USA > Mississippi > Pike County > Pike county. Mississippi, 1789-1876: pioneer families and Confederate soldiers, reconstruction and redemption > Part 2
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4. Approximate cost of disinterring, boxing, and conveying the remains to the nearest railroad leading to this city.
It is thought that the information desired under items 3 and 4 could be obtained from some of the local undertakers in the vicinity.
Thanking you in advance for your courtesy, I am,
Very respectfully,
ARTHUR CRANSHON,
Captain and Quartermaster, U. S. Army.
P. S. A self-addressed envelope is enclosed for reply, which need not be stamped. C.
WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER, 416 HIBERNIA BANK BUILDING. (IOII.)
NEW ORLEANS, LA., September 21, 1908.
Mr. Luke w. Conerly,
Griswold, Harrison County, Miss.
SIR:
Referring to your letter of September Ist, 1908, I have the honor to inform you that the Quartermaster General of the Army has approved the application of this office that you accompany the Superintendent of the Chalmette, La., National Cemetery to the grave of one of General Carroll's men buried in Pike County, Miss., as stated in your communication referred to above.
In this connection, you are further informed that this office will furnish the necessary transportation to cover the journey, and in addition you will be al- lowed not exceeding $3.00 per diem for your necessary expenses.
In order to facilitate matters in this respect, will you please inform this office at the earliest practicable date when it will be agreeable for you to take
20
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
this trip, and in doing so please allow at least three (3) days' latitude in order that all arrangements can be perfected, and that no confusion may arise.
Also give full directions as to where you may be found, so that the superin- tendent will have no trouble in locating you.
Thanking you in advance for your courtesy.
Very respectfully, LOUIS F. GARRARD, JR., Captain and Quartermaster, U. S. Army. By ARTHUR M. EDWARDS, Major, Commissary, U. S. Army, In charge of office.
WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER, 416 HIBERNIA BANK BUILDING. (IOII.)
NEW ORLEANS, LA., September 30, 1908.
Mr. Luke W. Conerly,
Gulfport, Miss.
SIR:
In compliance with instructions contained in 2nd indorsement, office of the Quartermaster General of the Army, dated, September 14, 1908 (234, 383), you will please proceed at the earliest practicable date after receipt of this communication, to this city, reporting upon arrival to this office for instruc- tions, and accompany the Superintendent, Chalmette, La., National Cemetery, to Pike County, Miss., for the purpose of positively locating the grave of one of General Carroll's men buried there, who died while traveling with his command on the way to New Orleans in 1814-15.
Upon completion of this duty you will return to your home, Gulfport, Miss., via New Orleans, La.
Actual expenses not exceeding $3.00 per day will be allowed, and whenever practicable receipts should be obtained for expenditures on account of meals and lodgings while traveling under these orders.
Transportation will be furnished by this office.
The travel directed is necessary in the public service.
Very respectfully, . LOUIS F. GARRARD, JR.,
Captain and Quartermaster, U. S. Army.
21
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER, 416 HIBERNIA BANK BUILDING. (IOII.)
Mr. Luke W. Conerly,
NEW ORLEANS, LA., September 30, 1908.
Rural Delivery, Route No. 3, Gulfport, Miss.
SIR:
Replying to your favor of 22nd instant, I have the honor to enclose here- with Transportation Request P-No. 8126, covering journey between Gulfport, Miss., and this city.
This request should be presented to the agent of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad at Gulfport, who will furnish you a regular ticket in exchange.
It is desired, if practicable, that you come to New Orleans on Monday morning, October 4th, on the train arriving here at 8:50 a. m., and on arrival call at the office, room 416, Hibernia Bank building, corner Carondelet and Gravier Streets, and meet the Superintendent of the National Cemetery, and both then can leave on the evening train for Magnolia, Miss.
Trusting this may be agreeable to you, I beg to remain
Very respectfully, LOUIS F. GARRARD, JR., Captain and Quartermaster, U. S. Army.
WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER, 416 HIBERNIA BANK BUILDING.
Mr. Luke W. Conerly, .
NEW ORLEANS, LA., October 8, 1908.
Gulfport, Miss.
SIR:
Upon the receipt of a letter from you addressed to the Secretary of War,' the Quartermaster General of the Army directed this office to take up the mat- ter with a view to disintering the remains of one of General Carroll's men whose burial place was known to you, and have the remains given a lot in the Chalmette National Cemetery. This matter was taken up with you, and re- quest was made of you to accompany the Superintendent of the Chalmette National Cemetery to this burial place in order that he might make the disin- terment. This you did and the matter has been satisfactorily attended to, due to your assistance, and I have the honor to thank you for the services rendered.
Very respectfully, LOUIS F. GARRARD, JR.,
Captain and Quartermaster, U. S. Army.
22
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
BONES OF SOLDIER OF WAR OF 1812 INTERRED IN CHALMETTE CEMETERY
Events of the stirring days at the close of the war of 1812 were recalled yesterday by an incident which took place at the Chalmette National Cemetery when the bones of a Tennessee soldier, a hero of the battle of Chalmette, who had died in Mississippi while returning to his home, found their last repose in the cemetery by order of the Secretary of War, Luke Wright. No ceremony attend- ed the reinterment of what remained of the unidentified body of the soldier; simply the act of burial in the grave provided by the national government. No one was present but the Superintendent of the Chalmette Cemetery, Thomas O'Shea who saw that the soldier's bones were decently laid beneath the sod in a zinc-lined box provided for the purpose.
Behind the discovery of the body of the veteran buried ninety-three years ago is a pretty story, and that the bones were honored with interment in the national cemetery is due to the energy of a Confederate veteran, Sergeant Luke W. Conerly, of Gulfport. Six years ago Mr. Conerly, who was a native of Marion County, Miss., learned while making a search of the old records of Pike County, which was formerly a part of Marion, that there was the body of a soldier of 1812 buried in a grave near the banks of Love's Creek, about eleven miles from Magnolia, on the place of the Brumfield family. By making inquiries he learned the exact location of the grave, and began to make efforts to secure the removal of the body to the Chalmette Cemetery.
Last year there was an act passed by Congress authorizing the removal of the bodies of soldiers to national cemeteries at the government's expense, and Mr. Conerly corresponded with Secretary Taft. He said that the only person who had an exact knowledge of the location of the grave was Henry S. Brumfield, a grandson of the original owner of the Brumfield plantation, who is a man well advanced in years. This caused the department to act quickly, and last week Capt. Louis F. Garrard, Jr., United States Quartermaster here, received orders to have Mr. Conerly find the grave and exhume the remains.
The exhumation was made Wednesday. Mr. Conerly and Superintendent O'Shea of the Chalmette Cemetery being piloted to the grave by Mr. Brumfield and an aged negro servant. It was found that the pine slab which had marked the grave had rotted away until there was no part of the inscription left by which it could be identified. Mr. Brumfield said that the records in his family were that the soldier had been one of the brigade of Gen. Carroll, of Tennessee, who had lost a man while returning from the battle of Chalmette in 1815, when the Tennesseans had given valuable aid to Gen. Andrew Jackson. No trace of the unfortunate soldier's name could be found, except that the records said the name had been cut in a pine slab which had been placed to mark the grave.
Mr. Conerly said that the veteran must have been a man of about six feet in height, from the size of the grave, which had been dug in a porous clay that held the original shape in which it had been cut to form the grave. Only the teeth and a few of the larger bones were found in what was left of the soldier. He had evidently been buried uncoffined, but as evidence that a soldier had been buried there two tarnished and rust-eaten brass buttons were found by Mr. Conerly.
23
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
With them were fragments of a blue uniform. Mr. Conerly said that the total weight of the remains must have been about fifteen pounds.
The bones and other remnants were reverently placed in the box and taken to Magnolia, where they were shipped to New Orleans, arriving Wednesday night. Yesterday morning a report was made to Capt. Garrard, and the re- mains were interred in the national cemetery.
Mr. Conerly came to New Orleans with them. He said that he was engaged in writing a history of Pike County, and that the most gratifying result of his work had been the finding of the bones of this soldier .- New Orleans Times- Democrat, October 9, 1908.
A VETERAN OF 1812.
A survivor of the famous battle of New Orleans, fought on the 8th day of January, 1815, who has lain in a lonely grave for ninety-three years in Pike County, was disinterred by order of the United States War Department Wednes- day, and the fragments of his bones taken to the national cemetery at Chal- mette and re-buried there.
The story of the finding of this ancient veteran's grave by the War Depart- ment makes a chapter of interesting history.
In the war of 1812-15 with England, its most conspicuous battle was that fought between ten thousand of Wellington's trained soldiers under Gen. Pak- enham, and less than five thousand pioneer frontiersmen under Gen. Andrew Jackson, on the field of Chalmette, near New Orleans. Although the Treaty of Ghent between young America and the mother country was signed on Christ- mas Eve of 1814, both Pakenham and Jackson were ignorant that peace had been declared, and when the British general came up the Mississippi River to capture New Orleans, "Old Hickory" was lying behind cotton bales with five thousand deadly rifles peering between them. Pakenham, himself a great military leader and strategist, disembarked his troops and formed them on the plain on the west shore of Lake Borgue. In solid phalanxes and with beauti- ful precision, the Wellington soldiers advanced upon that long line of cotton bales. When the enemy came within two hundred yards the pioneers fired, and the resulting slaughter was terrific. No less than twenty-five hundred. Britons bit the dust, and the magnificent army was thrown into the utmost confusion. Jackson won the victory with practically no loss and saved the city of New Orleans from sack and pillage.
In that army of American pioneers was a band of men-how many is not known-who had marched from Tennessee under Gen. Carroll. Passing through Mississippi's great pine forests, they blazed a trail. That trail passes entirely through Pike County, and can be easily traced to this day. After the war was ended, and Gen. Jackson had disbanded his army, Gen. Carroll and his troops returned to Tennessee by the same trail. It is a matter of tradition that they camped for some time at a place ten miles east of Magnolia, and on what is now land belonging to Mr. H. S. Brumfield. While there, presumably recu- perating, one of them died and was buried. His comrades laid him in a grave
24
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
and marked the spot with a slab of yellow pine, hand-hewn and polished. During all these years, the grave has been carefully marked. Mr. Henry S. Brumfield, Sr., one of the best known citizens of this county, states that he himself has replaced the wooden slab several times, so that the identity of the grave can be established without question.
Last June, Mr. Luke Conerly was made acquainted with these facts, and, in company with Mr. H. S. Brumfield, visited the grave. He collected all the traditional data available with reference to the soldier's death and burial, and furnished the same to the War Department, requesting that the government provide a permanent mark for the grave and, if possible, ascertain the name of the soldier. The War Department satisfied itself as to correctness of the faets, and the investigation resulted in Capt. Thos. O'Shea, Superintendent of the National Cemetery at Chalmette, being directed to disinter the remains and re-bury them in Chalmette.
Last Wednesday morning, accompanied by Mr. Conerly, Capt. O'Shea came to Magnolia. They drove out to the grave and were met there by Mr. H. S. Brumfield, owner of the land, and Mr. E. T. Thornhill, of Walker's Bridge. On beginning the work of disinterment, it was found that the clay soil was packed as hard as though it had never been disturbed, but on reaching a depth of five feet it was soft and loamy. At this depth, the bones of the veteran were discovered. There was no sign of a coffin, and it is probable that none was available for his burial. The bones were loose and a great many of them had wholly disintegrated. Some fragments of the soldier's uniform were unearthed. but these crumbled to dust as soon as touched. The most important discovery, however, and one which clinches the question of identity, was two brass buttons such as were used on military uniforms in the war of 1812. The buttons had re- tained their original form, but the lettering on them was undecipherable.
Capt. O'Shea carefully gathered every bone that could be found, and placing them in an ordinary wooden box, took them to New Orleans with him on the afternoon train. There they were placed in a casket and interred with mili- tary honors in the national cemetery. So far, it has been impossible to ascer- tain the name of the soldier, and hence upon his tomb will be engraved the sim- ple but significant words:
"UNKNOWN SOLDIER U. S. A. WAR OF 1812." -Magnolia Gazette.
Closely clustered around Holmesville, who figured in its conception and its birth, were David McGraw, Gabriel Allen, C. Brent, R. Hardley, John Smith, Peter Quin, Sr., John Kaigler, Anthony Perryman, Ben- jamin Bagley, William Love, Henry Ragland, Hans Hamilton, Josiah Martin, David Morgan, James Y. McNabb, David Cleveland, Jeremiah Williams, Phillip and Joseph Catchings, J. Peck, Jonathan Catchings,
25
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
John Felder, David Winborne, John Magee, Solomon Causey, David Dixon, Dr. Wiley P. Harris and Joseph Thornhill.
In January, 1816, J. Y. McNabb was elected clerk of the Inferior and Superior Courts, and David Cleveland was elected sheriff, and they entered into bond on the 29th day of January, 1816. In August, 1817, Laban Bacot was sheriff, under the new State regime. In the fall election of 1818, Henry Quin was elected clerk and Laban Bacot sheriff.
James Y. McNabb issued the first marriage license in Pike County, February 13, 1816, to Jacob Keen and Keziah Gates. The ceremony was performed by Vincent Garner, justice of the peace.
The map of the survey of the town of Holmesville shows that a portion of the town is located on lands formerly owned by Gabriel Allen, in section 28, and a portion on lands formerly owned by R. Hardley, acquired by him in 1812, being the southwest quarter of section 21, township 3, range 9 east. At this time Peter Quin owned the northeast quarter of section 29, which corners with the southwest quarter of section 21 and the northwest quarter of section 28-the map indicating that Holmesville is located in sections 21 and 28.
There has been some speculation as to the original ownership of the public square in the old town of Holmesville, it being claimed that it was donated conditionally and was to be permanently the seat of justice, and that a removal of the seat of justice would work a reversion of the ownership to the heirs of the donors or vendors.
The law creating the new county and authorizing the appoint- ment of the commissioners also empowered them to procure by pur- chase or donation, to the county, a tract of land for a permanent seat of justice, not specifying any conditions as to what should be done with it except as provided by this act. The act speaks for itself, and surely intended a fee simple title and the inalienable right to control and use or dispose of it as county property; because it says the com- missioners must sell the land in town lots, reserving enough for a public square, a courthouse, jail and church. Then, if the public square should revert, why not all the other lands sold into town lots and reserved for a church also revert, in event the public interest demanded
26
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
at some future time the removal of the seat of justice. The closest investigation by the writer of the records before their destruction by fire failed to disclose any reservations or conditions on the part of those dealing with the commissioners. This square of ground is a sacred and historical spot, and it should be held by the county of Pike in perpetua. Around it clusters some glorious memories, from the date of its fixture as a seat of justice to that when it ceased to be such, and to the present day. The history of Pike County is indis- solubly interwoven with it for ninety years. From here heroes went and gave their life-blood for Mississippi's cause-the children and grandchildren of its pioneers, and here, it is claimed by many, that Pike County's monuments should be erected to commemorate the deeds of her heroic men and her matchless women.
In 1817 Mississippi was admitted into the Union as a State, and David Holmes, who had served as Governor since 1809, was elected Governor by the people.
The act of Congress passed March 1, 1817, authorizing a State government of the Mississippi Territory, defining its boundaries, reads as follows:
"Sec. 2. The said State shall consist of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning on the river Mississippi at the point where the southern boundary line of the State of Tennessee strikes the same, thence east along the said boundary line to the Tennessee River, thence up the same to the mouth of Bear Creek, thence by a direct line to the northwest corner of the county of Washington, thence due south to the Gulf of Mexico, thence westwardly, including all the islands within six leagues of the shore, to the most eastern junction of Pearl River with Lake Borgne, thence up said river to the 3Ist degree of north latitude, thence west along the said degree of latitude to the Mississippi River, thence up the same to the beginning."
Winthrop Sargent received his appointment as first Governor of Mississippi Territory by John Adams, President of the United States, in 1799. He was succeeded by W. C. C. Claiborne in 1801. Robert Williams was appointed Governor in 1805, and was succeeded by David Holmes in 1809.
In 1820 an act was passed by the General Assembly of Mississippi to incorporate the town of Holmesville. An election was held and
27
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
James C. Dickson, Peter Quin, Jr., I. Aiken, Wiley P. Harris and Major Lea were chosen trustees; Buckner Harris, assessor, collector and town constable, and William Orr, treasurer. Previous to this, in 1819, William Dickson, Peter Quin, Peter Felder and Matthew McEwen presided as justices of the orphan's court, which had juris- diction in probate matters. In 1822 this system was changed by the Legislature.
Jeremiah Bearden and Reddick T. Sparkman constructed a hotel in Holmesville and operated it for many years; also Thomas Guinea.
Jack Summers owned and operated a tan yard at the upper part of town near the river and the present location of the bridge.
Following is a list of county civil officers after admission of the State in the Union:
PIKE COUNTY CIVIL OFFICERS.
1818.
Names.
Dates.
Commissioned.
James Y. McNabb
February 6. ... Chief Justice of the Quorum.
Richardson Bourman
February 6. ... Justice of the Quorum.
Peter Quin, Jr.
February 6. ... Justice of the Quorum.
Laban Bacot
February 6. ... Assessor and Collector.
Benj. Bagley . March 10
Chief Justice of the Quorum.
Ralph Stovall
April 10
Justice of Peace.
James Baggett
April 10
. Justice of Peace.
William Carter
April 10
Justice of Peace.
Matthew McEwen
April 10
Justice of Peace.
Nathaniel Wills
April 10
. Justice of Peace.
Nathan Sims
April 10
. Justice of Peace.
Thomas Arthur
April 10
. Justice of Peace.
Benj. Morris
April 10
Justice of Peace.
William Carter
April 10
. Justice of Peace.
Henry Quin
April 10
. Justice of Peace.
Josiah Martin
April 10
. Justice of Peace (resigned.)
James Gorden
April 10
. Constable.
Jessee Craft .
April 10
Constable.
Am Verdaman
April 10
Constable.
Edward Bullock.
April 10
Constable.
James Legett
April 10
. Constable.
Henry Hale
April 10
. Constable.
Nathaniel Gaugh
April 10
Constable.
28
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
Names.
Dates. Commissioned.
Thomas Rouse
April 10
Constable.
Henry Goldman
April 10
Constable.
Joseph C. Smith
April 10
Constable.
Nathan Morris
April 12
Justice of Peace and Quorum.
Wiley P. Harris
May I
Ranger.
James C. Dickson
May I County Surveyor. -
David Dickson
May I Notary Public (resigned.)
Peter Quin
July 3
County Treasurer.
1819.
Laban Bacot
January 19 ... Assessor and Collector.
Jesse King .
February 6. .. Justice of Peace.
Eleazer Bell.
February 6. .. Justice of Peace.
William Dickson.
February 20. . Justice of Quorum.
Peter Felder, Sr
February 20. .
Justice of Quorum.
Mathew McEwen
February 20. . Justice of Quorum.
Eleazer Bell
February 20. .
Justice of Quorum.
Felix Allen .
April 17.
County Treasurer.
Leonard Varnado
April 17 .
Justice of Peace.
John Wilson .
April 17
Justice of Peace.
William Donohoe
April 17.
Constable.
Simon Osteen .
April 17.
Constable.
Henry Goleman
April 17.
Constable.
Buckner Harris
April 17
Constable.
Nathaniel Goff
April 17.
Constable.
William Norman
April 17
Constable :
James C. Dickson July 16
Justice of Peace.
Jesse Harper
July 16.
Justice of Peace.
Philemon Martin
July 16.
Constable.
Floyd Williams
July 16
Constable.
Zaccheus Davis
July 16
Constable.
Laban Bacot.
August 14
Sheriff.
Peter Quin, Sr.
August 14.
Coroner.
Jesse Craft
November 15 . Constable.
Thomas Harvey
November 15 . Constable.
Abden Taylor .
November 15 . Constable.
1820.
Laban Bacot
February 3 . .. Assessor and Collector.
Elbert Burton,
February 25. . Ranger.
Jacob I. Pernell
February 25. . Constable.
Samuel Roberts
February 25. . Constable.
Daniel Thomas
April 12. .. Justice of Peace.
29
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
Names.
Dates.
Commissioned.
Thomas Rule
April 12.
Constable.
James C. Breland
April 12
Constable.
Abden Tyler
April 12
Constable.
Richard Quin
October 7 .
Justice of Peace.
Jesse Craft
October 7 .
Justice of Peace.
Elbert Hines
October 7 .
Justice of Peace.
Derril H. Martin
October 7 .
Constable.
William Carter .
October 7 .
Constable.
Thompson Wallace
October 7 .
Constable.
1821.
Laban Bacot .
January 3 . . .
Assessor and Collector.
James Y. McNabb
February 12.
Justice of Quorum.
Samuel Higginbottom
May 30.
Ranger.
James Bridges
May 30
Constable.
Thomas Gatland
May 30
Constable.
Laban Bacot
August 16.
Sheriff.
Josiah B. Harris
August 16.
Coroner.
Richardson Bowman
October 19 .
Justice of Peace ..
William Prichard .
October 19 .. Constable.
Richard Bowman
November 29 . Judge of Probate.
1822.
Laban Bacot
January 14 . .. Assessor and Collector.
James Willing
February 7 ... Constable.
Benjamin Thomas, Sr
February 7 . .. Justice of Peace.
Henry Quin
February 7 . . .
Justice of Peace.
A. M. Perryman
February 7 ... County Treasurer.
Dorrel Young
February 7 . ..
Justice of Peace.
Daniel Felder.
February 7. ..
Constable.
Thomas Pleasant . April 26.
Justice of Peace.
David Cleveland. April 26.
Justice of Peace.
Nathaniel Wells April 26. Justice of Peace.
Thomas Rule
April 26. Justice of Peace.
Jesse King .
April 26. Justice of Peace.
Nelson Higginbottom April 26.
Justice of Peace.
Benjamin Morgan
April 26. April 26.
Justice of Peace.
James Waddle
Justice of Peace.
Drury Chandler
April 26. Justice of Peace.
Malachi Thomas .
April 26
Justice of Peace.
Edward Bullock.
April 26.
Constable.
David Cleveland.
January 19. Judge of Probate.
James C. Dickson August 1 . Justice of Peace.
30
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
Names.
Dates.
Commissioned.
Vincent Garner
June 29 . .
Associate Justice.
Barnabas Allen
June 29 . .
Associate Justice.
James Y. McNabb
September 19. Justice of Peace.
Jesse Harper
September 19. Justice of Peace.
1823.
Peter Quin, Jr.
January 4 . . . . Judge of Probate.
Laban Bacot
January 15 . .
Assessor and Collector.
Robert Love. .
January 22. . Associate Justice.
Gorden D. Boyd
March 20 ..
County Surveyor.
Wiley P. Harris
March 20
Justice of Peace.
Thomas Hart.
March 20
Justice of Peace.
Daniel Felder
March 20.
Justice of Peace.
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