Today, I thought I would focus on an entire Company, rather than a single person. This post will feature the "Randolph Hornets," also known as Company M, 22nd North Carolina Infantry, Confederate States Army. (I also shared this post on the Randolph County NCGenWeb site, which I now coordinate, as my first contribution.)
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| Taken from Company Service Records |
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| Taken from Company Service Records |
November 1861 to January 1862, he and the Company appear in Evansport, Virginia. In March 1862, he was present at camp near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
On 27 April 1862, John Milton Odell is listed as being "defeated" as Captain causing a vacancy in the position. I'm not sure what that necessarily means, but I know he didn't die in the War since he lived until 1910. He also doesn't simply get demoted, as far as I can tell, because he simply disappears from the War records.
Whatever happened to John Milton Odell, his successor as Captain of the Randolph Hornets is listed as his younger brother, Laban Odell.
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| Taken from John Milton Odell's Service Records |
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| Taken from Laban Odell's Service Records |
The final person to fulfill the role of Captain of the Randolph Hornets, and also the youngest person to hold the position in the Company, was Columbus Franklin Siler. This young man may very well be my favorite of all of the soldiers in this Company.
When Columbus enlisted, he was originally elected Sergeant. On the first muster roll I find for him, though, he's listed as "absent" from the Company. But, instead of being missing from the War, he is merely missing from "action." It seems he was sent to Fredericksburg to care for the sick being seen there.
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| Taken from Warren B. Kivett's Service Records |
Columbus shows up absent once again in July 1862. This time, he is the one wounded. He was wounded in June and sent home on furlough as a result. (Columbus has been promoted to 3rd Lieutenant by this time in the War.) By September though, Columbus had failed to return to duty. I almost got mad at him thinking he was deserting the Company, but he shows back up in October without another mention of it. At some point while on furlough, it seems Columbus was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.
Columbus made his way up the ranks quickly. I wonder if he was simply that strong of a leader, or if he was simply the result of good fortune. was promoted 16 April 1863 to 1st Lieutenant. Then, just a few weeks later on 3 May 1863, Columbus was promoted to Captain of the Company when Warren resigned his post.
This quick promotion through the ranks didn't seem to help Columbus much though. On 7 May 1863, he was sent to Raleigh from Richmond having been shot.
Columbus shows up as a Prisoner of War being paroled at Appomattox on 9 April 1865. I'm not sure what really happened to the Company (or to Columbus) during those two years between his being shot and the end of the War, but until I find out otherwise, I imagine it must have been rather uneventful.
This look at the experiences of this unit will definitely require some further work, but here is at least an overview of the people in the Company with their highest ending rank (within the Company).
Captains
- John Milton Odell
- Laban Odell
- Warren B Kivett
- Columbus F Siler
- Lewis F McMasters
- James M Robbins
- Henry C Allred
- John M Lawrence
- James M Pounds
- James E Campbell
- William Coble
- Thomas B Hays
- William Franklin Hays
- William A Pounds
- Henry C Smith
- Stephen W Trogdon
- William P Willey
Corporals
- M R James
- William C Jones
- James M Routh
- Wesley C Siler
- John T Turner
Privates
- Stephen Adkerson
- Simon E Allen
- Benjamin F Allred
- Calvin C Allred
- Emsley Allred
- James A Allred
- Samuel H Allred
- William F Allred
- William Aldridge
- Alfred Norman Arnold
- Thomas Arnold
- John Henry Baker
- Nathan David Barker
- William C Birne
- York Braxton
- Abraham Breedlove
- Henry Breedlove
- Joseph Breedlove
- Newman Breedlove
- Henry Brewer
- James B Brown
- Peter P Brown
- Riley J Brown
- W P Bryant
- Franklin F Burgess
- John P Burgess
- Samuel M Burgess
- W Burgis
- Jackson Cannon
- James Cannon
- H Spain Carroll
- Wesley E Caudle
- John A Caviness
- David O Coble
- John R Coble
- Riley Coble
- J G Conley
- William L Cook
- James M Cox
- Enoch S Craven
- Henry Craven
- Jacob Franklin Craven
- James Cross
- Thomas F Cross
- Samuel Darr
- Marcus Deal
- William H Dean
- J E Dollinger
- Alex P Ellington
- Grandison Euliss
- Andrew J Fields
- Jesse Fields
- William Fields
- Jacob Flinchum
- Josiah F Foster
- Levi Foster
- Christian Foust
- Jacob Foust
- James M Foust
- Peter Foust
- T P French
- James Furgerson
- John D Gatewood
- Jefferson Gentry
- John W Glasco
- William M Glasco
- Calvin Gray
- William R Hardin
- John Hart
- Elias W Hays
- James Madison Hays
- Oliver P Hays
- William A Hays
- Joseph A Henson
- James R Hix
- Lewis F Holder
- Nelson Hulin
- Henry M Hutson
- Stephen W Ivy
- John Jackson
- Peter Jennings
- James Johnson
- Willis Johnson
- Craven Jones
- George Kinney
- J M M Kivett
- Jacob Kivett
- James F Kivett
- Joel Kivett
- John Wesley Kivett, Jr
- John W Kivett, Sr
- K M Kivett
- Stanley Kivett
- Talton Kivett
- Troy Kivett
- John C Lane
- Bartley Yancey Langley
- E Tyson Langley
- William T Laughlin
- Austin W Lawrence
- William A Lingle
- James P Lowe
- A Green McDaniel
- Calvin McLemore
- William McNeil
- A Manis
- E P Miller, Jr
- James Oda
- William O'Dear
- W A Oseley
- Alvens Pen
- James Perry
- Alpheus Pugh
- Daniel P Pulley
- Marshall S Ranes
- William D Reece
- Joseph M Reese
- S M Robbins
- William Thomas Robbins
- Aaron Routh
- George E Routh
- Jesse Routh
- Joseph Alson Routh
- Joshua M Routh
- Wesley P Routh
- William C Routh
- William R Routh
- Enoch P Scott
- James M Scotton
- Edmond T Shouse
- Howard E Smith
- Madison Smith
- J D Spinks
- J G Spronce
- Abner B Steel
- Thomas Stewart
- Wesley A Stewart
- Lorenzo D Stout
- W G Stout
- William O Strickland
- W S Sudderth
- John R Sumner
- Spencer Thompson
- H C Trogden
- Jeremiah F Trogden
- Lyndon A Trogdon
- Samuel Trogdon
- Solomon Trogdon
- Andrew J Turner
- M S Turner
- Thomas Turner
- William B Wall
- James A Webster
- Daniel C Wilkerson
- James M Wilkerson
- William J Wilkins
- Adam O Williams
- Benjamin Williams
- D E Williams
- J R Williams
- James M Williams
- Joel Williams
- Lindsey Williams
- William M Williams
- William A Woosley
- David Wright
- Doris Wright
- Isaac Wright
- Daniel Yergin
- Draxon York
- Clarkson York
- Darius York
- J L York
- Joseph York
- Larkin C York
- Lindsy J York
- William J York
Sources:
- 1850 North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1860 North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1870 North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1880 North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1900 North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of North Carolina (accessed on Fold3)
Regarding Capt. Odell being "defeated" and replaced as commanding officer, it is entirely possible this was by vote of the men. In some cases among Confederate units raised from certain counties or localities -- as with many Revolutionary War units, particularly militia -- officers and non-comissioned officers were chosen or "elected" by the other volunteers, particularly in the early going, when none of the troops had any combat experience under their belts.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that this was the case with Capt. John Odell, but there were no serious skirmishes or battles involving 22nd North Carolina around the date of his "defeat" and replacement in command, so I'm guessing there may have been discontent among the troops and Capt. Odell's younger brother Laban may have been preferred to John by the men, and also possibly chosen over other suitors to the post.
Oops, I should have checked first.
ReplyDeleteYes, according to Civilwardata.com, Capt. John Odell was "defeated for re-election," and likely just went home after losing his post.
Thank you for your comments and for reading! It seemed weird that he was "defeated" and yet didn't die. I thought maybe there was some sort of brotherly disagreement or favoritism. I definitely want to see if I can find any information (of a more personal note) about the brothers' relationship.
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