Texas Confederate Pensions

[cowdensman]

Yep, one remaining - Ms. Irene Triplett.

Her father started as a confederate, then deserted and joined the union ranks for no other reason than the pension.

He would go on to marry a mentally disabled woman ~50 years his junior, with whom he fathered a girl (Irene) who is now 84 years old.

I like this story. One of my ancestors,Elijah Lockley, served in the confederate army(55th Ala.Inf.) and was captured,paroled and captured again. He was sent to Camp Douglas where he joined the 5th US Volunteers to get out of prison about 2 weeks before the end. Sent to Ft.Kearny,Nebraska, he promptly deserted and was never recaptured. He lived to a ripe old age in Alabama where he took up with an older widow with children.

 

[Dave Wilma]

captured,paroled and captured again. He was sent to Camp Douglas where he joined the 5th US Volunteers

He could have been a double dipper if he wanted.

 

[cowdensman]

He could have been a double dipper if he wanted.

He must have been quite a character. The black sheep of the Lockley clan. I would have loved to have known him.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

I like this story. One of my ancestors,Elijah Lockley, served in the confederate army(55th Ala.Inf.) and was captured,paroled and captured again. He was sent to Camp Douglas where he joined the 5th US Volunteers to get out of prison, about 2 weeks before the end.

Pretty cool, and perhaps an eye opener for those who just recently learned of the 'galvanized yankees' thanks to the trivia forum.

 

[cowdensman]

Pretty cool, and perhaps an eye opener for those who just recently learned of the 'galvanized yankees' thanks to the trivia forum.

Yeah. He was galvanized to desert. I also suspect he let himself get captured twice for a warm meal. Joining the Union Army was a way to get out of that hell-hole,Camp Douglas and get a steady paycheck. What a guy!

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

Yeah. He was galvanized to desert. I also suspect he let himself get captured twice for a warm meal. Joining the Union Army was a way to get out of that hell-hole,Camp Douglas and get a steady paycheck. What a guy!

Haha, I like your approach.
'Sugarcoating' be da**ed!

 

[cowdensman]

Haha, I like your approach.
'Sugarcoating' be da**ed!

Amen,brother.

 

[18thVirginia]

I like this story. One of my ancestors,Elijah Lockley, served in the confederate army(55th Ala.Inf.) and was captured,paroled and captured again. He was sent to Camp Douglas where he joined the 5th US Volunteers to get out of prison, about 2 weeks before the end. Sent to Ft.Kearny,Nebraska, he promptly deserted and was never recaptured. He lived to a ripe old age in Alabama where he took up with an older widow with children.

Deserting from Ft. Kearney doesn't seem like an unreasonable thing.

 

[Jackson Hornets]

Confederate pensions are so tricky. I've had ancestors who have lied with no service and received them, some had been turned down for deserting in the last days of the war but served over 2 years faithfully and some just not even apply even though they were eligible.

 

[cowdensman]

Deserting from Ft. Kearney doesn't seem like an unreasonable thing.

The so-called "Galvanized Yankees" who enlisted in the Union army to escape prison camp were sent to the frontier to fight Indians because the Union didn't trust them to fight against their own. Smart thinking. Elijah was sent to Ft.Kearny,Nebraska Territory to guard the Oregon Trail. Pretty dangerous assignment. He enlisted in the 5th US Volunteers on April 6,1865 at Camp Douglas,Ill. and deserted on June 18,1865 at a river crossing in Kansas. Never recaptured because he headed straight back home to Alabama where he stayed for good.

 

[cowdensman]

Confederate pensions are so tricky. I've had ancestors who have lied with no service and received them, some had been turned down for deserting in the last days of the war but served over 2 years faithfully and some just not even apply even though they were eligible.

You are correct. It was very confusing how that worked.

 

[jackt62]

Amazing. I wonder how much Ms. Triplett's monthly pension actually is. I'd assume it was minimal particularly if it wasn't pegged to any inflation index, which in those days was probably unlikely.

 

[cowdensman]

Amazing. I wonder how much Ms. Triplett's monthly pension actually is. I'd assume it was minimal particularly if it wasn't pegged to any inflation index, which in those days was probably unlikely.

My grandfather received $8.00 per month starting in 1913 until 1923 when he passed away. I don't know what my grandmother received as his widow,but she passed in 1948, and considering inflation, she might have received a little more or maybe no.

 

[Dave Wilma]

Yeah. He was galvanized to desert. I also suspect he let himself get captured twice for a warm meal. Joining the Union Army was a way to get out of that hell-hole,Camp Douglas and get a steady paycheck. What a guy!

I remember something I learned as a callow youth: A good soldier will always find a way to stay warm and dry.

 

[cowdensman]

I remember something I learned as a callow youth: A good soldier will always find a way to stay warm and dry.

Survival is the first rule of a good soldier. You try to do your best,but above all,survive.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

Amazing. I wonder how much Ms. Triplett's monthly pension actually is. I'd assume it was minimal particularly if it wasn't pegged to any inflation index, which in those days was probably unlikely.

She draws $73.13 a month from the VA.

Here is another interesting tidbit...

Her father, Mose Triplett - when in attendance at the 75th Gettysburg Reunion - was placed in the Confederate encampment. He was apparently called out on it, and vehemently claimed that he had been a union soldier the entire duration of the conflict... Which was promptly debunked by his paper trail.

I suppose he was embarassed to have sold out for the pension... Interestingly enough he died a few days after returning home from the reunion.

EDIT: Wow, while just researching to see if she is still alive (everything previous I've posted about her was from the middle of 2014, but she appears to still be ticking!) i discovered another interesting little bit of info:

Apparently, at some point in the (somewhat?) recent past, the nursing facility that oversees her care reached out to the United Daughters of the Confederacy who promptly informed her caretakers that SHE HERSELF was a 'traitor' and they would take no actions on/for her behalf. (I wonder if this was an attempt at that pension double-dipping mentioned above, or perhaps it was just for a UDC certificate...?)

Also, Ms. Triplett's affliction is apparently a particularly debilitating form of autism (I admit to being very uneducated on the degrees of autism - i will educate myself on this directly) and of her 84 years on this earth, 70+ of them have been under supervision: Poorhouses, A stint in a sanitarium, and nursing facilities.

She has said that her parents were abusive towards her, and that she even took physical abuse from others on account of her fathers actions.

Poor woman has had it rough, and the UDC apparently still carries a grudge.

 

[cowdensman]

She draws $73.13 a month from the VA.

Here is another interesting tidbit...

Her father, Mose Triplett - when in attendance at the 75th Gettysburg Reunion - was placed in the Confederate encampment. He was apparently called out on it, and vehemently claimed that he had been a union soldier the entire duration of the conflict... Which was promptly debunked by his paper trail.

I suppose he was embarassed to have sold out for the pension... Interestingly enough he died a few days after returning home from the reunion.

That is very interesting. Was that Karma or just coincidence? Life sometimes takes many twists & turns. Maybe the embarrassment was too much for him.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

That is very interesting. Was that Karma or just coincidence? Life sometimes takes many twists & turns. Maybe the embarrassment was too much for him.

I'd say it could go either way!
He was 97 or 98 when he died, so either old age alone could have did him in, or the added stress of having to sweat it out the entire reunion on a frail old man did it, who knows!

Dude, go back and read my previous post...
I just added a couple bits of info i just learned on her since you read it and 'liked'.

The UDC comment is pretty brutal!

 

[cowdensman]

She draws $73.13 a month from the VA.

Here is another interesting tidbit...

Her father, Mose Triplett - when in attendance at the 75th Gettysburg Reunion - was placed in the Confederate encampment. He was apparently called out on it, and vehemently claimed that he had been a union soldier the entire duration of the conflict... Which was promptly debunked by his paper trail.

I suppose he was embarassed to have sold out for the pension... Interestingly enough he died a few days after returning home from the reunion.

EDIT: Wow, while just researching to see if she is still alive (everything previous I've posted about her was from the middle of 2014, but she appears to still be ticking!) i discovered another interesting little bit of info:

Apparently, at some point in the (somewhat?) recent past, the nursing facility that oversees her care reached out to the United Daughters of the Confederacy who promptly informed her caretakers that SHE HERSELF was a 'traitor' and they would take no actions on/for her behalf. (I wonder if this was an attempt at that pension double-dipping mentioned above, or perhaps it was just for a UDC certificate...?)

Also, Ms. Triplett's affliction is apparently a particularly debilitating form of autism (I admit to being very uneducated on the degrees of autism - i will educate myself on this directly) and of her 84 years on this earth, 70+ of them have been under supervision: Poorhouses, A stint in a sanitarium, and nursing facilities.

She has said that her parents were abusive towards her, and that she even took physical abuse from others on account of her fathers actions.

Poor woman has had it rough, and the UDC apparently still carries a grudge.

Sounds like she has been through a lot. Why punish her for whatever her father did during that awful war. It seems that it was a matter of survival in a very tough time. The UDC should forgive and forget something she had no control over. You mentioned the 75th reunion at Gettysburg. Once on TV I saw the 50th anniversary reunion clip and they reenacted Picketts charge. The old guys got really carried away and brawled. As the old rebels(some with canes) were struggling to reach cemetery ridge one of the yankee vets yelled " They couldn't take this ridge 50 years ago and they ain't gonna do it now either"...... Then both sides started throwing rocks at each other. That was hilarious.