Alan J. Pitts
Which one is he?
Mon Mar 19 22:21:09 2001


There were two J. L. McCluskeys in the 5th Ala. Cav. Regt. One enlisted in Capt. Powell's Co. "A" at Union Springs Ala. (a site in eastern Lawrence County, not the better-known town in southeast Alabama) Aug. 21, 1862. His age was given as 36. The other (same name) enlisted in Capt. Allen's Co. "E" at Tremont MS on Oct. 12, 1862, and was 32. This town is just over the state line. There are no other military records for either man.

Keep in mind that Lamar County didn't exist in 1860; it was created after the war. I have to assume that you meant the 1870 census, since that's the earliest in existence for Lamar. This area would've been just inside Fayette County on 1860, with the possibility that he lived just north of the line in Marion County. Powell's Co. "A" was mostly recruited in Marion County, but the Union Springs recruits seem to have come from Lawrence and Franklin counties, if that makes sense. This group later transferred to Co. "F". By the way, the 1860 census shows a man named "John L. McClesky" appears on the 1860 census for Marion County on page 709, age 31.

Continuing, theere's a pension application for Louis McClesky of Co. "A", 5th Ala. Cav, Regt, filed by the widow Permelia McCluskey. She says they married in Lawrence County, and if my notes are correct, he died on May 14, 1885. That part may be wrong. She says she's sixty-nine years old (1915) and living with her son, W. F. McClusky. She has other items in her application, but first you should decide if the Co. "E" veteran sounds more like your man or not.

I find nothing at all in the index for Green Nichols. At this time I didn't search other variants of the name, such as Nickels. Perhaps you have some ideas about how else the name might be spelled. I'd like to suggest that someone born in 1820 is a little old to have been a soldier during the war. I'm not excluding the possibility based on age; it's just more remote than if he had been born between 1835-1845, the most common birthyears.

Have you thought of looking at the 1st Ala. Cav. Regt(U.S.)? Quite a number of men from Marion and Fayette Counties enlisted in this unit, even some who had previously served in Confederate units. It's worth a look.








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