Serendipity.
While happily googling the Internet, I found that the
Arkansas History Commission had a small manuscript collection of papers that
had belonged to Algernon Sidney Holderness (1834-1904). Algernon was the youngest brother of my
husband’s great-great grandfather and I’ve researched the Holderness family for
about twenty years.
One of the items in the collection was characterized as a “fragment
of a letter from a brother”. Of course I
had to write and obtain a copy of this letter – presumably the brother wasn’t
identified since the description was worded thusly. There were seven brothers in the family, but
I was sure I knew enough about them to be able to tell which brother – if the
fragment had enough detail. And I was so
curious!
When the letter arrived, it had obviously been written on a
folded sheet of paper and had four pages of writing on that sheet. It ended in mid-sentence so there had been
even more. There was no signature, but
the heading was “My dear brother” and it came from “Camp near Selma, Ala” and
was dated June 9th, 1864.
Now of the seven Holderness brothers I have found records of
only three of them that had a role in the Civil War. Algernon was a Lieutenant and a surgeon in
the 1st Arkansas Cavalry throughout the entire War – his written
discharge was also part of the collection.
My husband’s great-great grandfather and Algernon’s brother, Robert
Charles Holderness, was also a doctor – he had attempted to enlist in Hopkins
County, Texas, where he had moved from Arkansas just prior to the outbreak of the War, but
was refused on the grounds he was the only doctor in the community and was needed
most at home. A third brother, George W.
Holderness, born 1829, served as a Sergeant Major in Owens Battery (Light
Artillery) of the Arkansas Volunteers.
George had enlisted at Monticello, Arkansas on 8 February 1862 for one
year which was later extended to three years or the War. I knew that George had served in Alabama, so
there was no doubt that the letter came from George to Algernon during the
conflict.
As I read, I had to go back to the Internet to find out more
about the facts contained in this fascinating letter.
Here is a transcript along with my own comments and
discoveries in italics. George liked to
capitalize freely and never indicated a paragraph – the letter was written as
one paragraph. His spelling was good but
not always perfectly accurate.
Camp near Selma, Ala.
June 9th 1864
My Dear Brother
I have no letter of yours to answer. I have had none from you Since Feby last which
was as I have written to you Several times Since and forwarded by persons going
to the Trans Miss Dept.
Algernon’s unit was
part of the Trans Mississippi Department of the Confederate Army on the West
side of the Mississippi River. Mail must
have been most uncertain for the South. It’s quite possible this is the only
letter that reached Algernon.
I hope you have received them. I have the satisfaction to
inform you again that my health is Still very good and has been Since I last
wrote you. I hardly know what I can
write that will interest you. I Suppose
you have all the army news from this side of the river before I could
communicate it by letter. There have not
any general engagements taken place yet in Lees and Johnston’s armies.
Surely refers to
Generals Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston of the Confederate Army.
The Enemy have made assaults upon diferent points of our
lines in both armies almost daily but have been repulsed with heavy losses in
every instance, and every thing looks well for us and our army and people are
perfectly confident of our ability to hold Richmond and Atlanta from the enemy.
This, of course, was
prior to Maj. Gen. Tecumseh Sherman’s taking of Atlanta, November 15, 1864.
I hear of no movements of much import any where else on this
side the Miss. River. We learn that The
Confeds have gained great victories over Steel and Banks in the Trans Miss.
Department but have never yet received a reliable Statement of the actual
result.
Refers to Union Army
Gen. Nathaniel Banks and Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele who were marching through
Louisiana and Arkansas at this time with mixed results.
I hope you have freed Ark. Of the Vandals. I learn that they have committed great
depredations in Drew County.
And there is an
opinion of the Union Army! Drew County,
Arkansas, had been George Holderness’s home since coming to Arkansas from
Caswell County, North Carolina, about 1848/9.
He had never married but was in business with his brother Thomas.
I do not know what they done in other parts of the
State. Our Company has been for Several
months attached to Genl. Wirt Adams Brigade of Cavalry under command of Col.
Mabry and we have been operating between Big Black and the Miss. And Yazoo
Rivers and have been in very active Service there as There have been yankee
raids out from Vicksburg most all the time.
Col. Hinche P. Mabry,
from Texas, had been given command of a number of under-strength Arkansas and
Mississippi units in March of 1864. His
brigade was under special command of Brigadier General Wirt Adams. Vicksburg
had fallen into the hands of the Union Army on July 4th, 1863.
An interesting
genealogical coincidence. Col. Mabry was
a descendant of Francis Maybury/Mabry who died 1712 in Sussex County, Virginia
through Francis’s son Hinshia. I descend
from the same Francis Maybury through son George.
Since we crossed Big Black, We have, however Succeeded in
driving them all back. Our Battery
assisted by Col. Griffiths 11th Ark Cavalry and a detachment from
Woods Miss Cavalry captured the U.S. Gunboat Petrel at Yazoo City on the 22nd
Apr. It was a fine Prize. We saved all her guns consisting of Eight 24
Pdr. Dahlgreen guns, and a good many valuable Small arms and a great quantity
of Stores. I have been drinking pure
coffee ever Since The capture of the Petrel.
The USS Petrel was a
tinclad wooden steamer in the U.S. Navy.
She had been cruising Mississippi Rivers since May of 1863, capturing
rebel vessels and military stores. In
February of 1864 she had pushed up the Yazoo River, eventually attacking Yazoo
City. She did indeed carry eight
24-pounder howitzers. The Dahlgren gun was a muzzle loader designed by Rear
Adm. John A. Dahlgren. The Petrel was burned after the removal of her guns and
stores.
It’s obvious from
George’s comments that good coffee was a rarity in the Confederate Army.
We have only had one man killed, John Young, Sandusky’s
Step-Son – Head Shot off with Shell, and one wounded severely (Dr. F. T.
Crockett of Drew Co. a Sergeant of the Battery) in the battery in all the
engagements we have had lately. On the
28th May we were ordered by Maj. Genl. S. D. Lee to turn over our
Battery to a company of Withers Artillery and report at this place, which we
did immediately and arrived here on the 5th Inst.
I have been unable to
find out anything additional about John Young or Dr. Crockett.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Dill
Lee(1833-1908) had served throughout the 1863 siege of Vicksburg and was a
prisoner of war, later exchanged. Lee
was in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of the War, but resigned to enter the
Confederate forces in the South Carolina Milita. After his exchange, he was given command of
the Department of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana, 9 May 1864. Lee was promoted to Lt. Gen. on 23 Jun 1864,
making him the youngest at this grade in the Confederate Army.
Our Boys were very much mortified at the idea of giving up
our Battery to another company, and thought that Some disparagement to the
company was meant and a good many of them left forthwith to go back to Arkansas
and Said they would never support him under the circumstances, fifteen left at
the time….
And
here the letter ends, but not the story.
Four months after writing the letter, on the 19th of October,
George W. Holderness would be sent to Ross Hospital in Mobile, Alabama with
acute diarrhea. He died there on
November 17, 1864. His Effects were listed as "sundries" and he was owed $91.75
by the Confederate Army. It is not
surprising his brother kept the letter.
