Alan J. Pitts
Absolutely shameful.....
Mon Mar 5 23:17:42 2001


It's regretable that someone wouldn't make the effort to locate this information for you. It wasn't that difficult to locate; these searches took less than twenty-five minutes earlier this evening.

Records of Company "F", 2nd Alabama Artillery Battalion. also known as Lumsden's Battery, show that William C. Fleming enrolled when this command organized on Nov. 29, 1861. At the time he was 49 years of age, a resident of Tuscaloosa born in Bedford County TN, 5 feet 9-1/2 inches tall, florid complexion, grey eyes, grey hair and by occupation a carpenter. Does this sound like your man or what? He was discharged on Mar. 11, 1863, due to old age, debility and a "Severe attack of Dropsy." It's interesting that he was at least nine years beyond the age limit placed by Congress for men required to serve, so he could've requested a discharge based on age at any time after April of 1862.

The other person you asked about was William S. Flemming, also shown as William T. Flemming, who served in Tarrant's Battery during the last two years of the war. He enlisted on June 26, 1863, at Tuscaloosa, was captured when the Confederate defenses at Blakely, Alabama, were overrun on April 9, 1865. He was sent to Ship Island MS, then to New Orleans, then to Vicksburg MS and exchanged in time to surrender with his unit at Meridian MS on May 11, 1865.

That's about the only time he was in Mississippi during the war. The only other connection I could imagine might be that Tarrant's Battery was attached to Polk's Army of Mississippi, which was called to reinforce Johnston's Army of Tennessee in the spring of 1864.

There were two other Flemmings in Phelan's Battery, also from Tuscaloosa. These were William M. Flemming (age 28) and Samuel (age 25). There may have been a rather large number of artillerymen from Tuscaloosa in your family line!

I hope this information was useful.

• re: Absolutely Shameful — Few Acres, Tue Mar 6 00:19