"Peculiarly distinguished among the advance guard, where all were distinguished, must be recorded . . . Private J. W. Brown, of Company F, First Georgia Regiment, who, upon hearing the order to fall back, exclaimed, 'I will give them one more shot before I leave,' and while ramming down his twenty-ninth cartridge fell dead at his post." - General Henry R. Jackson in his report of the Battle of Greenbrier River.


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Another Roster Correction

Happily, I continue to receive emails regarding members of the First Georgia.  Thanks to George Stanholtz for providing the burial location of Private Wesley Pressley of the Dahlonega Volunteers.  Pressley’s amended roster entry is as follows:

Pressley, Wesley: Enl. 24 July 1861. D. Romney, VA 31 January 1862. B. Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, Hampshire Cty, WV.

I'd also like to thank Wendy Hockenberry, a descendent of several First Georgia soldiers, for contacting me regarding her relations from Company I, the Walker Light Infantry. In my research for the rosters, I found in my sources entries for two John M. Weigels, one born in 1811 and another in 1841. Other than these dates, the information for the two men is almost identical; thus, the following entries in I Will Give Them One More Shot:

Weigel, John M. (2): Enl. 1 August 1861. Enl. Co. A, 12th Bn., GA Art. 13 July 1862. Converted to Co. A, 13th Bn. GA Art. October 1862. Co. converted to Co. A, 63rd Inf. Regt. December 1863. Appt. 11th Cpl. July [August] 1863. WIA Kennesaw Mountain, GA 27 June 1864. D. from wounds 13 July 1864. [Other records show enl. Augusta Battery.] B. 1841. Bd. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

Weigel, John M. Sr., (2): Enl. 1 August 1861. Enl. Co. A, 12th Bn., GA Art. 13 July 1862. Co. converted to Co. A, 63rd Inf. Regt. December 1863. WIA Kennesaw Mountain, GA 27 June 1864. D. from wounds 11 July 1864. B. 29 May 1811. Bd. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

With information provided by Ms. Hockenberry, it appears that the two were not father and son, but were possibly related.  Also, burial records show a slightly different spelling of the last name. One was born in Maryland in 1842 and lived until 1907, while the other was born in Richmond County (Augusta) in 1841 and died of wounds in 1864.

The corrected roster entries for the two read as follows:

Weigel, John [Weigle] (2): Enl. 1 August 1861. Enl. Co. A, 12th Bn., GA Art. 13 July 1862. Converted to Co. A, 13th Bn. GA Art. October 1862. Co. converted to Co. A, 63rd Inf. Regt. December 1863. Appt. 11th Cpl. July [August] 1863. WIA Kennesaw Mountain, GA 27 June 1864. D. from wounds 13 July 1864. [Other records show enl. Augusta Battery.] B. [29 May] 1841. Bd. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

Weigle, John Michael [Weigel], (1, 2): Enl. 16 December 1863 Capt. Holleyman’s Co., 1st Regt. Local Troops (Augusta). Elected 2nd Corp. Reenl. 24 July 1864 when Co. converted to Co. C., 1st Regt. Local Troops. Prom. 5th (Orderly) Sgt. Listed on muster rolls as “Exempt as practical printer” through April, 1864. B. 23 February 1842.  D. 20 November 1907. B. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

These entries will be corrected in any future editions of I Will Give Them One More Shot.  It has always been my desire to make the rosters as accurate as possible, and I continue to encourage any descendents of First Georgia soldiers to contact me with updates.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

More "Shameless Self-Promotion"

My Brother, My Friend, My Enemy is now available in Nook format through Barnes and Noble.  The listing is available here.

This book has been very much a labor of love for me.  I started it over 16 years ago following a conversation with my aunt Cecil Costine about ancestors who served in the Civil War.  During the research for the novel, I became enthralled with the story of the First Georgia Volunteers, so this manuscript ended up on the shelf while I completed that book.  I finally resumed rewriting just about a year ago, and am thrilled to finally have it out.  I hope everyone enjoys it.