FULBRIGHTS IN THE CIVIL WAR
This is the story of some of the men with the name Fulbright/Fullbright who roughly 125 years ago marched away form sweethearts, wives and children and the warmth of their homes to walk barefoot and starving in frozen loneliness, fighting and sometimes dying on bloody fields of battle in unsung places that, until it became littered with the bodies of sons and fathers, no one had ever heard of.
This is a simple story in tribute to them and the regiments in which they served...
ARKANSAS
PRIVATE FRANK FULBRIGHT
Co.
G 7th ARK. Infantry
The Seventh Arkansas Infantry was organized at the village of Smithville in Lawrence County and mustered into state service there on June 16th 1861. During the first week of July 1861 the regiment was mustered into service with the Confederate States at Camp Shaver, near Pocahantas, Arkansas. The regiment was given the name the "Bloody Seventh" by General Hardee because it suffered extremely high casualties early in the war. Pvt. Franklin Fulbright was with Co. G, from Lawrence County. Other Companies with this regiment were recruited from White, Jackson, Randolph, Izard, Fulton, and Marion counties.
The regiment served west of the Mississippi until October of 1861 and then was moved east to serve in the army of Central Kentucky. Following several reorganizations and changes in command the regiment wound up serving, for the most part, in the Army of Tennessee under a rather famous fellow from Arkansas, (Howells) Arkansas Consolidated Infantry and finally surrender at Ben.nett's some regard as a tactically worthless charge ordered by General Hood at Franklin, Tennessee. The regiment survived as a consolidated unit called the 1st (Howells) Arkansas Consolidated Infantry and finally surrender at Bennett's House at Durham Station in North Carolina.
When this regiment mustered in it had slightly more than 1,200 men and is thought to have been one of the largest of the Arkansas regiments, yet due to the high rate of casualties, it was one of the first to be consolidated. It was consolidated on, or about December 31st 1863 when the 7th was combined with the 6th Arkansas to form a single regiment, the 67th Arkansas.
According to Private Frank Fulbright's widow's pension (Elizabeth) application for a state pension in May of 1904, he was a Confederate Soldier with the 7th Arkansas from about October of 1862. The most notable battle for the 7th during this time took place outside of a small church in Tennessee called Shiloh.
It was at Shiloh, where more men were lost in a single battle than had been lost in the TOTAL of all our previous wars and conflicts, that the amount of bloodshed the war was going to take began to hit home. The total casualties at Shiloh were 23,741 (13,074 Union & 10,694 Confederate). It was here, in Tennessee, that the "Bloody 7th" got its name after its 1st Brigade suffered 693 casualties. It is notable that our Private Frank Fulbright survived.
Confederate records are often sketchy and Franklin's are no exception. Why he left the service in 1862 isn't shown on the documents I was able to obtain. He could have been wounded or, been discharged and not reenlisted (at that early point in the war this was an option).
As it turned out, this was only a preview of what was to come. Later, in the war the Battle of Gettysburg had the dubious distinction of having the highest total of casualties with 51,112 (23,049 Union & 28,063 Confederate). . .
Frank died in March 1890 at Independence, Arkansas. His wife, Elizabeth, was awarded a $50.00 pension from the State of Arkansas for Frank's service in the Confederate Army.
PRIVATE THOMAS FULBRIGHT
Co.
B 34th Ark. Infantry
The 34th Arkansas Infantry was organized and mustered into Confederate service in the summer of 1863. This regiment was also known as the 2nd Arkansas Infantry, although there was another unit by that name mustered in 1861 that had no relation to the 34th.
This unit is one of the regiments that spent its entire career west of the Mississippi. They were involved in a number of battles in Arkansas, such as the Battle at Prairie Grove and Helena and the operations against the Union Forces under Gen. Steel in and around Little Rock.
During this time Private Thomas Fulbright might have encountered some of his Fulbright cousins from Missouri and Texas who were with regiments that were also involved in these engagements. More on them later...
The 34th was included among the confederate troops who surrendered at Galveston, Texas on June 2nd 1865. It had, however ceased to exist before then. In March of 1865 the regiment was stationed at Shreveport with only about 250 men and, like many other units, simply disbanded once the news of surrender of the eastern Confederate forces reached the area.
GEORGIA
GEORGE FULBRIGHT, no rank.
Co. I, 11th Georgia Calvary
The 11th Georgia Calvary was organized either in August or November of 1864. There are two different dates of organization for this unit as they are listed as having been formed on the 11th of August "to serve in the North Eastern part of Georgia" and also on November 14th. History says this regiment was created by the consolidation of four independent Calvary companies with an existing six company Battalion, the 13th Georgia Cavalry. I suspect that the first date is correct and the second is the date of consolidation. It would be reasonable to assume that the 11th could have existed on its own for a while prior to that. The majority of men in this regiment were form the Athens and Macon areas.
The 11th was a relatively small unit, never exceeding 350 men. It spent its entire career attached to the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It appears that the regiment was formed partly in response to Union General Sherman's campaign against Savannah in his "march to the sea". The first and probably most significant activity the 11th was involved in were the skirmishes that were dedicated to those maneuvers.
Unfortunately neither the National or State Archives were able to find very much information on our George. All I was able to find out was that he was part of the 11th Georgia Cavalry and he was present for the Company Muster-in Roll on August 15th 1864. Due to the limited information regarding him it's probably reasonable to assume he was a private.
If you wish to pursue it further you can send to the National Archives using form #80(11-87), ORDER FOR COPIES OF VETERANS RECORDS which is available from either a local archives or library. Also I think (I haven't done this) you can order the form directly from the National Archives Trust Fund Board, P.O. Box 100221, Atlanta, GA 30384.You can contact the Georgia State Archives at: Georgia Department of Archives and History, 330 Capital Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA.
I would like to point out that both Georgia and North Carolina have extensive records on the regiments that served from their states. I'm pretty sure some diligent research would uncover more information on George.
PRIVATE LEONARD FULBRIGHT
Co.I 19th Georgia Infantry
PRIVATE AARON FULBRIGHT
Co.(unknown) 19th Georgia Infantry
The 19th Regiment, Georgia Volunteers, was organized with W.W. Boyd as its colonel and, among other officers, Capt. John I Chambers commanding Company I. I don t have an exact date of organization for this regiment, but it was sometime prior to the battle of Gettysburg (July of 1865) as they are listed as having been in North Carolina at that time. I suspect that they were one of the early Georgia units organized in late 1861 or early 1862 because of their relativelv low regiment number of "19".
The greater part of the service of the regiment was with the Army of Northern Virginia. If you had an opportunity to see the movie "Glory" you will remember that on July 11th the 19th Georgia Infantry was part of approximately 1000 men defending Battery Wagner outside Charleston.
During this time the 19th and troops from North and South Carolina were under command of General Taliaferro (yes this is his real name) and Colonel C. H. Olmstead. The Federals launched at least two determined ascaults on Battery Wagner. One on July 11th and the second at 7:45 PM on July 18th
following a day long artillery bombardment with about 6000 men. As a result of the second assault, Gen. Taliaferro reported that the Federal losses were in the neighborhood of 1500 men.
In February of 1864, the 19th was part of Colquitt's brigade at the battle of Olustee Florida. They then returned to Virginia to serve as part of the defensive line around Petersburg. In 1865 the 19th was involved in the campaign of the Carolinas, finally surrendering with Gen. Johnson on April 26th.
Unfortunately I don't have any additional information on either Pvt.
Leonard Fulbright or Pvt. Aaron Fulbright.
[Editor's note: I believe that this is father and son, Aaron being the
son.]
PRIVATE DANIEL FULBRIGHT
Co.
B 29th GA. Infantry
The 29th Georgia Infantry was organized and mustered into Confederate service in the late summer of 1861 at Big Shanty, Georgia. Most members were from the south central part of the state.
Company B was originally organized as a light artillery unit known as McRae's Light Artillery but apparently never served in that function as they became the Ochlochnee Light Infantry. In all likelihood they drilled on obsolete or marine artillery pieces then were unable to obtain "modern" cannon and so became infantrymen. It was made up mostly of men from Thomas County, Georgia.
Soon after being mustered into Confederate service the regiment was ordered to the Georgia coast. There, the 29th served for much of the early part of its career. At various times the regiment served in the Department of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and East Louisiana and the Army of Tennessee.
The 29th participated in over 50 engagements of various types, most notable among them were the Union's Siege Operations against Forts Wagner, Gregg & Charleston during the summer of 1863; the Battle of Chickamauga Georgia (a number of Fulbrights from different states were involved in this Battle) Kennesaw Mountain, the Siege & Battle for Atlanta, the Battle at Franklin TN., and finally surrendered at Gen.nett's House, Durham Station, North Carolina in late April 1865.
So far I have found nothing to show exactly how many members of the 29th were still with the unit when it surrendered but they had been consolidated with the 30th Georgia Infantry in September of 1884 and then again in early April of 1885 with the 1st Georgia Infantry, the 1st Georgia Sharpshooters Battalion, the 25th Georgia Infantry, the 68th Georgia Infantry and (I'm confused about this as I don't understand how you consolidate with the same organization twice) again with the 30th Georgia.
The two consolidations, especially the later one, would lead me to believe there were something less than 200 men left in the regiment in April of 1885, and of those perhaps as few as half that number were among the original members, that's just a guess though.
The Roster of the Confederate soldiers of Georgia -- 1861-1885 shows that Pvt. Daniel Fulbright was with the unit as early as September 1882 and remained until the end of the war.
You might be interested to know that over half of the casualties of the Civil War over 300,000 men were non-battle field related, that is they either died or were incapacitated form dysentery, typhoid, typhus, malaria, cholera and other assorted diseases.
With regard to Pvt. Daniel Fulbright and the 29th there are two things you might note; first -- he was with the unit during most of those really hellish battles listed above, missing only the one at Franklin Tennessee, and second -- he left the unit right before its first consolidation. He might have been wounded, however, because he is listed as "sick" the unit may well have lost a number of men to an epidemic and was forced to consolidate because they were under strength. It makes for interesting speculation...
PRIVATE M. W. FULBRIGHT
Co. B 60th GA. Infantry
PRIVATE DAVID FULBRIGHT
Co. D (no regiment listed) Musician
PRIVATE GREEN L. FULBRIGHT
Co. K. 48th GA. Infantry
PRIVATE JOHN FULBRIGHT
Capt. Kay's Franklin County Guards
As of this writing I haven't had a chance to do research on the above, but wanted to list them in case someone is interested in doing more research on them.
MISSOURI
CAPT. JAMES HARVEY FULBRIGHT
Co. I, 4th Missouri Cavalry
Prior to his assignment with the 4th Cavalry, Capt. James H. Fulbright was with several other organizations. It's a little difficult to piece together, but it appears that he first served for 11 months with the Missouri State Guard as a private in an outfit called Parson's Infantry" and possibly during this time with Co. A of Winston's Regiment, MO. Infantry.
My guess is that this service was sometime prior to June of 1862 when. records show he enlisted at Abbyville Mississippi under Colonel Good. It appears that during this enlistment he, by himself or as part of a whole infantry regiment, was transferred to the cavalry to become the 4th Regiment, MO. Cavalry.
The 4th was also known as Burbridge's Regiment, Missouri Cavalry, or Burbridge's Regiment, Missouri Partisan Rangers, or possibly as the 3rd Regiment, Porters Brigade.
During September and October of 1882 records indicate that Capt. James H. Fulbright was a 1st Sergeant in Capt. L.D. Robert's Company of Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. Unfortunately the records I have don't show if his duties were as a Company's 1st Sergeant or if he was in a regimental staff assignment as part of the supply system. I suspect the latter just because his subsequent assignments were in this area. He went from there to, on November 9th 1882, again "apparently" reenlist as a private in what was to become Company I of the 4th Missouri Cavalry for the duration of the War under Col. Standish at White Oak Arkansas.
Then on February 5th 1963 Burbridge's Regiment of Cavalry combined with Preston s Battalion, Missouri Cavalry to become the 4th Regiment of Missouri Cavalry. Now, just to make things a little more interestmy, some records also show the 4th as being organized in the late spring of 1862 and mustered into Confederate service in mid-May. Perhaps the one saving grace for any of you who may wish to further pursue information on the 4th Regiment is that records do show the commanding officers of the unit. A search under their names should show more of the history as to actual times of organization and so forth. For your use and information they were:
1. John G. Burbridge
2. William J. Preston
3. Dennis Smith
4. Thomas H. Stirman
5. A. R. Randall
6. James W. Porter
7. Leroy W. Roberts
8. John N. Wimer
Because the 4th was a "western" unit assigned to the Trans-Mississippi Dept. of the Trans-Mississippi Alrmy there is a good chance that the above officers nay have held rank of anywhere between Captain to Colonel. In the west promotions were slower and it was not unusual for a Captain, acting as a Colonel to be in command of a unit.
The 4th Missouri, like the 34th Arkansas, served all of its time west of the Mississippi and were in one way or another associated with General John Sappinton Marmaduke.
Gen. Marmaduke was born near Arrow Rock Missouri on March 14, 1833. He graduated from West Point in 1857, but resigned his commission in 1861 to become a colonel in the Missouri Militia, which was associated with a Confederate organization, the Missouri State Guard. Keep in mind that a large percentage of Missouri was pro-confederate, including the governor. There was also a pro-union militia in the state, the Missouri Home Guard.
Narmaduke then became the Lt. Colonel of the 1st Arkansas Battalion and the Colonel of the 3rd Confederate Infantry. He was highly commended for his conduct at the battles of Shiloh and Prairie Grove and was promoted to Brigadier on November 15, 1862.
Marmaduke was also the only, as far as I know, Confederate General who ever fought a duel. The story goes that he became at odds with another general, a Lucius Marshall Walker (a nephew of President James K. Polk and brother-in-law of Confederate Gen. Frank C. Armstrong). Gen. Walker was apparently promoted to a rank that, in the opinion of several, was somewhat beyond his capability. He was given command of a Cavalry Brigade and participated in Gen. Price's attack on Helena, Arkansas in July of 1863. During this engagement he incurred the displeasure of Gen. Marmaduke who "reflected unfavorably on Walkers courage".
Despite the efforts of Gen. Price to prevent it, honor had been questioned and a duel was arranged -- "Pistols at ten paces to fire and advance." (Ten paces..?? You see Gen. Marmaduke was near-sighted -- it was the only way they could even the odds!!) Sunrise, September 6, 1863. the antagonists met and with loaded pistols, marched toward each other blazing away. Walker took a hit and fell mortally wounded, and died the following day.
Marmaduke went on to finish the war and was captured in Kansas just across the Missouri border on October 25, 1864 during the Confederate retreat following the Battle of Westport (just south of Kansas City) at a place called Mine Creek in Linn County. During his time as a POW he had the distinction of becoming the last man promoted to Major General in the Confederate Army, this on March 18, 1865. In 1884 he was elected Governor of Missouri, but died at Jefferson City on December 28, 1887 before the expiration of his term.
The 4th Missouri Calvary's first record of assigned duty was with General Green's Brigade, Marmadukes's Division, District of Arkansas, Trans-Mississippi Department nearly a year after the units initial formation on May 20, 1863. About a year after that, on July 30, 1864, they were assigned duty with the 2nd Missouri Cavalry Brigade, 1st Missouri Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Trans-Mississippi.
The 4th Missouri Cavalry participated in over EIGHTY skirmishes, battles, engagements and actions of different types starting at a place called Kickapoo Bottom near Sylamore Arkansas on May 29th 1662 and finally surrendering at Pine Bluff Arkansas on May 29th 1865. Actually, the records of the regiment's surrender show that they were included among the Confederate forces surrendering at Galveston Texas on June 2nd 1865. Unofficial reports indicated they actually surrendered to the Federal garrison at Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
One of the more significant events of the 4th's career was to participate in Gen. Price's Missouri Invasion starting on August 29th and ending December 2nd 1664.
Gen. Sterling Price (or "Old Pap") was.born in Virginia in 1809 and moved to Missouri with his parents about 1809. It is reported that he was opposed to secession but could not come to grips with the extreme positions held by some of the Unionists. I'm not sure what in particular he disagreed with, but he felt strongly enough about it to accept command of the Missouri Militia, and he was sort of forced into the position by the Union officer he met up with a second time at a place called Wilson's Creek. At the battle Wilson's Creek, on August 10th 1661 he combined forces with a "no-nonsense" gentleman from Texas, Gen. McCulloch, to defeat Federal General Lyon.
Now I will make a statement that you may or may not agree with... The Civil War started in the West and, for the Confederacy, it was also lost in the West. As a shooting war it started with the Kansas/Missouri border disputes in the late 1850's, long before the South Carolina succession on December 30th 1860. A number of deaths had occurred in the Kansas/Missouri area prior to what is usually claimed to have been the first shot of the "Civil War". The "first shot" is traditionally claimed to have been the one fired at Fort Sumter, at 4:30 AM on Friday, April 12th 1861.
On May 14th 1861, in St. Louis, a situation that led to the deaths of 28 people occurred when Lyon refused to negotiate with a delegation that represented secessionist's interest. Lyon was a radical Unionist and apparently somewhat of a hot-head. This was potentially explosive circumstances for a state with 2 militia units, the pro-union Missouri Home Guard and the pro-southern Missouri State Guard.
The Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Jackson, and Sterling Price met with Lyon and the acting adjutant general of the Missouri State Guarci, Thomas Snead, to discuss the situation. During this meeting, Lyon's comments were to the effect that before he would concede to state authorities the power to limit his national government's prerogatives within Missouri, he would see "every man, woman, and child in the State dead and buried". He then went on to tell the secessionist delegation that they had just one hour to cross his lines, then turned to Governor Jackson and said, "Governor, this means war!"
Gen. Price and Gen. McCulloch took the field at Wilson's Creek but were of insufficient strength to hold the ground and were forced to retreat into Arkansas by Union Major (later General) S. R. Curtis.
Sometime after the Battle at Wilson's Creek, the War Department sent Major Gen. Earl Van Dorn- to take command of the West. This took place in January of 1862. Several months after assuming command, on March 7th & 8th, Gen. Van Dorn along with Gen. Price and Gen. McCulloch fought the largest battle of the war west of the Mississippi, the Battle of Pea Ridge.
During the Battle of Pea Ridge Gen. Van Dorn was sick, probably with the flu, and commanded the entire battle from an ambulance, which might have been okay, but, in the opening moments of the battle his entire right side was thrown into disarray by the deaths of two of his generals and the capture of his senior colonel.
The colonel who was captured was Louis Herbert. After his capture he went on to be exhanged, promoted to brigadier and eventually put in charge of the Confederate War Department of Engineers in North Carolina. [You'll hear more about this group in the next newsletter when we cover North Carolina. Editor.]
The two Generals who died at the beginning of the battle were: Gen. James McIntosh who was shot through the heart while leading a "brilliant" charge (the matter of "brilliance" is open to question) into the thickest of the fight; and Gen. Gen. McCulloch apparently strayed too close to the front and was shot by a Union Sharpshooter.
These events caused the right side of Gen. Van Dorn's troops to be without an effective central command and allowed the Federals to send them packing.
The left side, under the command of Gen. Price, was holding well. Unfortunately, they were beginning to run low on ammunition and someone had sent the ammunition supply wagons to the wrong place... so they had to withdraw. About this time is when Gen. Van Dorn decided to get out of there!
I would just add a couple of things on this particular battle. One of the participants was the last Confederate Gen.eral to surrender and the only Indian General, as far as I know of even up to today that ever head that rank. He was Brigadier General Stand Watie, a Cherokee who along with his Brigade (all at least one-half Indian) surrendered on June 23rd 1865.
The other thing was that, particularly in the west, there were a good number of soldiers and commanders with no prior military experience (and only 2 or 3 guys that could even read and write) who would attempt to interpret the military manual to the rest of the men well enough for them to understand and follow the commands. This impression is sort of verified by the commands given by one of the cavalry colonels at Pea Ridge whose name has been lost in the annals of history. It seems that he mounted his troops by using as command statements the words "prepare to get onto your critters. .", "Get... ."
And lastly, Gen. Van Dorn had another failing. You see, he admired the fair sex. In fact, he admired them a lot. He was a young, healthy man so it was pretty normal that he should like women. It's just that he apparently wasn't real particular about the marital status of those he hung out with. It seems that while on duty at a place called Spring Hill Tennessee he became acquainted with a Mrs. Peters. Well, Dr. Peters was apparently not of an indulgent nature and did not perceive that the relationship between his wife and Gen. Van Dorn to be one of simple friendship. So he took a pistol and shot the General. Gen.Van Dorn's followers said it was a "cold-blooded murder". Dr. Peters said "not true". He then went on to allege that he had shot the General due to what he termed the General's "excessive intimacy" with his wife. I haven't confirmed this, but I think they hung Dr. Peters...
Gen. Van Dorn's death opened up the door for the promotion of probably the most extraordinary individual of the war, Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest... I intend to discuss General Forrest (Ol' Bedford) later when we get to the Fulbrights from Tennessee -- yes, some rode with Gen. Forrest [more on them later], but first lets finish up on Capt. James Fulbright...
In the fall of l863, sometime just after the surrender and evacuation of Little Rock, Arkansas in September, he was appointed as Purchasing Agent for Marmaduke's Division. The records seem to indicate that this appointment took place on November 12th 1863. (as prior muster reports show him to be a private, it may be that as part of this appointment he was made a Captain.) apparently there wasn't much to buy in Arkansas because they sent him to Texas.. He was there until April of 1864 when he returned and participated along with the 4th in Gen. Price's "Old Pap's", raid into Missouri. It might be worthwhile to point out that this campaign would have included, among other things, the Battle of Westport and the capture of Price's Divisional Commander, Gen. Marmaduke. The records also show that at the time James Fulbright was also made "Commissary" of the Regiment and this may be the actual time of his promotion to Captain. Though Commissary of the Regiment may not be entirely correct as Capt. Fulbright's surrender parole shows him to be Captain and A.C.S. (Assistant Commissary of Substance). It's really a minor point but the Commissary would have been the more senior of the two, a senior captain or possibly a major. Both positions were staff positions, they were supply officers, in all likelihood the worst possible job you could have under the conditions... a supply officer.. with no supplies. Capt.James Harvey Fulbright's Parole, #343, shows he was from Laclede County and that he surrendered at Shreveport Louisiana on June 7th 1865.
LT. FRANCES M. FULBRIGHT
Co.
E, .3rd Missouri Cavalry
The 3rd Missouri Cavalry was organized under Lt. Col. L. A. Campbell during the winter of 1861-1862. With the notable exception of Company E, the 3rd regiment Missouri Cavalry served west of the Mississippi River for only a brief time before it was transferred to the Army of the West and was immediately "dismounted" for the remainder of the war. "Dismounted" means they in effect became infantrymen. That was typical of a unit that did not have enough horses. (As you will see later, for more than one reason the guys with Company E really made out on this.) After serving in the Army of the West and the Army of West Tennessee, the 3rd was attached to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. The unit later served in the Army of Vicksburg and was captured when Vicksburg fell on July 4th 1863. General John C. Pemberton was in command at the time. General Pemberton was eventually exchanged and finished his career with the Confederacy as Lt. Col. of Artillery.
Along with Vicksburg, the 3rd was involved in some pretty nasty actions. After Vicksburg the regiment saw action in the Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia area including the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, the Battles of Franklin and Nashville, the Siege and Battle for Atlanta. They finally surren dered at Citronelle, Alabama on May 4th 1865. Unofficial reports indicate that fewer than 50 members of the 3rd were still with the unit when it finally laid down its arms, probably less than were in Company E, who fortunately for them were NOT part of this group.
If you were lucky enough to be in Company E you (apparently) got to keep your horse and were sent on detached duty to Arkansas as a cavalry unit and your Company Commander would have been 1st Lt. Francis M. Fulbright, at least he would have been in January and February of 1864 (he was signing the Company Muster Roll as "Commanding Company").
Now there is some guesswork here and subsequent research may well prove this to not be the case, but it looks like Lt. Francis Fulbright and Company E were sent to Little Rock on December 21st 1862, around the same time when the rest of the Regiment was sent East... ,at least I think so... In August of 1863 Company F shows up as part of Green's Regiment of Marmadukes Brigade. Now, this is during the period when, in all likelihood, the rest of the Regiment would have been POWs or in the process of being paroled as a result of the actions at Vicksburg. . Now, I don't think Company E could (or would) have gotten back to Arkansas that fast. And the apparent detached assignment of their 1st Lt. (who was, I'm pretty sure, the acting Captain) in 1862 makes me think that Company E was sort of a permanent part of Marmaduke's Command and, I think, it is also reasonable to assume that 1st Lt. Francis was the Company Commander throughout this period. Now it may well be that I am completely off-base and there were two 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiments, but I'm sure that Company E and several "other" of the 3rd's companies (I'm sure that at least part of Company D was among them) were sent on detached duty to Little Rock, and in this "detached" function their apparent overall commander was Lt. Colonel L. A. Campbell.
Just to confuse things a little more there was also a L. C. Campbell with the 3rd Missouri, but my guess is that he went to Vicksburg. L. A. Campbell shows up in Arkansas as a Lt. Col. and in a position of authority over our 1st Lt. Francis Fulbright during March 1864, so it's reasonable to assume that several companies of the 23rd under Marmaduke must have been some sort of Regimental or possibly a Batallion organization otherwise you wouldn't need a Lt. Col.
Francis Fulbright enlisted in Carrol County Arkansas as a private in Capt. Andrew J. Thompson's Company, Greene's Regiment, Missouri Volunteers on July 27th 1862 and was elected to his position of Company Commander and 1st Lt. on August 26th 1862. He was enlisted by Lt. Col. L. C. Campbell, and L. A. Campbell is listed as the First Regimental Commander... my guess is that the 3rd was probably recruited by two brothers, one went to Vicksburg and one to Little Rock.
Also of interest is the fact that at the time of his enlistment, Francis Fulbright had a $180.00 horse and $25.00 worth of "horse equipment" (I assume a saddle, bridle, and blanket). He enlisted for 3 years (or the duration of the war) and he was 30 years old. Francis must have been fairly well educated as he apparently could read and write. For reasons that aren't very clear, he resigned his commission on March 17, 1864 "by refusing to appear before a board of examination". His resignation was accepted by his Commanding(?) Officer, Lt. Col. L. A. Campbell, Gen. Marmaduke, Major Gen. Sterling Price and all the way up to the Departmental Commander Lt. Gen. Kirby Smith. After that there doesn't seem to be any more records that show he continued to serve the Confederacy though after his resignation he would have been faced with conscription as a private. Why did he resign? What was the "board of examination" all about? I don't know.
There were two other officers from the same regiment that resigned on or near the same date, a 2nd Lt. B. L. Hawks from Company F and a 2nd Lt. John R. Ricketts from Company D. In an attempt to find out why, after nearly 2 years as an officer, Francis Fulbright was apparently forced to resign or face some sort of board of inquiry, I sent for the record of Lts. Hawks and Ricketts. I couldn't obtain anything of Hawks, and all I found out on Ricketts was that he resigned for the same reason on the 10th (it may be the 16th, the copy is not clear) of March 1864. A mystery, perhaps there is someone who would like to continue this one...
PVT. WILLIAM W. FULBRIGHT
Co. C., 3rd Missouri Cavalry
PVT.WILLlAM W. FULBRIGHT
Co.
C., 3rd Missouri Cavalry
William W. and William S. Fulbright I haven't yet researched. All I know is that they were also shown on the roster as having been with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry.
LT. COL. DANIEL N. FULBRIGHT
Co. E, 3rd Missouri Cavalry
One of the more famous family members, Daniel N. Fulbright, originally started out with this unit as a Private. In fact according to the statement he gave as a POW at the Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis in January 29th 1863, he was "sworn into the Rebel service about the first day of March 1862", by Capt. F. M. Fulbright! Hey, we know him! He's the guy who ran Company E, at least until March 1864.
We also find that Daniel was a participant at Pea Ridge. He was a private in the 3rd Brigade of the Missouri State Guard in Company I under a Capt. Dan Brown and in a Regiment commanded by Colton Green. His name is listed on a report dated March 20th 1862 as being wounded.
In August of that year he apparently turned himself in to the Federal Authorities at or near Springfield, Missouri in order to mitigate the arrest of his brother-in-law. The record states "I gave myself up on account of the arrest of my brother-in-law who had been arrested as having lived at my house with me. He had taken the oath. I desire to be echanged as soon as possible." He was sent to the facilities at St. Louis on December 24th 1862 by the Union Provost Marshall, District of South West Missouri, Lt. Col. J. K. Mills. His residence is listed at Springfield, his age as 32, he was 6' tall, had brown hair and gray eyes. He had a wife and one child and listed his occupation as a farmer.
Apparently he arrived at Gratiot Street Prison on or about New Years Day 1863 where he was interviewed by a Lt. William E. Ware. In this interview he indicated that he had been involved in the general engagement during the Battle of Pea Ridge, that he had furnished his own gun, that he possessed no slaves, that he was a Southern sympathizer and when asked the question "Do you sincerely desire to have the U.S. Government restored" his answer was "I never wished the Southern people put down and made Serfs of, yet I desire to see the government restored upon Constitutional Basis..."
Daniel was a short term guest at the Federal facilities in St. Louis. On February 25th he was sent to the Military Prison at Alton, Il. where he was paroled and sent to City Point, Virginia for exchange, arriving there on April 8th, 1863.
This is where the military records I have on Daniel end, but piecing things together with some family history tells me that after being exchanged he returned to the West and met up with an extraordinary individual, a fellow Missourian, Sidney D. Jackman and became the Lt. Col. of the 7th Missouri Infantry.
But before addressing the 7th and Col. Jackman, let's discuss his boss, another remarkable man, Joseph Orville Shelby. Gen. Jo Shelby was one of the Confederacy's most effective cavalry leaders. He served entirely in the Trans-Mississippi Dept. and west of the Mississippi River during the war and earned contemporary renown in the area of almost equal distinction to that of Gen. Forrest in the East.
Before the War, Jo Shelby was a relatively wealthy man and had been a planter and a rope manufacturer with investments in both Missouri and Kentucky.
Early in the spring of 1861 he entered the pro-Southern Missouri State Guard and raised a company called Shelby's Rangers. Rangers fought with distinction at Carthage, Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge as a part of Gen. Price's Missouri Division before he was sent back into Missouri to raise a Regiment.
In 1862 Shelby was a colonel and became associated with Gen. Marmaduke and commanded a Brigade in Marmaduke's Cavalry Division. Prior to this, Shelby had been regimental commander of the 5th Missouri Cavalry. As Brigade Commander, Col. Shelby fought at Prairie Grove and was wounded at Helena. Upon his recovery in late 1863 he was promoted to Brigadier General and led a Brigade at Jenkins Ferry.
During Gen. Price's invasion into Missouri during the fall and late summer of 1864, Shelby was given
Divisional Command over the Cavalry in the Army of Missouri, Trans-Mississippi Department.
When the Confederacy fell, Shelby refused to surrender and led part of his force to Mexico where he pursed interest in the shipping business for several years.
Gen. Shelby was enormously popular, but refused all political offers for public office until 1893, when President Grover Cleveland appointed him U.S. Marshall for the Western District. He died at Adrian, Missouri, while holding this office, on February l3th, 1897. (As a note of interest, in the 1880's he became acquainted with the James Brothers and as a result got into a kind of "controversial situation" where it appeared that he may have supported some of their activities. From what I can determine, he didn't. It appears that the James' may have abused the General's benevolence for Confederate veterans.)
Following the outbreak of War, Missourian Sidney D. Jackman led a group of irregulars who continued to harass the Union occupation forces into the state. In 1863 Jackman met then Col. Shelby in Dardanelle, Arkansas, just across the river from Russellville. Jackman, who was now a Colonel, has authorization from Gen. Kirby Smith (Departmental Commander) to recruit a Brigade, as did Shelby.
Shelby, as well as Jackman, had been given the task of ridding Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri of the deserters, marauders, and murderers from both armies. They had organized themselves into little bands, torturing and plundering the locals indiscriminately. Shelby and Jackman were given the duty of breaking up these bands by killing them or "convincing" them into joining one army or another, and a warning of the wrath to come if they did not.
The outlaw bands had been threatened that way before and, at first, paid no attention to the warning. Unfortunately for them the Shelby/Jackman organization was made up of veteran soldiers who were not predisposed of a tolerant nature. The outlaws were systematically hunted down by the best scouts and shot like a band of wild animals. That was enough. The robber bands ceased to exist, those who had belonged to them, and were lucky enough to be alive, fled the area. Some went to the Federals, some joined a Confederate command being organized by Sidney Jackman, with returning POW of the 3rd Missouri (and newly appointed Lt. Col.) Daniel N. Fulbright in the command structure.
The new regiment was designated the Missouri 7th Infantry. Historically things get a bit confusing here. The records say that the 7th was also designated as the 14th or the 16th. My guess is that they are separate, and distinct, units. Reason: Jackman was given authority to raise a "Brigade" not just a Regiment. Therefore, the 76th would have been a Regiment, as would have been the 16th. Was Daniel N. Fulbright the Lt. Col. of the 7th, the 14th, or the 16th? 1 really don't know, despite some quite diligent research. (If anyone has documented evidence of his commission, I'd really appreciate a copy.)
(As recorded in A Reminiscent History of the Ozark Region , Daniel N. Fulbright was a remarkable man -- no doubt the job of Lt. Col. Was well within his capabilities. In 1857 he and fellow named Crawford trailed a herd of beef cattle [1000 head, I think] to California. As one reads about this guy, it reminds you of the noble family from which we come. I would point out that page 158 of this book indicates Daniel helped raise Jackman's Brigade in 1862, this appears to be a typographical error and should read 1863).
Colonel Jackman commanded his Brigade as a part of Shelby's Division during the time of Gen. Price's Missouri Invasion of 1864. I would assume that because Jackman was functioning as the Brigade Commander; Daniel N. Fulbright may well have been in command of one of the Regiments. In recognition for his service at that level, Col. Jackman (along with eight other Colonels and one Major) was promoted "in orders" by Gen. Kirby Smith to the rank of Brigadier General on May 16th, 1865. That is, they were "assigned to duty" as Brig. Generals. but could not be officially promoted to that rank. President Davis was a prisoner of war and the Confederate Senate had ceased to exist.
SGT. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT
Co.
A, 8th Missouri Cavalry
It appears (Gotta be careful with "Williams" -- it was a very popular name) that Sgt. William Fulbright started out his career as a Pvt. in Co. C, Confederate Cavalry, Missouri State Guard. From there he enlisted as a 28 year old Pvt. in William L. Jeffer's Regment of Missouri Calvary, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, on August 17, 1862. Later, at a place called Pocahantas, Arkansas, on December 11th 1862, Jeffer's Regiment was mustered into Confederate Service. They became the 8th Regiment, Missouri Calvary. William Fulbright enlisted for 3 years (or duration of the war) and had a $140.00 horse and $15.00 worth of horse accessories at the time of his enlistment.
The following October 1863, William Fulbright was promoted to 4th SGT. Typically, in the command structure of a Cavalry unit, there would be five sergeants in a company. The 1st Sergeant being the top dog. The other sergeants were numbered, with the numbering loosely following their seniority. However, the number really designated the position they occupied when their company was in battle formation. Among the enlisted men there was also a Sergeant Major, but that was really a regimental staff position and not a part of the Company chain of command.
4th SGT. William Fulbright was moved to Co. A, 3rd Sergeant position at some point between 1864-1865. As indicated, the movement could have been regarded as a promotion but did not necessarily have to be so. The original date of promotion to Sgt. would have dictated seniority rather than the numbered position he had within the company. Co. A was surrendered by Lt. Joseph G. Lewis, Company Commander, at New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 26, 1865.
During the time the 8th served in the Trans-Mississippi Department there were three regimental commanders: Cols. William L. Jerrer, Stephen J. Ward, and John H. Cobb. For the most part the 8th Missouri Cavalry was in Gen. Marmaduke's Division of Col. Green's Brigade. As a regiment their first major action was at Helena, Arkansas, July 4th, 1863. (same date as Gettysburg and Vicksburg). The 8th participated in a number of various engagements including: Shelby's Missouri Raids in September and October 1863; operation against (Union) Gen Steele's Expedition in the Little Rock area; and Gen. Price's Missouri Invasion.
Historical records show that the 8th Missouri Cavalry (as well as most of the units that were with Gen. Price during his tour north during 1864) retreated into Northeastern Texas. For the most part they remained there from early 1865 until the wars end. In the specific case of the 8th, they were officially included among the Confederate Trans-Mississippi forces surrendered at Galveston on June 2nd, 1865. However, as you can see from the many locations of the 8th's companies when they surrendered, the regiment had pretty much disbanded once the news of the collapse of the Confederacy in the East had reached them.
[Editor's note... Due to the length of this article, the next issue will carry Fulbrights who were from North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. I hope you all enjoy this family history as much as I have, and if you can identify your ancestor, please let me know. I have identified most of the Missourians and about half of the other states. Bring your information to the reunion and share it!!