Family ties 6: Your Civil War stories

The Picket is sharing readers' accounts of their ancestors who served or were affected by the Civil War. We encourage you to get involved by e-mailing us at pgastjr@comcast.net. David Walker, of Canton, Ga., here provides his second submission.

My great-great-great grandfather was Augustus B. Culberson, born December 1822 in what is now called Troup County. As a young man he moved to LaFayette, in Walker Co. to study law. In 1847 he married Margaret H. Caldwell of Morgan Co. and the couple settled in LaFayette, where it is recorded in 1850, with two young sons, Ovid and Gerald.

With the War of Northern Aggression in its third year, he was appointed commander of the 6th Battalion Georgia Cavalry, State Guards (Culberson’s Battalion) at the rank of Lt. Colonel. The battalion was formed in August 1863 to serve only six months as a local defense in the northwest section of the state. The battalion was comprised of horse soldiers from Chattooga and Walker counties.

The only engagement with the enemy is noted on January 22, 1864, as the “Battle of Subligna” in Chattooga County.

After the war he moved his family to the “West End” of Atlanta in Fulton County where he was appointed to the Fulton County Bar Association in 1869 and later represented Walker County in the Georgia Legislature.

Grandfather Culberson passed away at his home in West End Atlanta, February 24, 1889, and is buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta. A sign of the times in the late 1800s was bestowed on him with a street named after the Culberson family. Culberson Street in West End Atlanta can still be found today.

In 1918 Lt. Col. A.B. Culberson was awarded the Southern Cross of Honor, which was presented to his son Hubert L. Culberson. Also A.B. Culberson along with his nephews Augustus L. Culberson and Eugenius L. Culberson and his wife’s younger brothers Joseph E. Caldwell and Robert H. Caldwell can be found on the “Wall of Honor” located along with the Marsh House and the John B. Gordon Hall in LaFayette.

Family ties 5: Your Civil War Stories

The Picket is sharing readers' accounts of their ancestors who served or were affected by the Civil War. We encourage you to get involved by e-mailing us at pgastjr@comcast.net. John R. Bryan of Conway, Ark., provided this account of his fourth great-grandfather, who fought in a Mississippi unit.

Howell Best Shelton came from a family with roots deep in American history. His grandfather was a private in the American forces fighting for independence from England, and Howell’s father was a corporal in the Georgia militia and was awarded a land grant for his service during the War of 1812. Born on June 29, 1816, in Georgia, Howell was the eldest child of Thomas Jr. and Mary Tarver Shelton. When Howell Shelton was grown, he moved to Chesterville, Mississippi -- a town his father helped found -- and bought a farm outside the town, located near Tupelo.

According to the 1860 Federal census, Howell Best Shelton’s family numbered at 8 children plus his wife, Salina; a year later, his ninth and final child, a son, would be born. This same census valued his total assets at $1,300, including a house, farm, and personal affects. No slaves are mentioned as property in this or previous censuses.

When the states began to secede from the Union following Abraham Lincoln’s election as president, Shelton patiently watched and waited. Finally, at age 46, Howell Shelton enlisted as a private in the newly-formed G-Company, 31st Mississippi Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col. J. A. Orr and mustered in at Pontotoc County, Mississippi. His term of enlistment was listed as “3 years or War.” During the months that followed, Company Muster Rolls show him to be present for duty through training and campaign during the months of March through September, then absent due to sick furlough that expired on December 29, 1862.

January through March, 1863 show him again present for duty when the 31st MS, part of Featherston’s Brigade, Loring’s Division, was encamped in the swamps north of Vicksburg, near Fort Pemberton. On April 22, when the army was preparing to move out to the defenses surrounding Vicksburg, Pvt. Shelton was left behind at Camp Loring, sick yet again with what appears to be a lingering illness of devastating proportions for the middle-aged Shelton. On May 14, 1863 he was transferred to the field hospital at Edward’s Station, near the Big Black River Bridge.

Sometime in the aftermath following the battles of Champion Hill and Big Black River Bridge, the sick, and possibly wounded, Pvt. Howell B. Shelton was captured by the advancing Federal forces and sent to Federally-occupied Memphis, Tennessee on May 25. He was then promptly loaded onto trains of the Illinois Central Railroad along with several thousand fellow prisoners-of-war and shipped to Camp Morton, Indiana (photo, above).

On June 9, 1863, Shelton was among the first of two large groups of Confederate POWs to arrive at Fort Delaware. Here he remained for nearly a month; a chronically ill Confederate soldier, confined on Pea Patch Island off the Delaware shore. Finally, on July 3, 1863, the word came; he would be paroled, along with 1,696 other POWs and 1 civilian prisoner, and shipped by boat to Virginia to be reclaimed by the Confederate government. On July 6, two days after the fall of Vicksburg who Shelton fought to defend, the Fort Delaware detainees arrived in City Point, Va., where they were received by their comrades-in-arms.

At some point later this same day, Pvt. Howell Best Shelton, loving husband, father of 9, defender of thousands, took his last breath. His final resting place remains unknown. He is my 4th great-grandfather by his youngest child, George Best Shelton, who was barely 2 years old at the time of his father’s death.

Picket's most popular stories in 2010

Happy New Year, all!

The Picket's first report was Aug. 25, 2009. I am so thankful for the growing interest in the blog throughout the United States. We also have a couple loyal readers in France (merci!) and a few other nations. We look forward to unearthing more stories in 2011.

The Picket uses StatCounter and Google Analytics to get a profile of visitors.

According to Google, these are the most-read Picket stories in 2010 (some were posted in 2009).

Click on each to read the story:

1. Centennial map for the Battle of Atlanta

2. Excavations begin at site of little-known prison

3. Naval museum receives six cannon

4. Centennial map for the Battle of Peachtree Creek

5. His military miniatures stand tall

6. Lincoln conspirator's bonnet in museum

7. Centennial map for the Battle of Ezra Church

8. Handswen flags are a labor of love

9. The Abraham Lincoln exhibit sponsored by the Library of Congress

10. Artillery shells found south of Atlanta

11. Oddity: Courthouse says it has first shot fired at Fort Sumter

12. Was Andersonville commandant a monster?

13. Kennesaw Mountain park conducts focus groups with African-Americans

14. Georgia working on plans to mark 150th anniversary

15. Surveying swampy remains of battle near Savannah

15. Honoring 44th U.S. Colored Troops

Family ties 3: Your Civil War stories

The Picket is sharing readers' accounts of their ancestors who served or were affected by the Civil War. We encourage you to get involved by e-mailing us at pgastjr@comcast.net. Bob Farrell, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans and the founder of the Civil War roundtable in Raleigh, N.C., provided this account of Pvt. Robert Taggart, who was married to a sister of his great-great-great grandfather, and was wounded twice.

This tailor by trade, enlisted in the service of his country on Sept. 3, 1862, at Whitehall, Washington Co., N.Y., at age 37. He was enrolled for three years by Captain Augustus D. Vaughn into Company F, comprised of residents of Fort Ann, Lisbon and Whitehall. Company D was recruited from Fort Edward and Kingston, Company A was recruited from towns east and southeast of Troy, all within Rensselaer County. The remaining seven Companies came from Troy. Thus it was named "The Third Troy Regiment."

The 169th New York Volunteer Infantry was commanded by Col. Clarence W. Buell and called into service the 7th day of October 1862, 915 strong. Like many other Eastern units, the 169th began by guarding Washington, D.C. and developing their military skills. Their introduction to combat came on the Edenton Road near Suffolk, Va., April 24, 1863. For the next year, they remained in the South Carolina area participating in the siege of Battery Wagner and the bombardment of Fort Sumter.

1864 found the 169th primarily in Virginia, mostly in the environs around Petersburg. It is interesting to note on Feb. 28, 1864, the 169th was transferred to northern Florida, in the Jacksonville area. The units personal effects were brought south on the U.S. Army transport " Maple Leaf. " In the 1990s, the remains of the Maple Leaf were found in the silt of the St. Johns River. When the artifacts were examined they were determined to be near pristine. Lack of funds, then and now, have precluded a complete recovery. However, they remain safe covered with the anaerobic silt of the river.

On the morning of the 1st of April, while traveling on the St. Johns River, the boat hit a Confederate torpedo sinking immediately, with the loss of four crewmen and all the personal effects of the 169th and three other regiments. In May and June of that year, they were to be found at the scene of many well known battles -- Port Walthall, Swift Creek, Drewry’s Bluff, Bermuda Hundred, Cold Harbor and the assault on Petersburg. During this period, they sustained 225 casualties -- 38 of which were enlisted, and 2 officers -- killed in combat

The most notorious event of the Petersburg Campaign was the famous Mine Explosion on the morning of July 30th. The 169th saw a great deal of action in the lines to the immediate right of the actual crater, a point at which there was a great loss of life on both sides. The 10th Corps, led by Brig. Gen. John W. Turner, and included the 169th N.Y. and the 97th Penna., held the Confederates in check throughout the morning. Had they not done their part, the Union could have suffered additional losses. It was here that Company F lost its Captain Vaughn, along with 18 other casualties to the regiment, a relatively small loss compared to the other units of the division. The remainder of the year saw the 169th participating in the battles of Dutch Gap, Strawberry Plains, Chaffin’s Farm and in December the first assault on Fort Fisher.

Jan. 15th, 1865, saw the second assault upon Fort Fisher, N.C., where the XXIV Corp, Second Division, including the 169th NYV and the 97th Pennsylvania, were the first to breach the line and carry the stronghold of the enemy. While sleeping on the grass early on the morning of the 16th, the 169th had placed themselves directly over the powder magazine, which was accidently detonated by drunken Union sailors. The killed numbered 33 and the wounded went uncounted.

The New York Herald numbers Robert Taggart among the wounded.

The next four months till the end of the war , saw the 169th in the Carolinas where they were mustered out on July 19, 1865, at Raleigh, NC. At the end, they had lost to death, 157 in combat (KIA & DOW) and 371 other casualties (DOD or serious wounds). Only 25 other N.Y. State units suffered greater losses, and are so honored in "Fox’s Regimental Losses." They returned to Troy on July 24, 1865, to a gigantic outpouring of townspeople, celebrities and politicians.

On Aug. 3, they received their final pay and disbanded. Fewer than 120 of the original 915 recruits returning to their families.

Robert Taggart returned to Whitehall, having been wounded at Cold Harbor 6-30-1864 and at the explosion at Fort Fisher 1-16-1865. He died May 25, 1883, at age 58, the direct result of a service-induced condition. He is interred in the Bordman Cemetery, plot CC14.

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Click it, final chapter: Centennial map of Atlanta and the Civil War -- Downtown

The three previously posted centennial maps of the Atlanta Campaign continue to be of big interest to Picket readers, site metrics show. The maps came from a large 1964 State Highway Department of Georgia (now DOT) poster marking the 100th anniversary of the fighting.

They bring the fighting home to modern readers because they are superimposed over roads and highways. Be aware that some roads have changed names since 1964.

I’m wrapping up the series with this fourth map of downtown. The shaded area on the right is the Battle of Atlanta.

(Click the map to zoom in)

Before we get started, here are links to the previous three maps and descriptions of the 1864 battles that saved Abraham Lincoln’s presidency:

• Battle of Atlanta
• Battle of Peachtree Creek
• Battle of Ezra Church

Downtown Atlanta was heavily fortified. That didn’t shield residents and Confederate soldiers from privation and the strains of siege. A few were killed by artillery shells. What is now the Georgia Tech campus used to be the northern edge of the city.

Here’s the key to the circled red numbers you can see after clicking the map. Most of the missing numbers are in the three maps listed above.

1. Georgia State Capitol: Regimental battle flags are displayed. Site of Atlanta’s City Hall during the Civil War.

2. Sherman’s headquarters: Corner of Washington at Mitchell Street. Later Atlanta Girls High School.

3. Confederate ordnance station: Muse’s clothing store later stood at the corner of Peachtree and Walton streets for decades.

4. Eternal Light of the Confederacy (right): Original lamp post with shell holes. Northeast corner of Whitehall at Alabama streets (Note from Picket: I believe this is now in Underground Atlanta. Anyone know for sure?)

5. Car shed: Center of original town of Terminus, now Atlanta. The car shed is gone.

7. The first shell falling within the city killed a little girl and her dog on the corner of Ellis and Ivy (now Peachtree Center Avenue) streets.

8. Oakland Cemetery, where Gens. John B. Gordon, Clement A. Evans, Alfred Iverson and many Confederate soldiers are buried.

9. James J. Andrews, leader of the Andrews Raiders (Great Locomotive Chase) was hanged here June 7, 1862. This spot is on Juniper Street, a short distance from Ponce de Leon Avenue. It was a ravine roughly bordered by Juniper, Fourth and Myrtle streets.

10. Seven of the Andrews Raiders were hanged at the southeast corner of Memorial Drive at Park Avenue, June 18, 1862.

12. Atlanta Cyclorama, the giant painting depicting the Battle of Atlanta, in Grant Park.

13. Fort Walker is the only remaining defensive position of the Atlanta inner defense perimeter during the siege.

20. Surrender: Mayor James Calhoun and a few citizens, under white flag, rode to Marietta Street at Northside Drive (now the southwestern edge of Georgia Tech), where they met the federal advance guard. Mayor Calhoun formally surrendered the city on Sept. 2, 1864.