Alan J. Pitts
Re: And, even more info! ( very long)
Wed May 30 14:48:23 2001


Thanks again for your time and attention. Rowland erred when he reported McCaa's Company as a Mississippi command. My notes agree with yours about it being from Pickens County. Association of Field's Company with the Pope Walker Battalion must also be in error, since it wasn't organized until after the battalion went out of existence. There are two captains named Field in this regiment which may be the cause of his confusion: Charles G. Field was captain of Co. "C", the "Pope Walker Troopers"; Joseph Harris Field was captain of Co. "F", the company that had belonged to the 2nd Mississippi Battalion. You may check papers filed under their names with the 8th Confederate Cavalry.

The same exercize should clear up questions about "Beall" or "Bell" being the correct spelling of that officer's name. If memory serves, there are papers signed by him in the regimental files in which he notes his command as the "First Alabama Mounted Battalion". As I recall, he described himself as a Mexican War veteran. I also believe a company that later joined Hilliard's Legion (Slaughter's 5th Battalion) was once considered part of Beall's command. Do you have any information about company names for these three companies?

Miller is an excellent first-hand source. However, a comparison of his company list with the microfilm reveals a number of discrepanicies. 1) Miller says Co. "C" was from Lowndes County MS; my notes say Pontotoc, 2) Miller says the captain of Co. "C" was G. W. Abert; my notes say Charles G. Field, 3) Miller says the captain of Co. "E" was named "Golden"; my notes say that George W. Abert was the first captain of this company and Thomas W. Golding became captain after Abert resigned, 4) Miller says that Co. "F" was from Chickasaw County MS; my notes say Lowndes County MS, 5) Miller says the captain of Co. "F" was I. W. Field; my notes show his name to be Joseph Harris Field, 6) Miller says that Co. "G" was from Lowndes County MS; my notes say Monroe County MS, 7) Miller says the captain of this company was Felix W. Flood; my notes show Flood as the officer who succeeded Beverly Matthews as captain, 8) Miller says the captain of Co. "K" was Francis Pinckard; my notes say Duff Green Reed was the first captain.

As you can see, we have a few differences. Do you have sources other than Miller to clarify these matters? Again, Miller is an excellent first-hand source, but I believe his memory is a little hazy on these points.