and died there, but it's not clear how many of these "away" deaths were counted and how many weren't. There were about 116 or 117 guards buried at Andersonville, but they were dug up and moved to Americus when the authorities decided to build a wall around the National cemetery and leave the guards' section outside the wall, and allegedly untended.

By the fall of 1864 (when they started relocating the majority of the prisoners), desertion among the guards was such a problem that the Confederate Army was taking out ads in the Macon paper, offering a $30 reward for information leading to the recovery of a guard who was AWOL. So far we can't find any evidence that the guards were paid after December, 1864.

I can't come up with any evidence that the guards were given a 30 day furlough as a reward for shooting a prisoner inside the deadline - best guess is that this was something the guards told the prisoners to keep them in line, even though it wasn't true. They DID apparently get a 30 day furlough for each teenager they could get to join the reserves, and 20 days for each over 45 man that they could get to join

 

[lupaglupa]

This is all rather amazing to read! Thanks everyone.

I'm wondering if a lack of records as noted by Bob Velke above indicates that perhaps he was less than truthful in his youthful exploits to my great grandfather and grandfather....

He wouldn't be the first! He could have been in a local unit that didn't keep much in the way of records. The fact that the unit description in the pension application changes could mean he served in more than one unit or he had such memory issues that by the time he applied he couldn't remember.

 

[Gary Morgan]

He wouldn't be the first! He could have been in a local unit that didn't keep much in the way of records. The fact that the unit description in the pension application changes could mean he served in more than one unit or he had such memory issues that by the time he applied he couldn't remember.

What I'm finding is that a lot of the Reserve Guards served in 6 month state regiments, went home when their enlistments were up, then had to go back into the army when the draft kept having to cast its nets wider and wider in order to get the manpower they needed.

 

[Dave D]

I'm wondering if a lack of records as noted by Bob Velke above indicates that perhaps he was less than truthful in his youthful exploits to my great grandfather and grandfather....

Several of my ancestors' regiment was pretty well annihilated at Spotsylvania in May, 1864 - after that, there are very few Confederate records. The regimental reports, muster rolls, etc. back to April, 1864 were destroyed or disappeared and most surviving officers had been captured so, other than Union POW camp records, there is not much left.

 

[A. Roy]

I'm wondering if a lack of records as noted by Bob Velke above indicates that perhaps he was less than truthful in his youthful exploits to my great grandfather and grandfather..

That certainly is possible, but documentation usually just provides a general framework for studying a soldier's history. And sometimes those records contain errors, or obscure codes that are hard to decipher, or handwritten notations that are hard to transcribe.

Many of us long to find the real "gold," such as letters, diaries, or memoirs. I'm wondering: Do you recall any of those old soldier's tales? Any family oral traditions that were passed down? Even if you have doubts about accuracy, it could be valuable to write them down, maybe including a "disclaimer" that these are oral traditions.

R

 

[Ed Aldredge]

Well, David Aldredge died in 1917 (23 years before my father was born and two years before my grandfather was born). My Great Grandfather died when I was 9 and unlike every other Aldredge he was the only one to never serve in the military. He never spoke of his father to my recollection, and it wasn't until I was in High School that I was told of my Great, Great Grandfather's service to the Confederacy.

I didn't even know he was from GA until this thread.

 

[Ed Aldredge]

It is interesting that in the note provided above, he did some time as a guard at Andersonville. @Gary Morgan, have you ever come across his name and unit? Thanks,
Lubliner.

I wasn't able to pull up the information he linked above.

 

[lupaglupa]

I wasn't able to pull up the information he linked above.

The mention of Andersonville is in the image in post #2 that @Bob Velke put up. Are you able to access Ancestry to see the full pension application?

 

[A. Roy]

He never spoke of his father to my recollection, and it wasn't until I was in High School that I was told of my Great, Great Grandfather's service to the Confederacy.

You had mentioned that perhaps he was "less than truthful in his youthful exploits to my great grandfather and grandfather." Made me wonder whether there was anything that got passed down orally, even though second- or third-hand. Half-remembered yarns can be useful, even if they are just mostly or partly true.

Roy B.

 

[Ed Aldredge]

Unfortunately, I either never heard anything from them or at least don't recall anything.

 

[Ed Aldredge]

The mention of Andersonville is in the image in post #2 that @Bob Velke put up. Are you able to access Ancestry to see the full pension application?

I am not, no

 

[Ed Aldredge]

No information on that particular gentleman, but the 1st Georgia Reserves were one of four reserve units that were formed to free up the more seasoned, physically fitter guards for front line action. The Reserves tended to be made up of 16-18 year olds, and men over 50, and were reportedly poorly trained, poorly armed, and poorly fed. The guards suffered through both measles and typhoid epidemics in the summer of 1864, and I'm still trying to puzzle out just how many of them died because of diseases contracted at Andersonville - the best guess I've read in about 10%, but since many of them were close to home, they were sent home when they got sick and died there, but it's not clear how many of these "away" deaths were counted and how many weren't. There were about 116 or 117 guards buried at Andersonville, but they were dug up and moved to Americus when the authorities decided to build a wall around the National cemetery and leave the guards' section outside the wall, and allegedly untended.

By the fall of 1864 (when they started relocating the majority of the prisoners), desertion among the guards was such a problem that the Confederate Army was taking out ads in the Macon paper, offering a $30 reward for information leading to the recovery of a guard who was AWOL. So far we can't find any evidence that the guards were paid after December, 1864.

I can't come up with any evidence that the guards were given a 30 day furlough as a reward for shooting a prisoner inside the deadline - best guess is that this was something the guards told the prisoners to keep them in line, even though it wasn't true. They DID apparently get a 30 day furlough for each teenager they could get to join the reserves, and 20 days for each over 45 man that they could get to join

I can say that my great grandfather was not a large man by any account. And my grandfather wasn't much taller. It would seem that perhaps his father may have been similarly sized and therefore more suited to rear echelon/guard duty at Andersonville I suppose.

 

[lupaglupa]

I am not, no

If you live in Texas, you can get free access to David's pension application on Ancestry through the link on this page - a service the state of Texas provides to residents - look at the third box down. This page also has some helpful information on the applications:

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/arc/pensions/introcpi.html