You Know Your Having A Bad Day When You Lose Your Darkey And All Your Co. Records

UCVRelics

Brevet Brigadier General
Forum Host
Gold Patron
Regtl. Quartermaster Shiloh 2020
Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
Regtl. Quartermaster Stones River / Franklin 2022
Joined
May 7, 2016
Location
Alabama
While researching what 2 flags were captured by the 17th Alabama Inf at Shiloh, I came across this interesting letter of 1st Sgt James Davison. Looks like he had a bad day.
1597186350554.png

1597186512441.png
 
Don't really know what the difference is between Southerners taking a servant with him and a yankee officer using contrabands as servants.
john wallace comer burrell.jpg

D64176C7-0C82-1FA3-8331B03ED5C54FAE.jpg
 
Personal servants I should believe, could be trusted based on familiarity with their 'keeper'. The use of servants existed on both sides during the war, and as late as the evacuation of Richmond a Union general requested permission to keep a servant he had 'confiscated' while the confederates fled into Farmville, for his personal use. (Official Records).
Lubliner.
 
Don't really know what the difference is between Southerners taking a servant with him and a yankee officer using contrabands as servants.
View attachment 369391
View attachment 369390
Contrabands were ex-slaves that were paid for their work, and also given clothes and sometimes free food. Slaves were not. Many contrabands even ended up in the USCT. That's a big difference.
 
While researching what 2 flags were captured by the 17th Alabama Inf at Shiloh, I came across this interesting letter of 1st Sgt James Davison. Looks like he had a bad day.
View attachment 369276
View attachment 369277
A great find...can you indentify the sourcing of this letter?
This soldier enlisted with my great-grandfather ( pictured in avatar ), in Co. H, 17th Al.Infantry. Since both my maternal and paternal ancestors migrated to Monroe County, Al., in the 1820’s, I have copious data on the residents and soldiers of this county.
James Miller Davison was already in my Ancestry tree as a collateral ancestor, so was easily found. My great grandfather was also wounded at Franklin by a minie ball to the left temple, as seen in his photo. He was a scrawny little kid of 17 yrs. old. Survived, went to med college and was a physician for over 50 years there in Monroe County.
Miller Davison was younger than him. He joined at 16. Take a look at his life. Maybe his “darkey” and all his papers could disappear while he was getting shot in the leg “in the trenches in Atlanta”. Following his bio in “Notable Men of Alabama”, is his Pension application. His answers to the wounded and captured questions are telling, and the answer to # 26 is quite witty :+))...
Finally, a list of some of the officers in 17th, Co.H, written by Miller’s future father-in-law. They definitely did not fare well in the Atlanta Campaign.
Thanks for this interesting thread. Sounds like he had a lot more “bad days” to come!

F3061829-8135-4759-A470-2FE0B4190A07.jpeg
330C2486-D59D-447A-A99C-759BC73C706A.jpeg


B2C43784-428A-4192-8ABC-BEA610BD9975.jpeg
54AE5F18-1940-4C14-9338-E962E758B19E.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top