THE SOLDIERS OF
THE LAWTON-GORDON-EVANS BRIGADE (CSA)

The men of the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Brigade, nearly 7000 strong, came from all corners of the state of Georgia and from several counties in Alabama. They each did their duty as best they could. Here are some selected anecdotes from and about a few of the soldiers who served in the Brigade, which illustrate typical (and some not-so-typical) experiences of the war and its aftermath.

If you have a human interest story about a civil war ancestor who served in the Georgia Brigade that you are willing to share, please contact Chris Brantley, brant@erols.com with the details.

Nathan Bennett Bagwell, Company B (Milton Guards), 38th Georgia. Enlisted in the army in mid-April 18612 at the age of nineteen. A farmer by trade, he was 5 feet 10 inches tall, with fair complexion and hazel eyes. Promoted sergeant in early 1862, he was severely wounded in the left leg at Sharpsburg and left to the enemy when Lee's army retreated. His leg was amputated by a Union surgeon on the field and he was subsequently treated at No. 5 U.S. Army Hospital in Frederick, Maryland before being paroled and furloughed home as disabled. On January 24, 1865 he was admitted to Confederate General Hospital No. 9 in Richmond, where he applied for an artificial limb, which was paid for by the Association for the Relief of Maimed Soldiers. My thanks to David A. Bagwell of Point Clear, Alabama for this family history.

James Simeon Blain, Company A (Brunswick Riflemen) was an original officer of the Brunswick Riflemen, being elected 1st Lieutenant on May 29, 1861 and later Captain on August 1, 1861 when the regiment was reorganized and upon the retirement of Capt. Benjamin F. Harris. Blain was promoted Major on Dec. 3, 1862 and Lt. Col. on Aug. 12, 1863 after which he assumed command of the 26th Georgia Regiment. Trained as a doctor, Blain was called upon to use his medical skill during the fighting at Brawner's Farm (Groveton) when he was first to reach the seriously wounded General Ewell as he lay under enemy fire. Later, Blain was himself severely wounded in the shoulder by shrapnel August 25, 1864 during skirmishing near Shepherdstown, WV and disabled from active service, but was listed as "Present, Field Officer", in a roster of th 26th Georgia dated January 1865. After the war Dr. Blain established a medical practice in Brunswick, GA and played a prominent role during a Yellow Fever epidemic that struck the area in 1876. Following his death on 24 Dec. 1886, it is said the entire city of Brunswick came to pay respects at his funeral on Christmas Day. Dr. Blain's brother, William S. Blain also enlisted with the Brunswick Riflemen, but transferred on April 28, 1863 and served the balance of the war as a hospital steward. Jacob E. Dart's Life of J. S. Blain highlights Dr. Blain's service, as well as providing Dart's own remembrances of the war. My thanks to James Blain for sharing Dart's article and other remembrances and records of his great grandfather James Simeon Blain..

William B. Booth was a private in the 26th Georgia (Co. H or K) from Ware County, Georgia, He was wounded at 2nd Manassas, and died on 12 March 1863 at the military hospital in Staunton, VA and was buried there. His Great, Great Grandson William H. Booth, Jr. reports:

I traveled to Staunton this past December (1998) to find his grave. I discovered the hospital where he died was the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, which was converted to a military hospital during the War. After the War, it reverted to its original function and is still the state school. According to the local historical society, soldiers brought to the hospital who died were held at the hospital for a period of time to give relatives a chance to claim the bodies. Most were never claimed because of the distances from their home states. Most of those who were unclaimed were buried in a designated area of Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton. The state of Virginia erected a large monument to the Confederate soldiers buried there, more than 1500 with more than 700 unidentified. Only three graves are marked but a directory exists. My gggrandfather was buried there 12 September 1863, six months after his death. It is an incredibly beautiful site, located on top of a hill with huge oaks that must have been there more than a century.

One can only begin to imagine the thoughts of a 36- or 37-year-old family man with a wife and five children, ages 12 to 5, lying in a hospital nearly a thousand miles from home, dying. Now, more than 130 years later, I felt honored as his great great grandson, descendant of the 12-year-old, to pay my respects. I don't think any of us ever really appreciate the sacrifice these men made.

Erasmus J. Borland, Company C (Mitchell Guards), 31st Georgia hailed from Dothan, Alabama. Twenty-five years old when he enlisted, he was five foot six inches tall, of light complexion, with grey eyes and light hair, and terribly near-sighted. He was discharged on May 10, 1862 due to "a long attack of pneumonia which was followed by camp fever which has broken his constitution." He was able to return to his unit, however, and during the war, maintained a correspondence with I. J. Stewart, a friend in the company who had returned back home to Dale, Alabama. My thanks to Larry McAllister of Chattahoochee, Florida for providing copies of Borland's letters.

James T. Branch, Company A (Irwin County Cowboys), 61st Georgia and his five sons fought with the 61st Georgia. My thanks to Tom Myers for providing these biographical sketches.

Benjamin E. Daniel, Company C (Ben Hill Guards), 38th Georgia was wounded at the battle of Gaines Mill on June 27, 1862 and sent to a military hospital in Augusta, Georgia to recuperate, where he married Letitia Tice, daughter of David Tice of Augusta. Daniel returned to the war, fighting until he received disabling wounds to the leg and thigh, including the loss of two toes, probably at the battle of Monocacy. His disability papers were signed on September 13, 1864 by Maj. Generals Jubal Early and John Breckenridge. My thanks to David Henderson for this family history.

Lt. Urbanus "Barney" Dart, Company A (Brunswick Guards), 26th Georgia wrote his brother Horace of his brush with death in the battle of Chancellorsville, when a grape shot glanced off a tree, striking him heavily in the thigh. "I rolled with it for awhile but when the line was ordered forward I used my sword for a walking stick and limped through it."

George Washington Gaddy answered the call to war, leaving behind his pregnant wife and five young sons to tend their small farm in DeKalb County. He joined the Murphey Guards (Co. A, 31st Georgia) at Camp Kirkpatrick on September 26, 1861 and was later elected a sergeant. An artillery shell at the Battle of Antietam left Emily Gaddy a widow and his six children fatherless. After the war, Emily Gaddy never remarried and struggled to make ends meet by taking on boarders.

Simpson A. Hagood and his brother Levi enlisted as privates in Company B (Milton Guards), 38th Georgia in Alpharetta, Georgia in Oct. 1861. He was elected 2nd Lieutenant on Dec. 4, 1862 and served until he was captured on 25 March 1965 during the attack on Fort Steadman (Hares Hill) at Petersburg, Va. He was released in mid-June 1865 from the military prison at Ft. Delaware. His war wounds (in the hip and knee) forced him to give up farming and pursue the trade of carpentry after the war. He also served as a Justice of the Peace and as Clerk of the Superior Court in Lawrenceville, Ga. The following is a series of letters home written by Hagood. My thanks to John E. Davis for assistance "above and beyond the call of duty" in supplying these and other useful resources, and to Katherine Cash Emerson.

James C. Hall was promoted captain of the Goshen Blues (Company H), 38th Georgia, but soon fell ill at died in the hospital at Lynchburg, Virginia. His body was packed in salt and shipped home to be buried in Elbert County, Georgia. Thanks to David Anderson for forwarding the photograph of his 3rd Great Uncle.

Francis M. and Vincent A. Hodges slipped away from their home in Cogdale, Georgia (Clinch County) against their father's wishes to join the Forest Rangers (Co. K, 26th Georgia). Walking on foot to the recruiting office at Waresboro, they were told they could not join unless they had a gun. Returning home, they liberated their father's shotgun and then retraced their steps to Waresboro, where they were officially enlisted on October 1, 1861. Both young men were well regarded in the company. Vincent was elected 2nd Lieutenant on August 1, 1862, while brother Franches was appointed 2nd Corporal on May 10, 1862. Unfortunately, father Archibald Hodges' fears for his sons came to pass for Vincent was killed at the Second Battle of Manassas on August 28, 1862 and Francis was killed in the fighting at Winchester, Virginia on September 19, 1864. My thanks to Glenn Hodges for this information on his great, great uncles.

William Hodnett of Troup County, Georgia sent seven sons to serve in the Confederate army, including Thomas Jefferson, George Tip, John Wesley, Samuel, and William Henry, who joined the Evans Guards (Company K) of the 13th Georgia Regiment. Three of the five were among the eighteen survivors of Company K who surrendered at Appomattox in 1865. Several of their letters home have been preserved in the Hodgnett Family Collection at the Duke University Rare book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. My thanks to Jessie Hearle transcribing copies of these letters and providing information on his ancestors.

William L. McLeod was a brash 20 year old captain upon whom command of the 38th Georgia devolved in late 1862 due to the resignation or incapacitation of senior officers in that regiment. As the highest ranking officer fit for duty, his name was forwarded for promotion to Lt. Colonel, but objections were raised by a number of subordinate officers due to his youth and alleged unsuitability for the post. These objections were endorsed in part by the acting Brigade commander Clement Anselm Evans. The promotion was conferred regardless (although not command of the regiment), but was short-lived as McLeod died not long thereafter during fighting at the first day at Gettysburg. The following letters concerning the promotion of Capt. McLeod include both the objections and Col. Evan's endorsement of them. My thanks to John Davis for forwarding these letters which are preserved in the National Archives.

Twenty-year old George Fennell Newton enlisted as a private in the "Wiregrass Rifles", Company C of the 61st Georgia in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia in 1861 and served until he was wounded and lost an arm at Gettysburg. After his war ended, he returned home to the farm and eventually served as a sheriff, tax collector and state representative until his death in 1922. His oldest son was named "John B. Gordon Newton" after General Gordon. At the time of his death he had over 9,000 acres of farmland and 10 children. Newton¹s great, great grandson Jeff Grable of Marietta, Georgia, relates the following story:

My grandfather told me a story about George as an old man: a cat had fallen into the family's well and my grandfather drew the task of emptying the well of all fouled water and then scraping the sides. He was about 12 years old and was complaining about the hard work and crying because the cat had died. As well, he was miserable because he couldn't drink the polluted water and it was a hot afternoon. His grandfather, George, said "Stop your crying. After I got shot at Gettysburg, I had to move dead men and dead horses out of my way to get a drink. When I finally got to the water, there was a scum of blood on the top that maggots had begun to feed in." George had lost his left arm on the first days fighting at Gettysburg. It sounds like a disgusting tale, but it means something to me as I knew my grandfather well and he got the tale from his granddad, whom he was close to. It is sort of a "family tradition" story.

My thanks to Jeff Grable for sharing this story.

William Paschal and his step-brother/cousin L. P. Steed enlisted with the 12th Georgia Battalion of Heavy Artillery on May 7, 1862. They served in South Carolina until the battalion was sent north to join Evans' Brigade following the Battle of Spotsylvania. William Paschal survived the war, surrendering as 1st Sergeant of Company F at Appomattox Court House. L. P. Steed was not so lucky. Wounded in the right arm (apparently at Hares Hill/Fort Steadman), L. P. was admitted to Jackson Hospital in Richmond on March 28, 1865 His condition took a turn for the worse and he was transferred to the C.S.A. General hospital on April 8th and died two days later. During the course of the war, they wrote home often to reassure their family. My thanks to Jerry James for sharing these letters.

James Ervin Spivey, Company E (Wiregrass Minutemen), 26th Georgia was famous in both armies for his loud battle cry. "Just as we were ordered forward, Irvin Spivy [sic], of the Twenty-Sixth Georgia Regiment, hallooed. He could halloo the queerest that I ever heard any one. It was a kind of a scream or low, like a terrible bull, with a kind of neigh mixed along with it, and it was nearly as loud as a steam whistle. We called him 'The Twenty-Sixth Georgia's bull," and the Yankee's called him "Gordon's Bull." He would always halloo this way when we charged the enemy, and we were informed that the Yankees understood it as a signal for them to move back." Recollections of Pvt. G. W. Nichols, 61st Georgia. Spivey enlisted as a private on April 22, 1861 and was appointed 4th Corporal on May 10, 1862. He was wounded in 1864 but returned to ranks to surrender with his unit at Appomattox Court House.

John Wesley Stewart enlisted as a private in Company H (Panola Rifles, from Terrell County, Georgia) of the 13th Georgia, surviving numerous battles unscathed until the final surrender at Farmville (Appomattox). According to family tradition, he survived the war, only to lose his wife and daughter in the seige of Atlanta. After the war, like many confederates, he headed west with his brother and settled near Waco, Texas. Here is a copy of a letter written by Stewart to his mother during a lull in the fighting at Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864.

Charles T. Stuart enlisted as a private in Company H (Bartow Light Infantry) of the 26th Georgia regiment but rose in rank to 2nd Lieutenant. He was wounded six times in action, at Gaines Mill, twice at Sharpsburg (Antietam), at Second Bull Run (Manassas), in the battle of the Wilderness and at Monocacy, where he was shot through the lung. Left behind in Frederick, Maryland he was subsequently confined in a hospital prison in Baltimore until paroled and returned home. Somewhat recuperated, Stuart spent a short time as a guard at Andersonville and then helping to hunt down absentees from the army. Stuart's autobiographical sketch is one of the few original manuscripts available from a soldier of Gordon's brigade. My thanks to Tom Tullis, great-great gandson of Stuart, for providing a copy.

Waters B. Jones, sheriff of Troup County, Georgia, was elected Captain of Company B, 60th Georgia following his enlistment on July 17, 1861. Made Major on August 17, 1863, he was wounded at the Wilderness. Jones was later raised to Colonel of the combined 60th and 61st Georgia, serving until the surrender at Appomattox Court House. Known as "Old Red" to his troops, according to his obituary, Jones "often entered a battle smoking his pipe, having it shot from his mouth repeatedly."

Isaiah WIlliams enlisted as a private at nineteen in Company G (Dooly Guards), 60th Georgia, the oldest of three brothers to serve in the war. A Lieutenant in the local militia before the war, Williams rose to the rank of First Sergeant before being captured at Fisher's Hill, Virginia, on September 22, 1864. The new uniform and shoes he had been issued just five days before served him well that cold winter in prison at Point Lookout, Maryland. Williams fought in most of the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, emerging unscathed except for a severe bout of scurvy due to the poor rations and over-exertion. Years after the war, his most vivid memory was of the death of his captain, John B. Cooling, who fell to cannon fire in the assault on Winchester, June 13-14, 1863. Kudos to Fred Gleaton, whose tribute to his great great grandfather Isaiah Williams also includes an excellent capsule history of the Brigade and its operations.

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Last Updated: May 15, 2000

Questions, comments, or notices to Chris Brantley, brant@erols.com