24th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

Mississippi Magnolia Flag 1861-1894

What a daunting task to gather accurate information concerning a Confederate regiment that existed only a short time over 150 years ago. In previous years before the internet, coupled with limited resources, some simple, realistic minded individuals might refuse to consider such a work. With the help of the internet but hendered with a background and education not related to historical research I began my elementary resume of historical and genealogical systematic investigation. In the last ten years, after many trips to eastern Mississippi for genealogical purposes, with emphasis on Monroe, Itawamba, and Chickasaw Counties, I often pondered the idea of researching at least one of my ancestor’s units. The 27th and 43rd Mississippi Infantries, among other units, were represented well on the tombstones of some of my ancestors.  I began a search for diaries, books, stories, etc. about these units and there was little, in my humble opinion. Then there was the 24th MS. My GG Grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Doster and his brother, James Lafayette Doster, were in Dowd’s Rebels (Co. C), 24th Miss. Infantry, from Chickasaw County, Mississippi. They were captured 24 Nov 1863 at Lookout Mtn. (the battle above the clouds) and sent to the Rock Island, Illinois POW camp. I looked up the Doster brothers on Fold3.com and viewed their service records. Previously I had family data on Ancestry.com, and some notes from family members I had collected in previous years. I did many searches on Google and other research internet sites. The 24th MS. Infantry, compared to the 27th and 43rd, had few personal accounts published to tell us their story.  Wondering what would be the next step, I waited and waited, with fainting hopes that someone else would provide a little of the information desired. Once in a while a blog or site would reveal itself and wala, a minute few mentioned the 24th Miss. Infantry. In the meantime my wife and I had taken a few pictures of headstones and located some others on line. The decision came to mind to start a pictoral of the 24th while floundering in the midst of my modest research. If you look to the right of this story you will notice FLICKR and two pictures.  I have some of the old 24th MS Veterans there. Feel free to enjoy and help us find more information, pictures, stories, or whatever you would like to share.  The Museum of the Confederacy has a 24th MS. flag captured at Lookout Mountain by the 60th U.S. New York Inf. Reg. I contacted the museum in Richmond, Virginia, in regards to obtaining an image of the 24th MS flag. At a price, with only permission to display it (in a frame) and not reproduce the image, I was allowed to obtain a photographed copy. I will attempt to describe it as a Hardee type flag with Perryville and Murfreesborough (old spelling) on it. The oval is more rounded and much larger in the 24th MS. Inf. flag with the blue background shaped as a square and slightly offset to the side. Also the 60th New York Inf. Reg. used bold red letters and made their identifying mark on it. The flag below is similar to the 24th Miss. flag.

Hardee Flag

The Twenty-Fourth Mississippi Infantry regiment was made up largely of very young men, and the companies were organized under a proclamation of Governor Pettus calling for enlistments for three years. The companies assembled at Marion Station (Marion, Lauderdale County, Mississippi) and were mustered into the Confederate States service in September and October, 1861. The field officers were elected November 6, 1861: Colonel William F. Dowd, of Monroe County, Lieutenant Colonel Robert P. McKelvaine, of Kemper County, and William C. Staples of Choctaw County. Col. Dowd was disabled and resigned in January, 1864, and Col. R. P. McKelvaine became regimental commander. At the time of the surrender of the unit on April 26, 1865, approximately 25 men were left from an original regimental strength of well over 1,000. The 24th fought at:
Murfreesboro
Tullahoma Campaign
Chickamauga
Chattanooga
Atlanta Campaign
Resaca
New Hope Church
Ezra Church
Atlanta Siege
Franklin
Nashville
Carolinas Campaign

The Mississippi State SCV has provided this website: http://mississippiscv.org/MS_Units/24th_MS_INF.htm –and it is very useful. Thanks to the MS SCV!

The Caledonia Rifles SCV Miss. Camp–SCV Camp #2140 represents the 24th Miss. The Caledonia Rifles, Lowndes County, MS., later became Co. D.

One of my first resources was Kemper County Rebel – the Civil War Diary of Robert Masten Holmes, C.S.A, edited by Frank Allen Dennis. Private Holmes was in the 24th MS., Co. I, Kemper County, MS.  Private Holmes did not survive the war.

Military History Online has information about individual soldiers submitted by descendants and others.

The Blogroll on this page (top right) has numerous resources available for research and has been helpful.

This is hopefully the first installment of many concerning the 24th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.

 

Did any US President ever suspend the right of habeas corpus?

“Early in the war, by executive order and congressional act, the  government of the United States suspended the right of habeas corpus, and authorized military arrest and trial of citizens, even outside  the field of military operations. Under these acts and orders, there  came about a situation well described by the Secretary of State, in a  war-time conversation with Lord Lyons, the British ambassador. Said Mr. Seward, “My Lord, I can touch a bell on my right hand, and  order the arrest of a citizen of Ohio. I can touch a bell again, and  order the imprisonment of a citizen of New York; and no power on  earth, except that of the President, can release them. Can the Queen of England do as much”?                                                                                                                            

 

Taken From: “The Story of RECONSTRUCTION” by Robert Selph Henry 1st Edition printed in 1938 page 213

 

The Answer: YES! 

In memory of Pvt. George Dance

George Dance was in a picture that was made before 1914 at the Lynchburg, Moore County, Tennessee, courthouse.  In it a number of elderly men were posing for a reunion for the area Confederate Veterans.  Other pictures from around 1900 taken from Gen’l N.B. Forrest’s Escort reunion, again reveal George Dance with his fellow Vets.  For some people these pictures are a problem.  For SCV members it is not!  A check with a genealogical online service indicates George Dance was a Confederate Veteran.  He was obviously at a reunion with his veteran comrades.  He had applied for a Confederate pension number C46 in Moore County, Tennessee, having served in the 8th TN Infantry, CSA. Oh yes, why is this a problem to some?  George Dance is black. Was George a free black when the uncivil war broke out?  Currently no information is available and more importantly, does it matter?

George Dance was born Jan 1, 1842 and died Nov. 12, 1924. This information was obtained from the photograph that also contained the dates of birth and death of the other men.  Presently, very little is known about George Dance. The state of Tennessee census records of 1891, page 27, indicates he in District 1 as a registered male voter. He, his wife America, and their three children are in the 1880 U.S. census of Moore County. He is listed as a farmer and she as keeping house. All are listed as being born in Tennessee. Next he was found in the 1910 U.S. census of Moore County as widowed, employed in a grist mill, and a survivor of the war. The census does indicate he said he was born in Alabama.  He is next found in the 1920 U.S. census of Moore County as widowed, not employed, and living with a son and family.  A granddaughter is named America. Again it states he was born in Alabama.  There is a state of Tennessee record of marriage in Moore County,  between George Dance and Maggie Travis, of 11 Dec. 1873.  Could she possibly be Maggie America Travis?

Picture with George Dance taken next to Moore County Courthouse, Tennessee, before 1914

Forrest Escort Renunion Lynchburg TN abt 1900

Another View Forrest Escort Reunion abt 1900

Arguments concerning the role that blacks played in the Confederate army continue to this day.  Pundits still contend the degree of contributions make by blacks, in addition to disputing the actual numbers of those freed men or slaves who served gallantly with their white southern allies. With the surviving documents, veteran’s personal accounts and affidavits, official records, and periodicals, it is remarkable that many want to ‘cover up’ or just deny that southern blacks would serve in, and later be proud of participating in the Confederate army.

In memory of Lt. James O. Norton

Lt. James O. Norton Co. F/K  32nd TN Infantry, C.S.A. 

James Ogburn Norton, Sr. was born Nov 23, 1825 in North Carolina to Dr. William S. and Marcia Anne (Beall) Norton. While still a small boy, his parents migrated to Middle Tennessee settling in Bedford County, south of Beechgrove, and were neighbors of the Obadiah Templeton family according to the 1830 Bedford Co. census.  James married Elizabeth Priscilla Davidson, of Bedford Co., in Jan. 1854. In the 1860 census, James was recorded as being a physician, just as his father. Physicians during the 1840′s & 50′s often were trained for a period of time, usually one year, under an established practicing doctor. A final year was often spent at a medical school before receiving a medical diploma or license. It has been suggested that James studied under his father, but It is not known where Dr. Norton received any of his training.  He and his wife had 4 children; sons, William Alexander, born in Jan, 1855, and Leander Newton, born in Dec, 1856, a daughter Sarah Elizabeth, born in June, 1859, and their father’s namesake, James Ogburn Norton, Jr, born in Jan, 1861. Tragically, their father had only a little over a year to live after this last child’s birth.

Not long after war began, Dr James Norton was mustered into the Confederate States of America service in November 1861, at Camp Trousdale, Sumner Co., enlisting for twelve months.  As the war began, 1st Lt. Dr. Norton was serving in Co K, 32^nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment.  Some military records indicate he served in Co. F, also. His service was doomed to be of short tenure, however.  The 32^nd Tennessee Regiment was among the 12,000 Confederates captured after the Union’s first major victory of the war, the Battle of Fort Donelson. (Feb 11- 16, 1862)  The loss of Fort Donelson opened the way for the Union’s invasion of Middle Tennessee and the capture of Nashville.  Thus, James Norton arrived as a prisoner of war at Camp Chase, in Columbus, Ohio on March 1, 1862.  He must have been sick when he first arrived since he died of pneumonia in the Confederate hospital only three days later on March 4.

The tragic story of Dr. Norton does not end with his death, as was discovered by researcher Dennis Brooke, member of the Gen. Roswell Ripley Camp Chase (Columbus, OH), Sons of the Confederate Veterans, Camp 1565.  A single wooden head board, which read only “Dr. James O. Norton” was placed over his grave in East Cemetery.  Not being designated as a Confederate soldier, was something that turned out to be a blessing AND a curse.  The East Cemetery was located next to Starling Medical College.  In a twist that would make Edgar Allen Poe proud, a local physician, named Dr. Joab Flowers, was stealing the bodies of dead Confederate soldiers from East Cemetery (then later from the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery) and was selling them at a handsome price to the medical college!   Dr. Flowers was later arrested for body snatching in Nov, 1864.  Had Dr. James Norton’s body been correctly identified as “1^st Lt.” Dr. James Norton, then he might have also become one of the infamous body snatching victims of Dr. Flowers.

In May, 1869, all Confederate dead were moved for re-interment in the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, but Dr. Norton was not recorded as receiving this military burial and was apparently left behind.  When the remainder of the East Cemetery was moved in 1881 the first area moved was the section of the graveyard where James Norton had been buried.  Since the old wooden markers had long since deteriorated away it is believed that Dr. Norton was possibly buried in the mass grave along with other unidentified Confederates, all of whom were quickly forgotten without grave markers or headstones.

Recently, the General Roswell Ripley SCV Camp of Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, made a “In Memory of” marker, to recognize the life and service of  Lt. James O. Norton, C.S.A. It was decided by their SCV camp to make this marker available to a family member of Lt. Norton’s ancestral home. Dr. Norton’s memorial marker was brought from Columbus, Ohio to Bedford Co. by Greg Keeling, a distant double cousin of Lt. Norton. This stone was placed in the Confederate Cemetery at Willow Mount by Mr. Keeling and members of the local S. A. Cunningham SCV Camp 1620.

Click here to visit cemetery of Eliza Davidson Norton, wife of Dr. James O. Norton at find a grave.

Click on here to visit the General Roswell Ripley (Camp Chase, Ohio) SCV site.

TN State Library and Archives October 3, 2012

The Tennessee State Library and Archives will conducting visits in selected sites this year all over Tennessee.  Representatives from the Tennessee State Library and Archives and the Tennessee State Museum will be in Shelbyville, October 3rd, to record and digitize Civil War memorabilia owned by local residents for a new exhibit.  If you possess anything related to the period of 1861-1865, please come to the old Fly building at the corner of South Main and McGrew St. (across the street from the Argie Cooper Library), on October 3rd (Wednesday), 2012, and there will be members of the Bedford County (Tennessee) Historical Society and the S. A. Cunningham SCV Camp #1620 to expedite the process and assist you.

If you wish to visit their site click on here:  http://www.tn.gov/tsla/

Our website is now linked to the Tennessee Division SCV website, in addition to our previously announced link to the National SCV website.

Last state to secede from the Union

While Tennessee voters approved secession on June 8, 1861, I wish to use this as my reasoning that Tennessee was the last state to secede. There is an argument for a state other than Tennessee, but I believe it is considered by most that Tennessee was the last. Tennessee was greatly divided over this decision as most scholars will attest, and the town of Shelbyville (location of our SCV Camp 1620), in Bedford County, Tennessee, was heavily Union in its sentiments. The county of Bedford (smaller today than it was back in 1861-1865) was more evenly divided, but still contained numerous Jacksonian Democrats.  Many of them were slave owners, but did not want to part ways with the Union.  Of course, Tennessee was not the only Southern state with great differences on this matter.  There were several, but we need only look to northern Georgia, northern and central Alabama, and northern and central Mississippi to find large populations of pro Union families that wanted no part of secession.  The hill country of northeastern Mississippi and northerwestern Alabama was a magnet of  pro Union men who traveled to Glendale, Mississippi (Camp Davies-outside of Corinth, MS) to join the !st Alabama Union Cavalry. They rode or walked to get to Corinth after the battle of Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh) in April 1862 to enlist.

An interesting read that expounds on some Unionist Southerners is a book by Don Umphrey entitled Southerners in Blue – They defied the Confederacy.

What happened on this date 150 yrs ago?

On this date 150 years ago what happened in The War Between the States?

There are some sites listed here you can click on and read.  Be advised some info is not completely accurate and there are some spelling errors.  This is for entertainment and not related to this site, this camp, or the SCV.  More links are planned to be added in the near future.

1)  American Civil War Timeline  2)  The History Place  3)  A Chronology of the Civl War  4)  A Timeline of the Civil War /War Between the States

 

 

Link to Elm Springs Nat’l SCV

* We are now officially linked to the SCV National Headquarters in Elm Springs, Columbia, Tennessee.  As you look up individual camps, scroll to Tennessee, then alpha. to Shelbyville. Camp 1620 that is highlighted. Click on it and you will be routed to this site.

* If you use Facebook, there is a “This Day in Civil War History” event page that is interesting. While in Facebook, search and find it as you would looking for a friend.

* Les Marsh, our camp commander has located the burial site of Major James F. Cummings, C.S.A., who was originally thought to be buried in the Confederate Cemetery section of the Willow Mount Cemetery,  here in Shelbyville.   Major Cummings served the Confederate cause as Chief Commissary under Gen. Braxton Bragg, Gen. E. Kirby Smith, Gen. J.E. Johnson and Gen. J. B. Hood.  More information about Major Cummings and pictures of his marker placement will be made available soon on this website.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                

Major James F. Cummings marker placement

               

                                                                                                                                                                   

Willow Mount Walking Tour of 30 April

On 30 Apr 2011 SCV Camp#1620 conducted a historical walking tour in the Willow Mount cemetery.  Dressed mostly in War Between the States (Civil War) period costumes of military and civilians, our camp re-enactors and historians represented a variety persons buried in Willow Mount.

Willow Mount Walking Tour

This tour is planned as a twice a year fund raiser for our camp,  and a fall  tour is expected sometime in late late Sept-early Nov.

Polk Arnold

Who was Polk Arnold?  Les Marsh, our camp Commander has been researching Polk Arnold for some time.  After some controversy has surfaced recently about Polk Arnold, Les has decided to publish his research.  Click on Polk Arnold if you want to know something about a Black Confederate from Shelbyville, Tennessee in Bedford County.  Added note:  Polk Arnold applied for and received a Confederate Pension in 1921.

“He who does garrison duty is as much a soldier as he that is in the fighting line“ ~Seneca, Roman Philosopher (4 BC – 65 AD)