The Prison Times

As we saw in the last post, W. Hunter arrived at Fort Delaware prisoner-of-war camp in February of 1865.  I don't have specific information about his time there, but in the Library of Congress' American Memory collection there are images of a handwritten newspaper that the POWs at Fort Delaware created themselves. Although imprisoned and probably living in overcrowded conditions, the men appeared to have tried to participate in activities that would improve their day-to-day life -- clubs, musical groups, and literary societies.  The newspaper featured advertisements, poems, announcements and a directory. See the images and explore more at
http://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/p16694coll47/id/205
Search on "Prison Times" in key word.  Let me know if you find W. Hunter Davis in the newspaper!

[Note:  Since first discovering the Prison Times, the Library of Congress no longer offers the link to the digitized image through the American Memory collection.  But I updated the link above to send you to the images current home within the Civil War Treasures collection on the New York Historical Society's website.  MME - 9 April 2015]

While reflecting on W. Hunter's POW experience, I wondered why he wasn't released until June of 1865, when I knew that Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.  The following web page provides some details about how Lee's surrender was only for the Army of Virginia, and the other armies of the Confederacy then had to come to surrender separately.  It gives a timeline of departures from Fort Delaware.

http://www.fortdelaware.org/Going%20Home%20-%20The%20War%20is%20Over.htm

You can learn more about Fort Delaware from the Fort Delaware State Park website and the Fort Delaware Historical Society website

Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society, http://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/p16694coll47/id/205

Timeline

One of the best ways to get a handle on the events of an ancestor's life is with a timeline.  From a disparate bunch of records I pull together an orderly timeline to see what, when and where events of their life took place.  Better yet I can place my ancestor's activities in historical context by comparing it to events of, say, the Civil War.

Below is a timeline of records for William Hunter Davis from 1861-1865.

Date	Location	Comments	Source
18 July - 31 August 1861	Tybee Island	Enlisted as Sargeant in Olmstead’s 1st Infantry, “Way’s Company” also known as the Forest City Rangers.	Compiled Service Records (CSR) see sources below)
11 November 1861	Fort Pulaski	Special Requisition receipt for supplies (1 hatchet, 2 buckets, 1broom)	CSR
18 September -18 November 1861		Copyist noted receipt for payment signed by W. Hunter Davis	CSR
13 February 1862	Savannah, Chatham County, GA	Marries Annie Rebecca Graham	Georgia. Chatham County. Marriage Books, (see below)
17 February 1862	Savannah, GA	Enlists in 5th Georgia Cavalry, Co. B by Richard F. Akin for the period: “War”	CSR
Jan-Feb 1863		Absent “Sick in Savannah, GA”	CSR, Muster Roll
11 Feb 1863		Elected 2nd Lt. Jr	CSR, Muster Roll
28 Feb 1863		Subject:  Sick	“Insp. R. #60”, CSR
Mar-Apr 1863		Present	CSR, Muster Roll
May-June 1863		Absent.  “Detached as Recorder for Board Examiner.”	CSR, Muster Roll
July-Aug 1863		present	CSR, Muster Roll
31 Aug- 1 Nov 1863		Present (note AWOL below on 25 Sept 1863)	(CSR, Muster Roll
25-26 Sept 1863		AWOL	CSR
October 1863	Pocotaligo	Present	CSR, Muster Roll
16 Dec 1863	Bivouac near Green Pond (South Carolina?)	Request for leave of absence Leave was approved.  Other date on record	Handwritten note from Confederate Service Records
17-18 Dec 1863	Greenpond	Paperwork noting approval of leave request	CSR
31 Dec 1863 – 30 Apr 1863		Present	CSR, Muster Roll
May – June 1864		present	CSR
20 Dec 1864	Near Savannah	Reported missing in action	CSR, Muster Roll
1 February 1865	Arrived Hilton Head, South Carolina	Captured 21 Dec 1864.  “Transferred to Washington, DC Feby 1, 1865.	“Appears on Roll of Prisoners of War, CSR)
2 Feb 1865	Washington, DC	“Appears on a register of Prisoners of War at Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D.C. When committed: Feb 2, 1865 Where captured: near Savannah When:  Dec. 21, 1864 Remarks: Sent to Ft. Del Feb. 7-65”	CSR
8 Feb 1865		Special Order 32/7, Subject: Dropped	CSR
8 Feb 1865		Appears on Roll of Prisoners of War received at Fort Delaware, Del., from Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D.C., February 8, 1865.	CSR
17 June 1865	Fort Delaware, Del.	Name appears as signature to an Oath of Allegiance to the United States, subscribed to at Fort Delaware, Del.  Place of Residence: Chatham, GA Complexion:  Dk : hair:  Dk Eyes:  Bck; height:  5ft 101/2 in. Remarks: Released June 17, 1865	CSR

You'll notice on 16 December 1863 W. Hunter asks for 2 weeks leave.  He does so with a note that shows up in the Fold3.com records.  I believe it's the original.  In it he asks permission to "visit the communities of Chatham and Effingham on business of the utmost importance."

The absence for May-June 1863 causes me to wonder:
What did it mean to be a Recorder for the Board of Examiners?  Was it because of his excellent penmanship?

One of the gaps in the records is from July-December 1864.  I know from other sources such as regimental histories and Civil War histories that W. Hunter's cavalry unit (5th GA, Company B) was involved in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and the Atlanta campaign, so perhaps they were a bit too busy to take roll and tend to clerical duties.  You can visit the site of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain today and still see the remains of the bunkers that the Confederates built.

There's so much to explore that could give me a better idea the world W. Hunter was living in, including his experience as a P.O.W.  I'll show more of that in my next post.

Sources:

Georgia. Chatham County. Chatham County Marriage Book, Microfilm. Georgia Archives, Morrow, GA.

Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia. M266. : National Archives (United States). Sargeant, Way's Company, Forrest City Rangers, 1st (Olmstead's) infantry, 1861 and also 2^nd Lt., Co. B, 5^th Georgia Cavalry 1862-1865.  Accessed 3 March 2012 at http://www.fold3.com.

More Myths and Mysteries

I'm lucky to have a vintage 19th century photograph of a house that my grandmother, Betty Davis, labeled as being the home where her husband, George Leander Armstrong Davis, was born.  (Click on the images in this blog post to see a larger or more complete view.)

The Hickories (Personal Collection of Margaret Eves)

The photo led my mom and me to seek out that home in Guyton, Georgia during a recent trip we took to Savannah.  With the help of a nice lady at Guyton (Georgia) City Hall we found the house where my grandpa was most likely born, but also discovered it was NOT the one in my old photograph!

Armstrong-Morgan home, Guyton, GA (Personal collection of Margaret Eves)

The Armstrong-Morgan home on Central Avenue is about as close to the epicenter of Guyton you can get (next door to Subway and across the street from the IGA).  The current owner, Marshall Reiner, graciously invited us in and took the time to show us around, despite the fact that the house serves as the location for his CPA business and it was the HEIGHT of tax season!  It's a beautiful Victorian home with high ceilings and a wrap around front-porch.

Mr. Reiner explained that Guyton was a bedroom community of sorts for Savannahians back in the 19th century.  People could work in Savannah and then ride the train home to Guyton or other towns along the railway and spend their weekends or summers where they were away from "the fever" or other unpleasantries of the city.  The map portion below (click the link to see the full map on the Library of Congress' American Memories website) shows the Central of Georgia Rail Road line going from Savannah up through Effingham County to Louisville in Burke County.

Portion of Indexed Railroad and County Map of Georgia
Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

1883 Indexed Railroad and County Map of Georgia

When looking at the photograph of the house that we thought was Grandpa's birthplace, Mr. Reiser noticed my grandmother's note that it was at the "29 milepost."  He said the Armstrong-Morgan house was at the 14 mile post, but that the little town of Egypt was around the 29 milepost and it could be that's where the old photo was taken.  You can see "Egypt" along the railway north of Guyton on the map above.  It's possible that the old photo shows a house where the Armstrongs lived at one point until they built their home in Guyton in 1883.  Or it's possible it's a home of friends or relatives.  Unfortunately, Mama and I didn't have time to drive through "Egypt" on our way home to see if we saw a house matching the one in the photograph.  Still a mystery to be solved.

Sources:

Cram, George Franklin.  Indexed railroad and county map of Georgia. Map. Chicago, 1883. From Library of Congress. Map Collections, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3921p.rr001980

 (accessed April 20, 2013).

Personal collection of Margaret Eves.