Friday, March 28, 2014

Frederick S. Moore, student 1851-1852

Moore, a lawyer in Wilmington, NC in the 1860 census, enlisted on May 31, 1861 as a sergeant in Co. E of 1st NC Infantry. He was promoted to second lieutenant on December 6, 1861 and to first lieutenant on January 29, 1863. On June 29, 1863 he was promoted to captain and assumed command of the company on October1, 1863. He was wounded on June 26, 1862 at the Battle of Ellerson's Mill, VA, part of the Seven Days Battles near Richmond, VA.  He is reported to have been wounded slightly several more times, at Malvern Hill, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. Moore was seriously wounded again at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863, with injuries to the head, breast, and thigh, and hospitalized first at General Hospital No. 4 in Richmond, VA and then was transferred to Raleigh, NC. In November 1863, he was again admitted to General Hospital No. 4 suffering from a fever and "tubercles of right lung" and was furloughed for recuperation, spending the time in North Carolina. In late September 1864, Moore was admitted to the CSA General Hospital in Charlottesville, with a diagnosis of debilitas, and then sent to Lynchburg, VA.


After the war, he operated a school in Charlotte, NC. He transferred the school to R.H. Pharr in January, 1868. His history after this is unknown.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Henry C. Tison, student 1841-1842

By 1850, Tison (variant spelling Tyson) was living in Eufala, AL and later moved to Henry County, AL. He enlisted as a private in Co. A of the 6th AL Infantry on June 4, 1861. He was killed at the Battle of Seven Pines, VA on May 31, 1862. In his will, he left his estate to the Alabama Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which brought a lawsuit against the executor of the will that was heard in 1866 by the Alabama's Supreme Court.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

John W. Magruder, student 1862-1863

Magruder attended Virginia Military Institute from February 8, 1862 until May 29, 1862 when he was furloughed. Rather than returning to VMI in the fall of 1862, he was enrolled in the Corps of Cadets at Randolph-Macon College until the college closed in early 1863. He is reported to have been a courier during the winter of 1863-1864 and then to have served in Co. C of the 7th VA Cavalry, although there are no records to support this.

After the war, he returned to Woodstock, VA when he farmer, was a bank cashier in the 1880 census, and by 1900 was a mill manager. He served for from 1893-1898 as an officer in the Virginia National Guard in Co. A of the 2nd VA Infantry. Magruder died on July 2, 1915 and is buried in Massanutten Cemetery in Woodstock, VA

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

George W. Magruder, Class of 1854

Magruder was a doctor in Woodstock, VA when he enlisted in Co. F of the 10th VA Infantry on April 18, 1861. H was commissioned 2nd lieutenant on August 22, 1861. He later served as an Assistant Surgeon with the 146th VA Militia. He was assigned to the General Hospital in Staunton, VA and is listed in June 1862 as serving with the Army of the Valley. He had been sent to Greenwood Hospital on June 8, 1862. Further records have not yet been found.

After the war, he returned to Woodstock and practiced medicine. He moved to Fort Worth, TX in 1889, where he died on July 19, 1891. he is buried in Fort Worth's Pioneer's Rest Cemetery.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Benjamin P. Harrison, Jr., student 1855-1856

Harrison was a clerk in Petersburg, VA when he enlisted on July 29, 1861 as a private in Co. A of the 12th VA Infantry, the Petersburg City Guard. He was listed as sick in hospital in Richmond and in Petersburg  from June  until December 1862, when on Dec. 1, 1862 he was detailed for duty as a hospital steward. On February 18, 1863, he was promoted to the position of hospital steward at General Hospital No. 20, also know as Royster's Hospital, in Richmond, VA.

By 1880, Harrison was living in Wilmington, NC where he was a dealer in hats. He died on September 9, 1887 and is buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, NC.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Charles Wesley Wilson, student 1854-1855

Wilson attended the University of Virgina after leaving R-MC and studied law. He enlisted as 2nd lieutenant in Co. A of the 6th VA infantry on April 22, 1861. On May 1, 1862, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant, and on November 17, 1862, he became captain of the company. Wilson was captured at Turkey Ridge during the Battle of Cold Harbor (VA) on June 8, 1864 and sent from White House Landing on the Pamunkey River to the prison camp at Point Lookout, MD, and then transferred to the prison camp at Fort Delaware, DE. He remained there until he took the oath of allegiance on June 17, 1865 and was released.

After the war, he returned to Norfolk, where he operated a book and stationery store until 1874, when he sold it and became a farmer in Norfolk County. Wilson died on January 7, 1912 and is buried in Norfolk's Elmwood Cemetery.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

John C. Walker, Class of 1843 (A.B.) and 1846 (A.M.)

Walker, a lawyer in Rockingham County, VA, enlisted on April 25, 1862 as a private in Co. I of the 10th VA Infantry. He served as company clerk and commissary clerk for several months. By late 1862, it appears he was no longer traveling with the company, and his later service is unknown, although he apparently was assigned the rank of major at some point, although this may have been either a rank from earlier militia service or an honorary title. As early as 1866, local newspapers refer to Walker as "Major John C. Walker," although military records recording that rank have not yet been found for verification, and all later references in reputable sources call him Major Walker. He was certainly not serving on active duty by 1864, as he served from 1864-1865 as the Rockingham County representative in the Virginia House of Delegates.

After the war, he returned to practicing law in Rockingham County and later moved to neighboring Page County. He remained a prominent citizen, and served as vice-president of Randolph-Macon College's Society of Alumni. He died in Page County, VA in mid-February 1887 and is buried near Elkton in Rockingham County, VA.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

William Marshall Morris, student 1851-1852

Morris, who was in the VMI class of 1851, attended R-MC for a year in 1851-52 and then went to the University of Virginia for a year in 1852. He practiced law in Albemarle County, VA, although an article in the Virginia Law Register on the Albemarle Bar states about Morris and another colleague that "neither of these gentlemen ever did much practice in Albemarle or elsewhere and can hardly be counted as active practitioners." Morris was a pioneer member of the Albemarle Hunting Club in 1856. On September 10, 1862 he was commissioned 1st lieutenant in Co. G of the 46th VA Infantry. He submitted a letter of resignation on April 1, 1863 citing ill health and had been absent for the previous 4 months due to chronic nephritis and rheumatism.

After the war, he was a farmer in Washington County Missisippi in the 1870 and 1880 censuses. By 1900, he was living in Clearwater, FL.He died on May 24, 1923 in Clearwater and is buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Charlottesville, VA.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

William G. Jackson, student 1852-1853

Jackson enlisted on January 20, 1862 as a lieutenant in Co. D of the 2nd Regiment VA Artillery. This company later became Co. D of the 22nd Battalion VA Infantry, and on May 23, 1862, Jackson was elected captain of the company. He was taken prisoner on July 14, 1863 at Falling Waters, MD during the retreat from the Battle of Gettysburg. He was sent first to Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. and in early August 1863 was sent to the prison camp for officers at Johnson's Island, OH. He was released on July 11, 1865 after taking the oath of allegiance.

After the war, he returned to farming in Mecklenburg County, VA. He died prior to 1880, when the census show his wife as a widow.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Samuel F. Jefferson, student 1855-1857

Jefferson enlisted as a private in Co. C of the 21st VA Infantry on June 20, 1861.  He was discharged for disability on July 17, 1861, with gonorrhea cited as the cause. He had suffered from this for several years. His occupation at enlistment was listed as merchant.

He is listed in the 1880 census as a farmer in Mecklenburg County, VA. Jefferson died on August 17, 1887.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Dennis Reid Parker, student 1856-1857

Parker studied medicine in Harnett, NC after leaving Randolph-Macon. On March 5, 1862, he was commissioned assistant surgeon with rank of lieutenant in the 25th NC Infantry.

After the war, he became a physician in Trinity, Randolph County, NC where he also served on the faculty of Trinity College (now Duke University). Parker served as a senator in the state legislature in the late 1890s and was also one of the founders and leaders of the North Carolina Farmer's Alliance, lecturing extensively on agricultural topics. He died on August 16, 1909 and is buried in Trinity Cemetery in Trinity, Randolph County, NC.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Charles W. Walker, student 1853-1854

Walker, who had attended the University of Virginia and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia after leaving R-MC, was a physician in Mecklenburg County, VA.  His date of enlistment is unknown; however,  \inMarch, 1862, he was ordered from Richmond to Rapidan Station, VA. On April 2, 1862, he was assigned temporarily to the Confederate General Hospital at Orange Court House, VA, and on April 17, 1862 was commissioned assistant surgeon and ordered to report to General Johnston.  Dr. Walker was assigned to the 32nd VA Infantry as assistant surgeon on September 29, 1862.  He was captured on April 6, 1865 in Amelia County, VA and sent to City Point, VA and then to Newport News, VA, where he took the oath of allegiance on July 1, 1865 and was released.

After the war, Walker practiced medicine in Mecklenburg County, VA. He died on August 21, 1899 and is buried in Woodland Cemetery in Chase City, VA.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Thomas Albert Walker, student 1857-1858

Walker enlisted as a private in Co. A of the 3rd VA Cavalry on May 14, 1861. He was wounded in the right thigh and buttocks on July 16, 1863 at Leetown, VA and hospitalized in Richmond, VA.  The thigh wound became gangrenous, and he was given an extended furlough in Sepember 1863 to recuperate, and spent much time in hospitals. He was retired from military service on December 17, 1864. Walker was paroled on May 13, 1865.

He was a farmer until his death on August 16, 1876 in Mecklenburg County, VA, where he is buried in the Winn Family Cemetery.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Whitfield Wesley Wannamaker, student 1842-1843

Wannamaker, who had graduated from the Medical College of the State of South Carolina in Charleston (now the Medical University of South Carolina), was a farmer and physician in Orangeburg, S.C. when he enlisted on December 24, 1861 as a private in Co. B of the 14th Battalion SC Cavalry, later Co. A of the 5th Battalion. SC Cavalry. On January 18, 1862, he was elected 2nd Lieutenant and appointed as Quartermaster. He submitted a letter of resignation dated March 10, 1863, citing bladder and kidney disease. His resignation was accepted on March 22, 1863.

He returned to farming and medicine in Orangeburg, SC. Wannamaker died on August 16, 1886.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Robert Shands Eppes, student 1857-1858

Eppes, a farmer in Sussex County, VA, enlisted as a private in Co. A of the 3rd VA Cavalry on November 1, 1861. By spring 1862, he was assigned to Co. I of the 3rd VA Cavalry.  He was wounded on May 8, 1864 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. His horse, worth $2700, was killed in mid-November, 1864 near Newtown, VA.

After the war, Eppes returned to farming in Sussex County. By 1871, he was bankrupt and 209 acres belonging to him and a brother in Sussex County were auctioned. He appears in the 1880 census as a merchant in Sussex County.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Melville M. Walker, student 1860-1861

Walker enlisted as a private in Co.C of the 21st VA Infantry on June 20, 1861. He was discharged for disability on December 15, 1861. His fate after this is unknown. although he may be the Melville M. Walker of Mecklenburg County, VA who later served in the 34th VA and is listed as age 33 in 1865, possibly an incorrect age.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

William A. Jamieson, student 1860-1861

Jamieson's father, the Rev. James Jamieson, is one of three clergymen in a popular story concerning the selection of Boydton, VA as the original site of Randolph-Macon College. Jamieson enlisted on May 9, 1861 as a private in Co. A of the 18th VA Infantry. On May 3, 1862, he transferred to Co. C of the 5th VA Cavalry. He was promoted to lieutenant on July 2, 1864 and cited for his "valor and skill." On July 20, 1864, his horse, a bay mare worth $2700, was killed in Dinwiddie County, VA. He was taken prisoner on September 24, 1864 at Luray, VA while in command of the company, and sent to the prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout, MD. On February 15, 1865, Jamieson was transferred to the camp at Fort Delaware, DE, from which he was released on June 17, 1865 after taking the oath of allegiance.

After the war, he moved to Mecklenburg County, VA and farmed. For many years, Jamieson served as clerk of the county court and was involved in local politics. Jamieson died on November 29, 1919.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Andrew Turner Harrison, student 1859-1860 and 1861-1862

Harrison, who attended Andrew College in Jackson, TN from 1860-1861 in between his two years at R-MC, enlisted on August 10, 1862 as a private in the Richmond "Parker" VA Light Artillery Battery.  He was paroled at Burkeville, VA in mid-April, 1865. 

Harrison graduated from Missouri University (later the University of Missouri at Columbia, MO) in 1873. From 1873-1874, he was a professor of mathematics at Franklin College in Clarksville, AR (Franklin College was a high school for girls sponsored by the Masonic Lodge from 1870-1876 in Franklin County). Harrison was married in MO in June 1874 at the end of the school year. By 1880, he had moved to Trinidad, CO, where he was a store clerk. The 1890 Veteran's Census places him in Socorro, NM and states that he had enlisted at Petersburg, VA. The 1894 Phi Delta Theta Fraternity directory indicates he was a merchant in Socorro,NM and the 1900 census lists his occupation as a lead & copper miner in Socorro, NM. The 1906 Phi Delta Theta Fraternity directory indicates he was involved in mining in El Paso, TX. By 1910, he had moved to Alameda County, CA, where he died on May 26, 1912. Harrison is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego, CA.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Benjamin Harrison, student 1859-1860

Harrison, brother of Joseph M. Harrison (student 1860-1861), enlisted as a private on March 5, 1862, in Captain Scott's Company of Burroughs' Battalion, designated as Co. D of the 14th Battalion VA Cavalry. He was later was assigned to Co. K of the 15th VA Cavalry when the cavalry was reorganized. He was captured in Suffolk, VA on July 18, 1863 and taken to Fort Monroe, VA, where he was paroled and exchanged on August 4, 1863. He is present at the final roll of the company in 1864. According to a family genealogy/history published in the 1970s, Benjamin was "stabbed to death on the way home from the Civil War."

Monday, March 3, 2014

Joseph M. Harrison, student 1860-1861

Harrison, brother of Benjamin Harrison (student 1859-1860), enlisted on April 21, 1861 as a private in Captain Cooper's Company of Burroughs' Battalion, designated as Co. A of the 14th Battalion VA Cavalry. He was later was assigned to Co. F of the 15th VA Cavalry when the cavalry was reorganized.Co. D.

After the war, he returned to Norfolk, VA and farmed. Harrison died in 1912 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk, VA.