| Notes |
- Submitted On: 7 Sep 2004 - Submitted By: Sandra Brownlow - keisanb1@consolidated.net
Eli Williams, who was living in NC, received a land grant in Florida from U.S. Congress in 1798 for revolutionary services. This documentation is easy to find, but I have not tied him into our line yet. But, I think he will be there.
ca. 1790 a John Williams and wife, Amelia were living around the Waccasassa Marina and Levy County Boat Landing in Florida. In 1843, Amelia Williams, b. 1822 Florida, married William Monroe Brownlow. William and Amelia Williams Brownlow married in Early County, GA. in 1843. They moved immediately to Nachitoches Parrish, Louisana where their first four children (James Monroe Brownlow, Elias Albert Brownlow, Rebecca Brownlow and Mary E. Brownlow) were born. They moved on to Victoria County, Texas about 1857/8. In the 1860 Victoria County, Texas Census, there is an "N. Williams, age 18, born Florida" living with William and Amelia Brownlow and their children. In 1861/2 another baby, Amelia Brownlow II, was born. Amelia I died in 1862. William was killed in the Civil War before 1864. He had married 2nd. Malinda. Malinda changed the baby's name from Amelia II to Malinda Brownlow II according to the 1870 Census.
A brother, (Benjamin Brownlow, b. Chatham County, NC) to our line moved from Guillford County, NC, to Levy County, FL. Our Brownlow's came out of VA to NC before GA, LA and Texas. (Note: It seems more likely that William Monroe Brownlow was born in SC as that is what he documented in the 1850 La Census, Gene Brownlow)
Somehow, it seems logical that our Williams line migrated mostly through the same areas with the addition of Florida which was mostly populated by Native Americans at the time.
If anyone has information that would help me tie any of this together, it would be appreciated.
William and Amelia Williams Brownlow married in Early County, GA. in 1843.
J.C. Weaver married William and Amelia, Marriage book II 1834 - 1854, Page 075
William’s brother stayed in Calhoun Co. Ga. See 1850 Georgia Census. Calhoun County is adjacent to Early County and originally was the same county. William and George probably left South Carolina together, traveling to the southern part of Georgia. George married a local girl, while William married Amelia whose family was likely on a wagon train from Florida to Texas.
They moved immediately to Natchitoches Parrish, Louisiana where their first four children (James Monroe Brownlow, Elias Albert Brownlow, Jura Brownlow and Mary E. Brownlow) were born.
1850 Census
BROWNLOW W. M. Natchitoches County LA 064 No Township Listed LAS5a221302
1171 W. M. BROWNLOW 35 M W Farmer . SC
. Amelia 28 F W . . Fld.
. Jura 5 F W . . La.
. Mary 4 F W . . La.
They moved on to Victoria County, Texas about 1857/8. In the 1860 Victoria County, Texas Census, there is an "N. Williams, age 18, born Florida" living with William and Amelia Brownlow and their children.
1860 Census Victoria County, Texas Page 70
Name: Wm M Brownlow
Residence: , Victoria, Texas
Ward: Victoria City
Age: 38 years
Estimated Birth Year: 1822
Birthplace: South Carolina
Gender: Male
Page: 38
Family Number: 297
Film Number: 805307
DGS Number: 4297449
Image Number: 00146
NARA Number: M653
Wm M. Brownlow M W 38 SC Farming $7000 (Personal)
Amelia Brownlow F W 33 FL
Mary E. Brownlow F W 13 FL Attending School
Jas. M. Brownlow M W 10 LA Attending School
Eli A. Brownlow M W 3 LA
N. Williams M W 13 FL Laborer
In 1860 another baby, Amelia Brownlow II, was born 5 Aug 1860. Williams' wife Amelia died 1860, i beleive in child birth.
Victoria County, Texas - Court Cases
1861-02-22 State of Texas vs. William M Brownlow
Brownlow William M. 393 District Court
Playing a game of pool
HC-83-A & B, HC-84-A
http://genealogytrails.com/tex/gulfcoast/victoria/history.html
Texas Genealogy Trails
Victoria County, Texas History
(The next three statements were extracted from the above website. Gene Brownlow)
The principal planters, many of whom included, to a less or greater extent, stock raising, were: Dr. Joseph Weisiger, Otto Von Roeder, Archie Clark, St. George Lee, J. O. Wheeler, in Mission Valley; Weisiger and Sanford, Dr. E. H. Smith, W. P. McLean, Marshal Spell, Judge Ragland, Dr. J. B. Ragland, Brownlow, N. M. Ragland, Jordan Williams, Rod Clay, Murphy, Felix Daughtery, Quincey Davidson, south of the valley, and adjacent to the town track.
Among the farmers about town are the Schafer families, the Fishers, Mr. Fred Deigle, whose good lady is not surpassed on earth for Christian virtues, Peter Weldon, A. F. Hall, C. L. Thurmond, Charley Johns, Peter Wagner, Dr. E. H. Smith, C. C. Rosell, Alfred Rosell, Jake Grier, Ob White, Mr. Brownlow, John Newcomb, Robert Newcomb, Capt. Gwinn, Max Lender, H. Hauschild, Mr. Thomas Nevins, S. T. Stafford, George Josstym, and many more.
November 17, 1863
." The name of citizens of Victoria captured on Mustang island are: Lieuts. A. Clark, M. L. Stoner, Skrugg, H. Devine, Otto Von Rhoeder, P. D. Newcomb, J. D. Cabler, Bobett, Robert Willoughby, who died in prison at New Orleans; Dr. J. B. Throop, Dr. Robert Bell, Daniel Weisiger, Bill McDonnald, John Hunt, James Webb, Thomas Smith, George Emison, Bob Hogan, - Clayton, John A Emison, - and a Mexican Ines, sur-name not now remembered.
(Note: because Otto Von Rhoeder (SIC Roeder) was the Captian of the Texas State Troops that William Monroe Brownlow was assigned, I beleive he may have been involved in the Battle of Mustang Island. Gene Brownlow(Note additioanl informatinshow that William married again in 1864 so that would mean he wasn't involved in this action. Gene Brownlow))
September 25, 1861 Victoria Blues Muster Roll shows PRIVATE W.W. Brownlow under Capt. Jas. E. FURGUSON
Then, no date, W. M. Brownlow was listed on the Muster Roll as a Sergeant in Company A 24th Brigade, Victoria Blues, Texas Troops, under Capitan Otto Von Roeder. There were 9 individuals listed on both rolls. Due to the date of record I believe he was active as a Texas Ranger before they became Texas State Troops. This would have been in Capt G.J. Hampton's Company A
In Von Roeder's Biography it states;
While Nassau Plantation was tied up in litigation, Otto moved south and developed a “princely plantation” on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Victoria County’s Mission Valley. His family grew to eight children, and he was listed on the 1860 census, as one of the area’s most prominent and prosperous citizens. A year later at 54, when the civil War began, the well-known patriot joined Company A of Victoria’s reserves, the “Blues” as an officer. On November 24, 1863, Col. von Roeder was captured while the company was defending Mustang Island. Praised for his kindness to other prisoners, he was released at New Orleans in June 1864 following the Louisiana Red River Campaign in which his eldest son served as an officer.
The Story of Georgia and Georgia People, 1732 to 1860. By George Gillman Smith, published by George G Smith, Macon Georgia, 1900. This book list Wm Brownlow in the section List Soldiers of the Line.
In 1864 William remarried to Melinda Bray. They were married on January 21, 1864, in Victoria County, Texas.
Groom's Name: W. N. Brownlow
Groom's Birth Date:
Groom's Birthplace:
Groom's Age:
Bride's Name: Malinda Bray
Bride's Birth Date:
Bride's Birthplace:
Bride's Age:
Marriage Date: 21 Jan 1864
Marriage Place: , Victoria, Texas
Groom's Father's Name:
Groom's Mother's Name:
Bride's Father's Name:
Bride's Mother's Name:
Groom's Race:
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife's Name:
Bride's Race:
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M59292-1
System Origin: Texas-ODM
Source Film Number: 1010590
I believe it is possible that sometime after William married Malinda he was called upon to join the fight in Louisiana. It is possible that he was killed in one of several battles near the end of the war. Two possibilites are the Battle of Mansfield or Pleasant Hill.
While stationed in Louisiana, the Victoria company performed numerous
guerrilla raids against the federal army. By far the most significant Louisiana
engagements Company A participated in were the Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill.
In the early spring of 1864, Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the Union forces in
Louisiana, began his Red River Campaign that was designed to invade Texas.
On April 8, at Sabine Cross-Roads, near Mansfield, Confederate Gen. Richard
Taylor’s forces engaged the advancing federal army. During the battle, Waller’s
Battalion was attached to Gen. James P. Major’s Brigade and fought as dismounted
cavalry. Following the struggle at Mansfield, the fighting continued at Pleasant Hill.
Both engagements resulted in Banks aborting his attempt to invade Texas.
With the conclusion of the Red River Campaign, Company A resumed its
customary small encounters with the enemy until the latter part of November when it
returned to Texas.
In May 2018 we visited the Mansfield Battle Field Meorial. We were told that that were 100's of unmarked civil war graves in La. However in Minden La there are 21 unmarked graves of Texas Civil War soilders.
Williams' children were raised by their stepmother, Melinda Bray Brownlow. She was born about 1825 in North Carolina. She also change Amelia's name to Amanda.
William's youngest son Elias moved to the Mayfield boarding house in Karnes County to farm and James stayed to help his stepmother in Victoria County.
__________________________________________________________
Consolidated notes that I have been able to find on William Monroe Brownlow as of Aust 2023. Gene Brownlow
William Monroe Brownlow
born 1815 - died 1864
William Brownlow was born in Pendleton District, South Carolina in 1815 according to the multiple US Census and several military documents. His father was James Brownlow born 1787 in North Carolina and his mother was Rebecca Cross born about 1789 in South Carolina. In the 1800 Pendleton South Carolina Census there is a James Brownlow and wife with two young boys and two young girls listed. Then in 1820 there is a James Brownlow and wife showing four boys and one girl. I believe two of the boys are William Monroe and George Washington Brownlow both under ten years of age. In the 1830 Census there is a James Brownlow and wife with two boys under ten and two boys between ten and twenty years of age. Also, there are 4 young girls under five and one under ten and one under twenty years of age. I believe the two boys between ten and twenty are William Monroe and George Washington Brownlow.
William moved from Pendleton, South Carolina to Rome Georgia sometime after 1835 according to the birth of Nassisa, William’s sister, with his father, James, mother Rebecca, and brother George Washington Brownlow and sisters, Sarah, Eliza, Malinda, Nancy and Nassissa. In the 1850 Census it shows James. Rebecca and three daughters, Amanda 18, Emily 16, and NaLisa 12. Both William Monroe and George Washington Brownlow had moved out and started their own families.
He married Amelia Williams in Earley County Georgia the 5th day of August 1843 according to their marriage license. William married Amelia whose family was likely on a wagon train from Florida to Texas.
William’s brother stayed in Calhoun County Georgia, according to the 1850 Georgia Census. Calhoun County is adjacent to Early County and originally was the same county. William and George probably left South Carolina together, traveling to the southern part of Georgia. George married a local girl, while
According to their Georgia marriage license, in 1843, William Monroe Brownlow and Amelia Williams were married in Early County Georgia. They soon moved to Campti, Natchitoches Parish, La. In the 1850 Census it shows W M Brownlow, Amelia, Jura 5, and Mary 4, farming in La. Both girls show to be born in La so they must have been in La. By 1845. William and his family farmed in Natchitoches, Louisiana until 1857/58 when they moved to Texas.
In 1845 Jura Narcissus Brownlow was born in Campti, Natchitoches Parish, La.
In 1846 Mary Elizabeth Brownlow born in Campti, Natchitoches Parish, La.
In 1850 The US Census show William and his family in Natchitoches Parish, La.
May 6th, 1851, James Monroe Brownlow was born in Campti, Natchitoches Parish, La.
In September 1856 Elias Albert Brownlow born in Campti, Natchitoches Parish, La
A little about Amelia Williams. A Sandra Brownlow who had married into the Brownlow family in the James Monroe Brownlow line submitted this info online
Submitted On: 7 Sep 2004 - Submitted By: Sandra Brownlow - keisanb1@consolidated.net
Eli Williams, who was living in NC, received a land grant in Florida from U.S. Congress in 1798 for revolutionary services. This documentation is easy to find, but I have not tied him into our line yet. But I think he will be there.
ca. 1790 a John Williams and wife, Amelia were living around the Waccasassa Marina and Levy County Boat Landing in Florida. In 1843, Amelia Williams, b. 1822 Florida, married William Monroe Brownlow. William and Amelia Williams Brownlow married in Early County, GA. in 1843. They moved immediately to Natchitoches Parrish, Louisiana where their first four children (James Monroe Brownlow, Elias Albert Brownlow, Rebecca Brownlow and Mary E. Brownlow) were born. They moved on to Victoria County, Texas about 1857/8. In the 1860 Victoria County, Texas Census, there is an "N. Williams, age 18, born Florida" living with William and Amelia Brownlow and their children. In 1861/2 another baby, Amelia Brownlow II, was born. Amelia I died in 1862.
By 1860 the US Census shows William M Brownlow, Amelia, Mary13, James M 10, Eli A 3, and N Williams 18 (a relative of Amelia) living in Victoria Texas. Both boys, James and Eli show to have been born in Louisiana. and N Williams was born in Florida where Amelia was born. The family farmed in Victoria County and William also
In the document “Victoria County, Texas – Victoria County Texas History – Section 2, Victor M. Morn of the Daily Times Print, Laredo, Texas wrote the following.
The principal planters, many of whom included, to a less or greater extent, stock raising, were: Dr. Joseph Weisiger, Otto Von Roeder, Archie Clark, St. George Lee, J. O. Wheeler, in Mission Valley; Weisiger and Sanford, Dr. E. H. Smith, W. P. McLean, Marshal Spell, Judge Ragland, Dr. J. B. Ragland, Brownlow, N. M. Ragland, Jordan Williams, Rod Clay, Murphy, Felix Daughtery, Quincey Davidson, south of the valley, and adjacent to the town track. Lower down on the west side of the river were the farms of J. J. Linn, A. Bass, McDonough, John and Wm Hunt; and on the San Antonio river those of Capt Harvey, Green Clay, A. H. Cromwell, and Holliday. East of the Guadalupe, and north of town, were those of S. McCall Fenner, R. N. and S. P. Weisiger, J. W. Rose, J. E. Ferguson, Judge Barton, W. L. Callander, C. Beck. B. Tippett, Wagner; and south of town those of Rupley, Dr. Cocke, M. L. Stoner, Venable, Taylor, Scott. The principal stock men, commencing at Mission Valley, were R. Power, James George, John A., and David Emison, Daniel Weisiger, Sr., A. Clark, J. O. Wheeler; on the San Antonio, Mr. Teel, Fagan, and De la Garza. In other portions of the county Patricio, Santiago, and Frank De. Leon; Benevides, Traylor, Mat Alexander, Tho's Sterne, A Borland, R. Clarke. Of course there were many more engaged in stock raising, and farming, as the various biographical sketches will show. In the year 1860 the largest stocks of cattle were those owned by A. Borland - 8,000 head, (the numbers are approximate) Matt Alexander - 6,000 head, Archie Clark - 5000 head, Preston R. Rose - 5,000 head, R. Clark - 4000 head, Winn Traylor 3,000 head, Thomas Sterne - 2,500.
1858 Victoria County, Texas History
The principal planters, many of whom included, to a less or greater extent, stock raising, were: Dr. Joseph Weisiger, Otto Von Roeder, Archie Clark, St. George Lee, J. O. Wheeler, in Mission Valley; Weisiger and Sanford, Dr. E. H. Smith, W. P. McLean, Marshal Spell, Judge Ragland, Dr. J. B. Ragland, Brownlow, N. M. Ragland, Jordan Williams, Rod Clay, Murphy, Felix Daughtery, Quincey Davidson, south of the valley, and adjacent to the town track.
Among the farmers about town are the Schafer families, the Fishers, Mr. Fred Deigle, whose good lady is not surpassed on earth for Christian virtues, Peter Weldon, A. F. Hall, C. L. Thurmond, Charley Johns, Peter Wagner, Dr. E. H. Smith, C. C. Rosell, Alfred Rosell, Jake Grier, Ob White, Mr. Brownlow, John Newcomb, Robert Newcomb, Capt. Gwinn, Max Lender, H. Hauschild, Mr. Thomas Nevins, S. T. Stafford, George Josstym, and many more.
Victoria County, Texas - Court Cases
1861-02-22 State of Texas vs. William M Brownlow
Brownlow William M. 393 District Court
Playing a game of pool
HC-83-A & B, HC-84-A
http://genealogytrails.com/tex/gulfcoast/victoria/history.html
Texas Genealogy Trails
Victoria County, Texas History
(The next three statements were extracted from the above website. Gene Brownlow)
The principal planters, many of whom included, to a less or greater extent, stock raising, were: Dr. Joseph Weisiger, Otto Von Roeder, Archie Clark, St. George Lee, J. O. Wheeler, in Mission Valley; Weisiger and Sanford, Dr. E. H. Smith, W. P. McLean, Marshal Spell, Judge Ragland, Dr. J. B. Ragland, Brownlow, N. M. Ragland, Jordan Williams, Rod Clay, Murphy, Felix Daughtery, Quincey Davidson, south of the valley, and adjacent to the town track.
Among the farmers about town are the Schafer families, the Fishers, Mr. Fred Deigle, whose good lady is not surpassed on earth for Christian virtues, Peter Weldon, A. F. Hall, C. L. Thurmond, Charley Johns, Peter Wagner, Dr. E. H. Smith, C. C. Rosell, Alfred Rosell, Jake Grier, Ob White, Mr. Brownlow, John Newcomb, Robert Newcomb, Capt. Gwinn, Max Lender, H. Hauschild, Mr. Thomas Nevins, S. T. Stafford, George Josstym, and many more.
William joined the Victoria Blues, Company A, 24th Regiment sometime after May 1861.
This document was found online at http://www.txcivwarconf.org/papers/spurlin.pdf
Victoria, Texas, Units that Served in the Civil War
Charles D. Spurlin
On the eve of the Civil War, Victoria was a prosperous, thriving commercial center with visions of becoming even more affluent. Since the 1840s steamboats laden with goods for the western trade plied the Guadalupe River and made regular visits to the town. By 1861, the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railway was established between Victoria and Port Lavaca, the first link in a commercial chain that the owners of the railroad intended to link the Alamo City with the coastal shipping trade.
Politically, Victoria was an avid supporter of the States’ rights doctrine. Victorians who saw commercial opportunities were reluctant to accept any protective trade laws emanating out of the central government. Furthermore, the county’s slave owners firmly stood against any northern opposition restricting bondsmen from the territories. However, most disturbing at the moment was the belief the newly elected president Abraham Lincoln, considered to be a Black Republican, would push for the abolishment of slavery. Consequently, local residents, be they slave owners or not, strongly supported the States’ rights doctrine. Many present day Victorians find little difficulty in relating to their predecessors views on States’ rights.
As the war clouds began to thicken after South Carolina seceded from the Union in late 1860, Victorians assumed considerable interest in the national news and speculated as to how the community would be affected. Some of the citizens quickly concluded that should Texas secede they would be prepared to defend their country.
As the political events unfolded, a Secession Convention convened, and on February 1, 1861, the delegates voted 174 to 7 to secede. The Victoria district representatives, State District Judge Fielding Jones of Victoria and William R. Scurry from DeWitt County, cast their ballots with the majority. Afterwards, Victoria County with about a forty percent voter turnout accepted the Ordinance of Secession 313 to 88.
Victor Rose, a Victoria County resident, newspaperman, and historian, in an assessment of the community’s attitude wrote in his History of Victoria County that Victorians were as enthusiastic for war. . .”as if years of oppression had driven them to the stern necessity.” He added that if the residents were asked why they were so zealous for war, the reply was “To whip the Yankees.” Rose pointed out that resistance in the county to war, where it could be found, came from the older naturalized residents who possessed strong feelings for their oath of allegiance to the United States. In a personal assessment of the unfolding event he stated, “Folly was toppling a great State into needless, ruinous, rebellion. We repudiated the counsels of Sam Houston, Jack Hamilton, J. W. Throckmorton; John Hancock, and other Texans, to follow the magpie chattering of South Carolina’s pigmy so-called statesmen. . . .There was never a more causeless war,—and a fearful responsibility for its consequences rests on the Yankee abolitionists. It seemed that some devil,—he must have been a South Carolina devil,— concealed from view, manipulated events upon the Southern chess board to suit his own malign purpose.” Despite Rose’s misgivings to the war, he served with distinction in Ross’ Texas Brigade.
Soon after Texas entered the Confederacy on March 2, 1861, the Victoria Cavalry Company, Twenty-fourth Texas Cavalry Brigade, was organized for local defense purposes. The commander of the unit was James E. Ferguson, a Methodist minister who had lived in the county since 1857. He was the father of future governor James E. “Farmer Jim” Ferguson. Composed primarily of married men who claimed regular service would interfere with their personal affairs, the company drilled four times a week so as to be prepared to defend the area from federal forces.
By the end of May, a second company was formed under the guidance of Victoria County Sheriff George J. Hampton. Originally the unit was known as the “Victoria Blues,” probably because some of men possessed blue uniforms acquired from the federal government.
After Gen. Henry H. Sibley, a former U. S. Army officer now serving in the Confederate service, arrived at San Antonio in the summer of 1861 and began organizing a brigade, Hampton and his comrades officially joined Sibley’s unit on September 11, 1861, as Company C, Fourth Regiment Texas Mounted Volunteers. Meanwhile, the Victorians renamed the company “Victoria Invincible.”
In October 1861, Company C left San Antonio and marched to New Mexico. The first significant engagement the Victorians experienced was at Valverde, New Mexico, in February 1862. Lt. Col. William Scurry, regimental commander in the absence of Col. James Reily who was on a diplomatic mission in Mexico, encouraged the men, as reported by Lt. Charles C. Linn, a member of Company C and the son of Victoria’s first mayor John. J. “Juan” Linn, by yelling “Come on, My Boys. Come On, My Ragged Texians.” Although they were intensely involved in the fight, only eight Victorians, Hampton included, were wounded, none mortally.
After the Battle of Valverde, the Texans moved northward to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. On March 26, 1862, at Apache Canyon, the opposing forces collided in combat. The next day, the Victorians arrived at the scene of action as reinforcements. By March 28, the fighting shifted to Glorieta Pass. After a fierce struggle in which a high percentage of officers of the Fourth Texas Cavalry Regiment were killed or wounded, the Confederates retreated. The Victoria Company’s losses were three killed and three wounded. Because of his heroic deeds at the battles of Valverde and Glorieta, Hampton was promoted to major. Before the war ended, the former Victoria County sheriff became a colonel and commanded the Fourth Texas Cavalry Regiment.
Having failed to conquer New Mexico, Sibley ordered the brigade to return to Texas. During the summer of 1862, the men staggered into San Antonio. The journey from El Paso to the Alamo City was extremely hard, even for the toughest Victorian. When the Texans commenced the trek, their food supplies and clothing were inadequate for a long journey as they were to embark upon. Pete Fagan, a member of the “Victoria Invincible,” remarked, “The men were suffering terribly from the heat, very many of are a-foot, and scarcely able to travel from blistered feet. They were subsisting on bread and water, both officers and men; many of them sick, many ragged, and all hungry; but we did not see a gloomy face—not one.” By the middle of July, the company reached San Antonio, and a couple of weeks later arrived in Victoria to await assignment.
In the fall of 1862, Company C was ordered to the Trans-Mississippi Department and became a part of Gen. Thomas Green’s Cavalry Brigade. As an element in Green’s Brigade, the Victorians actively served in the battlefield operations of western Louisiana. Occasionally, however, the brigade, or portions of it, spent time in eastern Texas.
When news reached the Fourth Texas Cavalry Regiment that the military structure east of the Mississippi was collapsing, its members, Victorians included, defiantly adopted on April 27, 1865, at Independence, Texas, a resolution vowing to fight to the end and invited all Confederate troops outside the state to join with them. But, whether the Texans liked it or not, there was to be no further fighting for the Fourth Texas Cavalry Regiment.
Also organized for Confederate service at Victoria in 1861 was Company B, Sixth Texas Infantry Regiment, commanded by Capt. Jacob A. Rupley, a local businessman and a former resident of Pennsylvania. Company B was the only Victoria unit to serve east of the Mississippi River. Before leaving the state, the regiment trained for eight months at Camp Henry E. McCulloch, four miles north of Victoria. During its encampment in the community, the Male Academy was paid fifty dollars a month by the city to serve as the regimental hospital.
One of the recruits who trained at Camp McCulloch was R. R. Gilbert, a former newspaperman. Under the name of “High Private”, he applied his journalistic abilities by writing a series of satirical letters to the Victoria Advocate describing camp life. In a January 16, 1862, article, Gilbert gave the location of the encampment as a central one where “you can start from it and go to any part of the world—with a furlough.” His version of the Confederate oath was, “Do you solemnly swear that you will stay in the army as long as the war lasts, and fight to the best of your ability; that you will not growl at your rations, and be content with eleven dollars a month, whether you get them or not, so help you God?” The “High Private” also had a few choice comments about army regulations. He wrote, “army regulations require that every soldier shall keep his hair cut short. This cost 25 cents a month. Again, every one who acts irreverently, while the chaplain is officiating, has a Yankee shilling, or 16 2/3 cents, deducted from his pay, and he who swears an oath is mulcted in the sum of 16 2/3 cents for each swear. During the first month, I smiled once in meeting, and my liver being out or order, the number of swears for that month aggregated two each day.
“The result: High Private to the Southern Confederacy…:
“For Barber’s Bill, one month, 25 cents.
“For one ‘irreverently,’ 16 2/3 cents.
“For 62 swears at 16 2/3 cents each, $10.34.
“For Laundress, 50 cents per week, $2.00.
“For Company Cook, 25 cents.
“The total is $13.00 2/3 cents. Less one month’s pay, $11, leaving balance due the Confederate States of America, $2.00 2/3 cents.
“As eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, I immediately commenced reforming and engaged an enterprising individual to do my swearing at an enormous discount, left off going to church, and made arrangements to do my own cooking and washing.”
While training progressed at Camp McCulloch, Col. Garland asked a group of Victoria ladies to design and make an appropriate flag for the regiment. The women on the grounds they lacked the necessary materials declined, but Mrs. Richard Owens, the wife of a local merchant, with the help of her daughters assumed the challenge. The finished product was made of red merino with a border of white silk fringe. A blue shield, 28 by 36 inches, containing thirteen white stars was situated in the middle. Twelve of the stars were arranged along the border of the shield, six on each side, and a large star, to symbolize the Lone Star State, dominated the center. Stitched at the bottom of the flag with white silk was “Sixth Texas Infantry Regiment. Before Mrs. Owens completed the flag, the regiment broke camp and marched to Arkansas. It was delivered to Garland while the regiment was at Arkansas Post. Unfortunately, the flag was taken as war booty by federal troops when the Confederates surrendered the fort in January 1863.
After the capitulation of Arkansas Post, the Confederate prisoners of war were transferred up the Mississippi by steamboat to military prisons at Camp Butler, Illinois, Camp Chase, Ohio, and Camp Douglas, Illinois. During the spring of 1863, a prisoner exchange was made. In May 1863, The Sixth, Tenth, and Fifteenth Texas Regiments were consolidated. However, later in the war the Tenth Texas Infantry Regiment again became an independent unit. During the following month, the consolidated unit was assigned to Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne’s Division in the Army of Tennessee. As a part of the division, the consolidated regiment participated in the engagements at Chickamauga in September 1863.
After Chickamauga, the regiment was assigned to Col. Hiram B. Granbury’s Brigade and fought in the Chattanooga Campaign. Although the fighting ended in a defeat for the Southern forces, the one bright spot for the Confederates was the manner in which the Texans held its position at Missionary Ridge under intense Union pressure. The unit was eventually forced to retreat when the federals broke through other Confederate entrenchments and left the Texans’ flanks exposed.
The Army of Tennessee withdrew to Georgia. In the spring and summer of 1864, it engaged in the Battle of Atlanta. In this campaign, the Sixth Texas, now known as the “Bloody Sixth,” was a vital cog in the Confederate defenses around the city. Despite heavy casualties to the regiment, the men fought stubbornly to halt the federal advance. Fighting was so intense at times; the unit was commanded by five different men in a two day period. On May 29, Capt. B. R. Tyus was wounded and Capt. Rhodes Fisher assumed command. The next day Fisher was wounded and forced to relinquish command to Capt. M. M. Houston who lasted only ten minutes before being killed. Capt. R. R. Rice took charge and shortly afterwards became a casualty whereupon 1st Lieut. T. S. Flynt became the regimental commander.
During the fighting in Georgia and Tennessee, Victorian Jacob Fox won the distinction of being the most wounded soldier in Company B. On July 21, he either received shrapnel or a bullet but remained on active duty. On September 1, Fox was hit again. He, nevertheless, continued to be an effective member of the company. Later, on November 30, he lost a forefinger at Franklin, Tennessee, but shortly afterwards returned to duty.
After the Georgia Campaign, the Army of Tennessee moved into Tennessee and fought at Franklin and Nashville. At Nashville, the Confederate army was routed and retreated to Mississippi where Gen. Joseph E. Johnston assumed command from Gen. John B. Hood. Afterwards, the army intermittently marched to North Carolina. In the Carolina Campaign of 1865, Johnston’s strategy was essentially one of retreat, hold, and retreat. Because the ranks of the Army of Tennessee were continually depleted from its encounters with the federals, it was restructured. Under the reorganization setup, the Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Fifteenth Texas Infantry Regiments were consolidated with the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-fifth Texas Dismounted Cavalry Regiments. The new command was designated the First Texas Infantry Regiment and assigned to Gen. D. C. Govan’s Brigade, Gen. John C. Brown’s Division.
On April 26, 1865, Johnston, his army in rags with little food and military supplies, formally surrendered to Gen. William T. Sherman. Confederate officer Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, an 1860 Democratic presidential candidate, was present at the meeting between Johnston and Sherman. All three men were old acquaintances. A bottle of liquor was acquired for social drinks. The more the men drank the more elegant Breckinridge’s comments became on the surrender terms. Finally, Sherman stated, “Hold on Breckinridge. If you get one more drink inside you, you’ll talk me into surrendering to Johnston.”
In the spring of 1862 on the Garcitas Creek east of Victoria, a third Victoria company was formed to serve in the Confederate army under the command of Dr. James B. P. January, a local physician. Within a year, he resigned and Reed N. Weisiger, a member of a prominent Victoria family, became the company commander. When the unit entered Confederate service on April 18, its members affectionately referred to it as the “Jim Scott Rangers,” but officially it was Company A, Thirteenth Texas Cavalry Battalion. Maj. Edwin Waller Jr., the son of the first mayor of Austin, was the battalion commander.
After the company was organized, it moved to Hempstead and united with the other companies in the battalion. In July, the unit broke camp and moved toward western Louisiana, reaching its destination in the latter part of August. Except for two companies of Louisiana infantry, Waller’s Battalion was the only Confederate force in the western sector of the state in the closing months of 1862.
In the early part of 1863, Green’s Brigade, after the ill-fated New Mexico campaign, arrived in Louisiana. Waller’s Battalion was attached to it and remained, except for occasional detached duty, as an integral part of the brigade until shortly before the war ended. While stationed in Louisiana, the Victoria company performed numerous guerrilla raids against the federal army. By far the most significant Louisiana engagements Company A participated in were the Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. In the early spring of 1864, Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the Union forces in Louisiana, began his Red River Campaign that was designed to invade Texas.
On April 8, at Sabine Cross-Roads, near Mansfield, Confederate Gen. Richard Taylor’s forces engaged the advancing federal army. During the battle, Waller’s Battalion was attached to Gen. James P. Major’s Brigade and fought as dismounted cavalry. Following the struggle at Mansfield, the fighting continued at Pleasant Hill. Both engagements resulted in Banks aborting his attempt to invade Texas.
With the conclusion of the Red River Campaign, Company A resumed its customary small encounters with the enemy until the latter part of November when it returned to Texas. In the final stages of the war, the company traversed the eastern part of the state without experiencing any action.
In early 1865, the battalion was elevated to regimental status. On March 30, it was integrated into Gen. Walter P. Lane’s Brigade, Gen. William Steele’s Division. Two months later, on May 20, Waller’s Regiment was disbanded.
Sources
Alberts, Don E., ed. Rebels on the Rio Grande: The Civil War Journal of A. B.
Peticolas. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984.
Grimes, Roy, ed. 300 Years in Victoria County. Victoria, Texas: The Victoria
Advocate Publishing Co., 1968.
Hall, Martin Hardwick. Sibley’s New Mexico Campaign. Austin: University of Texas
Press, 1960.
Petty, Joe Jr., ed. Victor Rose’s History of Victoria County. Victoria, Texas:
Book Mart, 1961.
Spurlin, Charles D., ed. The Civil War Diary of Charles A. Leuschner. Austin: Nortex
Press, 1992.
Spurlin, Charles. West of the Mississippi with Waller’s 13th Texas Cavalry
Battalion CSA. Hillsboro, Texas: Hill Junior College Press, 1971.
The War of Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies. 128 vols. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing
Office, 1880-1901.
September 25, 1861 Victoria Blues Muster Roll shows PRIVATE W.W. Brownlow under Capt. Jas. E. FURGUSON
.
The Story of Georgia and Georgia People, 1732 to 1860. By George Gillman Smith, published by George G Smith, Macon Georgia, 1900. This book list Wm Brownlow in the section List Soldiers of the Line.
The military muster card of 1861 show W M Brownlow as a Sargent under the command of Captain Otto Von Roeder, Company A Victoria City, 24th Brigade, Texas State Troops. There are pay records showing W M Brownlow in the 4th Qtr of 1861 and January through March of 1862 providing cords of wood. During my research I learned that most of the men in these years in Texas served in the Texas Rangers. They would sign up for a short period of time to protect the people from Mexican raiders and hostile Indians. When the Civil war started these Rangers converted over to Texas State Troops. I believe that is what William did as he was shown as a Sergeant in the Texas State Troops on one of his Muster cards. When not serving h farmed the land.
PVT Brownlow September 25, 1861, Janes E Ferguson Victoria Calv Company, 24th Brigade. Independent Company for Coast Defense.
Capt. J.E. FURGESON
Thos. SMITH
1st Lt. S.W. WALTON C.L. STADTLER
2nd Lt. J.T. STAFFORD W.M. VARNELL
3rd Lt. Jas. P. KEAN M. SPELL
Ord. Sgt. J.G. COLLOR R.H. HUNTER
2nd Ord. Sgt. J.L CUNNINGHAM W.G. THORNTON
3rd Ord. Sgt. U.N. ATKINSON Jas. J. NUNER
4th Ord. Sgt. S. DE LEON Geo. JOSLIN
lst Cop�l. W.J. STAFFORD L.F. WHEELER
2nd Cop�l. Thos. W. PEARSON W.T. HARRIS
3rd Cop�l. F.R. DOUGHTERY A. DEICHART
4th Cop'l. J.J. MURPHRY Thos. JENKINS
John C. WARDEN
MUSICIAN M.F. RUNDELL
Chas. REISNER Jas. HEPPERON
Alex BORLAND
PRIVATES S.D. DE LEON
F. SHULTER
Wm. HUNT J.B. WALKER
M.M. BREWSTER H WEAKA
J.G. ROWLAND MILLER
J.R. JANUARY W.S. GLASS
Jas. C. SCOTT SOL HALFIN
E.H. GAYLORD John E. MOODY
E. MORGAN M. BARTLETTS
C.C. SMOTHERS Sam�l JANUARY
Julius SCHNEIDER Frank DE LEON
Frank COLLER James SAMPSON
Rudolph HAYS Daniel WEISIGER Jr.
E. PICKERING Duncan WILLIAM
A. BARTLETTS Rarl SASA
C.L. THURMOND W.J. WHITEHEAD
L.F. GANT E.R. WELLS
Sam�l HARRIS Wm. GRAVETT
C.C. ROSELL L.D. EASTERBROOK
W.W. BROWNLOW Henry NELSON
R.N. WEISIGAR Samuel P. WEISIGER
W.J. MC DONALD Nicholas WILLIAMS
David BUNCE Jas. N. RAGLAND
E.H. SMITH Wm. RUPLEY
Rob. WILLOUPHY B.N. JOSLIN
W.J. CRAIG J.D.STAPLES
J.H.MULLINS
4th Quarter 1861 - Nov 12th, 1861, William Brownlow was paid for 16 cords of wood
Sgt Brownlow 1861 Cap Otto Von Roeder Company A, 24th Brigade Texas State Troops
1st Qtr 1862 - Jan 20 to Feb 22 1862 12 cords of wood - Mar 31 1862 !2 cords of wood
2nd Qtr 1862 Military Roll
Amielia died in 1862. I assume it was during childbirth of Amelia II Brownlow August 5th, 1862.
Then, (no date shown), W. M. Brownlow was listed on the Muster Roll as a Sergeant in Company A 24th Brigade, Victoria Blues, Texas Troops, under Capitan Otto Von Roeder. There were 9 individuals listed on both rolls. Due to the date of record, I believe he was active as a Texas Ranger before they became Texas State Troops. This would have been in Capt G.J. Hampton's Company A
In Von Roeder's Biography it states;
While Nassau Plantation was tied up in litigation, Otto moved south and developed a “princely plantation” on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Victoria County’s Mission Valley. His family grew to eight children, and he was listed on the 1860 census, as one of the area’s most prominent and prosperous citizens. A year later at 54, when the civil War began, the well-known patriot joined Company A of Victoria’s reserves, the “Blues” as an officer. On November 24, 1863, Col. von Roeder was captured while the company was defending Mustang Island. Praised for his kindness to other prisoners, he was released at New Orleans in June 1864 following the Louisiana Red River Campaign in which his eldest son served as an officer
In 1862 Amelia gave birth to a daughter. Amelia died in 1862 so it can be assumed that she died giving birth. William named the girl Amelia after her mother.
November 17, 1863
Sgt William Brownlow was involved in the Battle of Mustang Island. The names of citizens of Victoria captured on Mustang Island are: Lieuts. A. Clark, M. L. Stoner, Skrugg, H. Devine, Otto Von Rhoeder, P. D. Newcomb, J. D. Cabler, Bobett, Robert Willoughby, who died in prison at New Orleans; Dr. J. B. Throop, Dr. Robert Bell, Daniel Weisiger, Bill McDonnald, John Hunt, James Webb, Thomas Smith, George Emison, Bob Hogan, - Clayton, John A Emison, - and a Mexican Ines, sur-name not now remembered. It shows Brownlow was wounded on November 17th, 1863.
The following is a roll Call report without any date.
Capt. Otto Von ROEDER Prussia 54 Victoria
1st Lt. A.E. CLARK Miss. 46 "
2nd Lt. C.L. THURMOND Tenn. 29 "
2nd ? B.F. PONNDS Ala. 39 "
O.S. ? Montgomery Miss. 32 Meyersville, DeWitt Co.
Sergeants
W.J. MC DONALD
W.M. BROWNLOW S. C. 39 Victoria
Thomas SMITH Virginia 43 "
C.C. WHITTINGTON N.C. 46 "
Corporals
M.W. ALEXANDER Tenn. 45 "
F.B.H. KING Miss. 37 "
B.F. DAVIS Virginia 39 "
Henry BAKER
Privates
ANSURALDO, RAMON Mexico 40 "
ALLNOCH, F. "
BORLAND, A. absent
BUCKART, Louis
BURNHURST, F. absent
CLEMENTS, Geo. absent
DILLIMAN, John absent
FERGERSON, Henry Germany 36 "
GRAFT, Antonio Germany 41 "
GOLLA, John absent
HOWARD, Thomas absent
HOHENDON, William absent
HERZOG, Heny Germany 19 Victoria
HEPWORTH, John absent
HALFIN, Henry absent
HELLERBRANT, O.L. absent
JOHN, Chas. Germany 44 Victoria
KENNER, J.P.
KIBBE, R.P. sub for BARTLETT, A. Louisiana 17 Victoria
KOHEN, William absent
KERSEY, G.W. absent
LEVI, Henry absent
LEVI, Gregoria absent
LETTS, Jacob New York 25 Victoria
LUBE, Louis absent
MALTITZ,C.C. absent
MUSGA, John absent
MILLER, Geo. absent
MILLER, Falwine absent
MISE, Fred absent
NEIMAN, Geo. absent
O�REAGAN, M. absent
ORTZ, Romaldo absent
O�KEIFE, Thomas absent
PICKERING, E.E. absent
PISGA, Thos. absent
PILGRIM, Mat absent
ROWLAND, J.G. Virginia 41 Victoria
REUFF, E. absent
ROBINS, Edwin Maine 35 Victoria
RANDALL, W.D. absent
RANDALL, Thomas sub for RANDALL, Jas. Texas 16 Lavaca
ROBINSON, William
SHONDOW, Gotlieb absent
SIMONS, George absent
STRAUS, Charles absent
STERNE, Phillip Holland 22 Victoria
STERNE, Levi absent
SINGLETON, W.W. absent (marked out)
WASCHER, Henry absent
WEBBER, Paul absent
WUCHESER, Fred sub for WEISIGER. D. Germany 51 Victoria
WHEELER, J.0. absent
HILL, B.F. N. C. 46 Victoria
GABLER (CABLER),J.D. Tenn. 48 Mission Valley
Battle of Mustang Island
Following the battle of Brownsville, the Union army consolidated a garrison there under Major General Napoleon J. T. Dana. Major General Nathaniel P. Banks then planned to move against Corpus Christi. Banks directed Brigadier General Thomas E. G. Ransom on an expedition against a Confederate earthen fortification on Mustang Island known as Fort Semmes. The Confederate garrison, of less than 100 men, was composed of detachments from the 3rd Texas State Militia under Major George O. Dunaway and the 8th Texas Infantry under Captain William N. Maltby.
Ransom’s men made a forced march against Fort Semmes which was occupied by men from the 8th Texas Infantry and 3rd Texas State Militia. The Union advance encountered Confederate skirmishers on November 17. Ransom’s men fired one volley causing the Texas skirmishers to retreat back into Fort Semmes. Ransom deployed the 13th Maine and 15th Maine infantry regiments in line of battle while the USS Monongahela fired into the fort from offshore. Fort Semmes’ small garrison was not prepared for open battle and the fighting was over shortly after the attack commenced. Major Dunaway decided upon an unconditional surrender of the entire garrison rather than making an attempt to fight their way back to the mainland.[5]
Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn arrived at the head of the Union expedition on the Texas Coast. Washburn next led Union forces to capture Fort Esperanza on November 30, 1863.
References
• Howell, Kenneth Wayne, ed. The Seventh Star of the Confederacy: Texas During the Civil War, University of North Texas Press, 2011
• Townsend, Stephen A., The Yankee Invasion of Texas, Texas A&M University Press, 2006
November 17, 1863
." The name of citizens of Victoria captured on Mustang island are: Lieuts. A. Clark, M. L. Stoner, Skrugg, H. Devine, Otto Von Rhoeder, P. D. Newcomb, J. D. Cabler, Bobett, Robert Willoughby, who died in prison at New Orleans; Dr. J. B. Throop, Dr. Robert Bell, Daniel Weisiger, Bill McDonnald, John Hunt, James Webb, Thomas Smith, George Emison, Bob Hogan, - Clayton, John A Emison, - and a Mexican Ines, sur-name not now remembered.
(Note: because Otto Von Rhoeder (SIC Roeder) was the Captain of the Texas State Troops that William Monroe Brownlow was assigned, I believe he may have been involved in the Battle of Mustang Island. (Note additional information shows that William married again in 1864 so that would mean he wasn't killed in this action.)
In 1864 William married Melinda Bray on January 21, 1864, in Victoria County, Texas.
I believe it is possible that sometime after William married Malinda he was called upon to join the fight in Louisiana. It is possible that he was killed in one of several battles near the end of the war. Two possibilities are the Battle of Mansfield or Pleasant Hill.
While stationed in Louisiana, the Victoria company performed numerous
guerrilla raids against the federal army. By far the most significant Louisiana
engagements Company A participated in were the Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill.
In the early spring of 1864, Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the Union forces in
Louisiana, began his Red River Campaign that was designed to invade Texas.
On April 8, at Sabine Cross-Roads, near Mansfield, Confederate Gen. Richard
Taylor’s forces engaged the advancing federal army. During the battle, Waller’s
Battalion was attached to Gen. James P. Major’s Brigade and fought as dismounted
cavalry. Following the struggle at Mansfield, the fighting continued at Pleasant Hill.
Both engagements resulted in Banks aborting his attempt to invade Texas.
With the conclusion of the Red River Campaign, Company A resumed its
customary small encounters with the enemy until the latter part of November when it
returned to Texas.
In the document Victoria, Texas, Units that served in the Civil War by Charles D, Spurlin, he states the following,
In the early part of 1863, Green’s Brigade, after the ill-fated New Mexico campaign, arrived in Louisiana. Waller’s Battalion was attached to it and remained, except for occasional detached duty, as an integral part of the brigade until shortly before the war ended.
As a side note Mary E Brownlow married James Sheppard Feb 4th 1864.
Soon after William married, he was sent to Louisiana with the Victoria Blues. While stationed in Louisiana, the Victoria company performed numerous guerrilla raids against the federal army. By far the most significant Louisiana engagements Company A participated in were the Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. In the early spring of 1864, Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the Union forces in Louisiana, began his Red River Campaign that was designed to invade Texas.
On April 8, at Sabine Cross-Roads, near Mansfield, Confederate Gen. Richard Taylor’s forces engaged the advancing federal army. During the battle, Waller’s Battalion was attached to Gen. James P. Major’s Brigade and fought as dismounted cavalry. Following the struggle at Mansfield, the fighting continued at Pleasant Hill. Both engagements resulted in Banks aborting his attempt to invade Texas.
With the conclusion of the Red River Campaign, Company A resumed its customary small encounters with the enemy until the latter part of November when it returned to Texas. In the final stages of the war, the company traversed the eastern part of the state without experiencing any action.
In early 1865, the battalion was elevated to regimental status. On March 30, it was integrated into Gen. Walter P. Lane’s Brigade, Gen. William Steele’s Division. Two months later, on May 20, Waller’s Regiment was disbanded.
I visited the battle fields of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill in La. There I learned that there were hundreds of unmarked graves from the civil war. One location was in Minden La. There in the cemetery are 10 graves that indicate the men were from Texas and had fought in the Mansfield/Pleasant Hill battles. Here I believe is the grave of William Monroe Brownlow.
Williams' children were raised by their stepmother, Melinda {Bray} Brownlow. She was born about 1825 in North Carolina. She also changed Amelia's name to Amanda.
William's youngest son Elias moved to the Mayfield boarding house in Karnes County to farm and James stayed to help his stepmother in Victoria County. According to multiple news papers Malinda became an Administratrix for a law office when she provided personal Will services.
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1815 - Abt 1864 (49 years)
[3] 
