Civil War Letters of John R. and Frances Spurlock Miller

When Frances Spurlock Miller filed her application for a Confederate widow’s pension in 1924, the letters below were submitted to corroborate the information given in her statement. I have chosen to present the letters as written, rather than transcribe them. I know they are difficult to read because of the copy quality as well as the illegibility of the handwriting and poor spelling.

In this first letter written by Frances to John on May 16, 1862, she expresses her concern for his comfort. She asks whether he needs clothes, food or cooking pots. She talks about his crops and their daughter, Fannie:

Frances Spurlock Miller to John R. Miller, May 16, 1862, page 1

Frances Spurlock Miller to John R. Miller, May 16, 1862, page 2

In his letter to Frances letter dated May 24, 1862, John tells her how very sick he has been and that he has heard that the Confederate government is taking firearms belonging to private citizens for use by the troops:

John R. Miller to Frances Spurlock Miller, May 24, 1862

John wrote the third letter to Frances on June 8, 1862. He tells her that he is feeling better but is still weak and hopes to be granted furlough to go home for a few days.

John R. Miller to Frances Spurlock Miller, June 8, 1862

Less than a month following the last letter, on July 1, 1862, John Miller died of pneumonia at home. At least he and Frances were able to see each other before his death.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Spurlock Boys in Company "B"

As mentioned in my post earlier this week, three of Ransom Spurlock’s five sons enlisted in Company B of the 12th Louisiana Infantry. Nicknamed the “Arcadia Invincibles,” the unit was recruited in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, during July, 1861.

The eldest son, William G., enlisted on August 13, 1861, at Camp Moore, for a period of one year. His service record is scant, consisting of only three cards recording his appearance on muster rolls. He died on May 28, 1862, of typhoid fever at Camp Green.[i]

Marcus D.L. Spurlock, the 2^nd oldest son, enlisted at the same time as his older brother. Although his term of service was initially for one year, muster rolls indicate that he served at least into August, 1864. His service record indicates that in October, 1863, he was sick and hospitalized at Canton, Mississippi.  On February 10, 1864, he was granted furlough for 30 days by order of General Leonidas Polk; muster rolls for May through August indicate that he was sick in Barbour County, Alabama.[ii] In his application to the State of Texas for a pension, Marcus indicated that he had served until discharge at the close of the war and had been wounded during the course of the war; the physician’s statement indicates he was “shot in the right groin.” [iii]

George M. Spurlock first enlisted on February 25, 1862, and was discharged on July 31, 1862. He enlisted again on March 8, 1863, for a term of three years. Like Marcus, he was sick and hospitalized at Canton in October, 1863. He was wounded at the Battle of Franklin (Tennessee) on November 30, 1864, and was captured at Nashville on December 16, 1864. He was admitted to the hospital at Nashville on December 20 for treatment for, what appears on the record, to be a simple flesh wound on the left side caused by a cannonball. On March 8, 1865, George was received at the military prison at Louisville, Kentucky, and on March 10th was transferred to Camp Chase in Ohio. About two weeks later, on March 26, he was transferred to Point Lookout in Maryland, where he remained until his release on June 6, 1865, upon taking the Oath of Allegiance.[iv] George was only 36 years old when he died in Milam County, Texas, in 1880.[v] I wonder how much his military experience contributed to his early death.

Here is one image from each man’s compiled military service record:

William G. Spurlock

Marcus D. L. Spurlock

George M. Spurlock

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[i] William G. Spurlock; War Department Collection of Confederate Records; Record Group 109; digital images, "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Louisiana," Footnote (www.footnote.com : accessed 17 May 2011).

[ii] Marcus D. L. Spurlock; War Department Collection of Confederate Records; Record Group 109; digital images, "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Louisiana," Footnote (www.footnote.com : accessed 17 May 2011).

[iii] Marcus D. L. Spurlock, Confederate Pension Application, File #10195, Texas State Archives.

[iv] George M. Spurlock; War Department Collection of Confederate Records; Record Group 109; digital images, "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Louisiana," Footnote (www.footnote.com : accessed 17 May 2011).

[v] findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 24 Feb 2010), G. M. Spurlock, Find A Grave Memorial# 13526096

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

My Spurlock Family in the Civil War

At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Ransom and Ellender (Vickers) Spurlock were likely living in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.[1]

In his 50s[2], Ransom was a bit on the old side to be going off to war and there is no record that he served. However, his three oldest sons–William G., Marcus D.L., and George M.[3]–were of an age to join the military within the first year or two of the conflict. His eldest daughter, Frances, had married John Miller in 1858, and he also was able to take up the fight. The next three daughters, Sarah Jane, Mary Ann, and Elizabeth Rebecca, did not marry until after the war but their husbands–William Duncan, William Kilpatrick, and S. P. Kimbrell–all were veterans of the Civil War. The two youngest Spurlock boys, John Fredrick (my great-grandfather) and James Joshua, were too young too serve.

William, Marcus and George, as well as William Kilpatrick, joined Company B of the 12th Louisiana Infantry, nicknamed the “Arcadia Invincibles.”[4] John Miller and S. P. Kimbrell enlisted in Company H of Gray’s 28th Louisiana Infantry.[5] William Duncan enlisted in Company K of the 9th Louisiana Infantry, which was later reorganized as Company M of the 12th Louisiana.[6] More on their service will be presented in later posts.

John Fedrick was only about 15 years old when the war ended in 1865. There is a family legend that he walked to Vicksburg, Mississippi, to enlist, but because of his age and the imminent end of the war, the Confederate army would not accept him as a soldier. It is said he worked as a cook for a short time before making his way home. I have been unable to find any documentation to support this legend.

Although Ransom did not fight in the war, on 7 October 1868, he swore an Amnesty Oath which is on file in the courthouse in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana[7].

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[1] The family is not found on the 1860 U.S. census in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana; the Bienville Parish census for the same year has been lost or destroyed.

[2] Kelly Christian Priestly, "Hurricane Cemetery, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana," transcription, USGenWeb Archives (http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/claiborne/cemeteries/hurrican.txt : accessed 21 Apr 2010), entry for Hanson Spurlock.

[3] 1850 U.S. census population schedule, Western District, Bienville, Louisiana, p. 287B, dwelling 553, family 553, household of Ramsun Spurlock; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Feb 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 230.

[4] R. Hugh Simmons, The 12th Louisiana Infantry (http://rhsresearch.org/CompanyPage.htm : accessed 6 June 2011); citing Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865 [LSU Press, 1989].

[5] Steve Pipes, “Gray’s 28^th Infantry Muster Roll – M,” Henry Gray’s 28^th Infantry Regiment C.S.A. Louisiana (http://www.penandsaber.com/grays28th/ : accessed 6 June 2011).

[6] R. Hugh Simmons, The 12th Louisiana Infantry (http://rhsresearch.org/CompanyPage.htm : accessed 6 June 2011); citing Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861-1865 [LSU Press, 1989].

[7] Elinor McCalman Seward and John Calvin Head, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana Amnesty Oaths (Shreveport, LA; J&W Enterprises), page 4.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Shots Fired!

One hundred fifty years ago today, the army of the Confederate States of America attacked Fort Sumter, at Charleston, South Carolina, signaling the start of the Civil War, also known as the War Between the States. As schoolchildren, we learned about Generals Grant, Lee, and Sherman, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and how, just days after the end of the war, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. We also learned that more soldiers died in this one war than died in all other U.S. wars combined—although more died from disease than from combat. We may have been taught that it was a war that divided families.

I have always been fascinated by the Civil War. My sister says I was born with “Gone with the Wind” in my blood. I’ve read plenty of novels set in the Civil War era and watched every possible television documentary about it. Just a few weeks ago I bought several Civil War magazines! It’s not so much that I am a scholar of the war, but that I have a desire to understand how it affected people’s lives.

As a genealogist and family historian, I have gathered quite a bit of information about my ancestors’ Civil War experience. Over the next several months, I will be sharing that information here. My plan is to write an overview for each set of my great-grandparents and then individual information about those who served from each family.

Some of my ancestors were Union soldiers; some were Confederate soldiers; I know one served on both sides! It is my honor to recognize their service.



 

© 2011 Denise Spurlock