A Question of Two Bells

Even though my history of Ramsey’s First Georgia Volunteers has been out for several months now, my research on the regiment continues as I follow up on leads and resources not available before publication. New sources that I was unaware of continue to make their appearance. A perfect example is an early roster of the First that I just recently acquired. The booklet is quite old and not in very good condition, as evidenced by the scan of the cover shown above. It also has no information about author, printer or even date published. The person I purchased it from estimated it was probably printed in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s.

In searching through the roster, I’ve come across some sixteen soldiers who do not appear in any other source I’ve seen. And in one case, the new listing has lead to a bit of a confusing mystery. In the roster included in I Will Give Them One More Shot is a listing for a Joseph H. Bell, a member of the Dahlonega Volunteers, Company H of the First Georgia. Most of my information about Bell came from the Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865, edited by Lillian Henderson, and from the Compiled Service Records, held by the National Archives, and accessible through Footnote.com. These records simply state that Bell mustered in on March 15, 1861, and mustered out on March 18, 1862.

The entries in the old roster pamphlet revealed two Bell’s, as follows:

Further research has revealed that Bell, Jos. H., Jr., was the son of the Joseph Bell that shows a muster date of March 18, 1861. The notation that Jr. was “in prison at time of surrender” was intriguing. By performing a name search in Footnote, I discovered a folder for Joseph H. Bell of the 21st Battalion Georgia Cavalry. As I read through this record, another mystery began to develop – though the CSR was only under one name, there were showing two different enlistment dates in the 21st; one on April 15, 1862, and the other on November 1, 1862. It finally began to dawn on me that both father and son had also ended up in the 21st – and that their records had been mixed together by accident. Evidently the clerk assembling the package assumed that the two Joseph H. Bell’s were the same man, even though on some records there is a “Sr.” after the name, and others not.

After sorting the different cards in the record between the two men, (and also checking some other genealogy sites), I was able to put together the following entries:

Bell, Joseph Henry, Sr. (1,2): Enl. Augusta Mounted Rangers 15 Apr. 1862. Unit designated Co. A, 21st Battalion Cavalry 8 May 1862. Unit consolidated into 7th Regt. Cavalry 13 Feb. 1864. B. SC 6 May 1819. D. 21 Aug. 1905, Upshur Cty, TX. Bd. Hopewell Cemetery, Gilmer, Upshur Cty., TX.

Bell, Joseph Henry, Jr.: Enl. 1 Apr. 1861. Enl. Co. A, 21st Battalion Cavalry 1 Nov. 1862. Unit consolidated into 7th Regt. Cavalry 13 Feb. 1864. Cap. Trevellian [Louisa Courthouse], VA, 11 June 1864. Released on oath at Elmira, NY, 21 June 1865. B. 1844. D. Schlatterville, Pierce Cty, GA 1902.

(As in the roster in my book, the (1) is for a soldier present when the regiment formed in Macon, and the (2) is for one present when the regiment mustered out in Augusta.)

Thus, I hopefully have presented a more accurate picture of Joseph Sr. and Jr.’s service. I continue to look for any and all details on the First Georgia, and I encourage anyone who has additional information to please contact me through my website at http://www.ramseysfirstgeorgia.com/.