A
RIGHT SMART FIGHT
Regarding
The
American Civil War
By John Henry Knowlton, Jr., J_H-Knowlton@email.msn.com, Ottis
Edwin Guinn, Sr., &
Suellen Clopton Blanton, bblanton@fast.net
IT BEGINS
The excitement prevailing here for
Several days past rose to the very
Highest pitch this morning, when it
was ascertained that war had been actually
commenced and Fort Sumpter attacked by
the forces of South Carolina.
The respected Civil War scholar, Bruce Canton, once
said: “What we shall some day
become will grow inexorably out of what today we are; and what we are now, in
its turn, comes out of what earlier Americans were – out of what they did and
thought and dreamed and hoped for, out of their trials and their aspirations,
out of their shining victories and their dark and tragic defeats.”
To fully comprehend how we got ourselves into a War which
would leave 133,821 Southerner Americans and 110,070 Northerner Americans dead,
we must first divorce ourselves from the emotional and sometimes romanticized
concepts of why so many were willing to fight and die. The Britannica states the
situation
as dryly and succinctly as possible without so much as hinting of the terrible
suffering produced by the greatest National tragedy America has ever known.
American Civil War, also
called WAR BETWEEN THE STATES, in U.S. history, a four-year war (1861-65)
between the federal government of the United States and 11 states that asserted
their right to secede from the Union.
Trouble had been brewing for decades. With the exception of slavery, the
issues were much the same as they are today: how much right does the Federal Government have to meddle in
the affairs of the states. Slavery
was just one hot button of many, although the freeing of the slaves ultimately
became the lasting legacy of that War.
The South eventually had enough and rightly decided that since they had
voluntarily joined the Union, they could voluntarily leave the Union.
We shall leave it to historians to fill out the
details of what happened next, and leave it to others to endlessly debate the
details of exactly what they were fighting for, and focus instead, on the lives
of our ancestors. To appreciate
their roles in that awful drama, that terrible clash of human hopes and
passions, we must study little scraps and bits of information our ancestors
left behind. In letters and family
traditions, they reach through the years to share a sensitive record of the
complexities of their lives with us as they fought, bled and died for their
beliefs. Let us not judge them by
the standards of our day but rather honor their memories by preserving and
passing on to future generations their stories, understanding what the War cost
them and what it won for mankind as a whole.
Those Who Served
(Last Updated March 26, 2002)
This is a very rough draft. Please contact bblanton@fast.net
if you have additional information or corrections regarding these individuals
or if you have additional names of Clopton descendants or the husbands of
Clopton descendants who served during the American Civil War.
The units the Clopton relatives belonged to are stated
below in standard military order of battle format. To save space the designation "Regiment" has been
omitted in most cases and is implied.
Example the 30th Tennessee Infantry Regiment where the word
regiment has been dropped to save space in number 1 below. Regiments were usually formed
sequentially so the 30th Tennessee Infantry would have been the 30th
infantry regiment formed in the State of Tennessee. In most cases digit numbers
are used to annotate the unit rather than spelling out the number. Many units were consolidations of other
smaller companies and/or the remains of decimated regiments. This is why they may have belonged to
several regiments.
1.
Walter B. Baker, C.S.A.
Prisoner of War, the husband of Clopton descendant Mary E. Hampton. He served in Company F, 30th
Tennessee Infantry. He was
captured at Ft. Donelson and exchanged and detailed to Pioneer Corps. At the battle of Fort Donelson the
badly outnumbered Confederates lost, opening the Tennessee River to Union
troops. The February 15, 1862 issue of the Washington
Star stated: “How any portion
of the rebel army in Fort Donelson can possibly escape death or capture, is
past us to divine. . . [and]
Fort Donelson is taken, with 15,000 prisoners.” This marked the first large surrender
of prisoners of the War. The
treatment of these prisoners set the tone for the control and care of prisoners
throughout the conflict. One company of the 30th
Tennessee was on duty at Fort Henry on its surrender, and the rest of the
regiment was marching to its relief when it fell. The regiment was in the four
days' engagement at Fort Donelson, and was surrendered on the morning of the
16th February 1862, and sent immediately to prison. The enlisted men went to
Camp Butler, Illinois, the line officers to Camp Chase, and then to Johnson's
Island, Ohio, and the field officers to Camp Warren, Massachusetts. The field
officers were exchanged August 3, 1862; the line officers and enlisted men were
released the 30th day of September, 1862 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. ordered to
Holly Springs, Mississippi October 10, 1862, and was in a number of engagements
in North Mississippi till it reached Grenada, Mississippi December 1, 1862. It
participated in the following battles: Fort Donelson; rear guard in Van Dom's
Army while retreating through North Mississippi; Chickasaw Bayou near
Vicksburg; Port Hudson, Louisiana; siege of Jackson, Mississippi; Missionary
Ridge; Battle of Nashville; Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina; it was paroled
at Greensboro, May 1, 1865.
2.
James Christopher
Baytop, C.S.A., the husband of Clopton descendant Josephine Spotswood Lewis, of
“Montrose.”
3.
Stacey Budd Bispham,
C.S.A., of “Grassdale,” Fauquier County, son of Mary Ann Vanderwall Clopton and
her husband, William Newbold Bispham, D.D.S. He served with Mosby’s Battalion throughout the War. His wife, Ellen Lewis Hill, was the
niece of Lieutenant General Ambrose P. Hill, General Robert E. Lee’s Famous
lieutenant who played such a significant role in the War. Fort A. P. Hill in Virginia is
named for him.
4.
James Henderson Blount,
Sr., C.S.A.,
of Georgia, husband of Clopton descendant Eugenia Clopton Wiley.
5.
Francis Marshall Boykin,
II., M.D., C.S.A., of Smithfield, Virginia, husband of Clopton descendant Mildred
James Hill, of “Forkland.”
6.
Champ Langford Bradford,
C.S.A., son of Clopton descendant of Thomas Jefferson Bradford, of St. Clair
County, Alabama, and his wife, Nancy A. Langford.
7.
John Franklin Bradford, C.S.A.,
of St. Clair County, Alabama, son of Clopton descendant of Philemon Bradford,
Jr., and his wife, Susannah Truss.
8.
Philemon Henry Bradford,
C.S.A., Died in Action, of St. Clair County, Alabama, son of Clopton descendant
of Philemon Bradford, Jr., and his wife, Susannah Truss. He was the husband of Mary J.
McClooney. He died of wounds
received at Resaca, Georgia, site of the first major battle of the Atlanta Campaign. It is considered one of the bloodier
battles of the Campaign with approximately 6,100 casualties, 2,600 of that
number were Confederate soldiers.
9.
Thomas Davis Bradford,
C.S.A., Died in Action, of St. Clair County, Alabama, son of Clopton descendant
of Philemon Bradford, Jr., and his wife, Susannah Truss.
- John R. Brake, C.S.A.,
Prisoner of War, husband of Clopton descendant Maria Louisa Clopton of
Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia. served in Company D, 7th
Volunteer Georgia Regiment from August 23, 1861 to February 5, 1862,
receiving a discharge due to his health. He re-enlisted again on May 6, 1862 in Company O,
Phillips Georgia Legion. He
was wounded at Fredricksburg in October 1862. In 1863 he returned to his Company. He was captured at Saylor’s Creek,
Virginia on Thursday, April 6, 1865, only three days prior to the
Appomattox surrender. Lt. General Richard S. Ewell’s entire corps was
captured at the Battle of Saylor’s Creek, the last battle between the
fabled Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac. Mr. Brake was carried to Lookout
Point, Maryland where he remained a prisoner until June 24, 1865. He is buried at Oak Grove
Cemetery, Americus, Sumpter County, Georgia.
11.
William Jackson
Christmas, C.S.A., of Virginia, son of Clopton descendant of Charles Nelson
Christmas, of “Apple Grove,” and his wife, Sarah Massie, of Hanover County,
Virginia. He was the husband of
Amy Swift.
12.
Robert E. Claiborne,
C.S.A., of Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, son of Clopton descendant of James
Claiborne, Sr., of Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and his wife, Sarah
Brooking. He was the husband of
Emily Ann Lanier. He served as a
private in Company B, 3rd Georgia Reserves.
13.
Thomas Buller Claiborne,
C.S.A., Died as a Prisoner of War, of Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, son of
Clopton descendant of James Claiborne, Sr., of Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and
his wife, Sarah Brooking. He was
the husband of Louisiana Lanier.
He served as a private in Company F, 66th Georgia Volunteer
Infantry and was captured near Atlanta July 22, 1864. He was imprisoned at Camp Chase, near
Columbus, Ohio, and died at the prison or shortly thereafter. Conditions at the Federal prisons were
no better than those found in the South.
In fact, the United States Government’s U. S. Secretary of War, Edwin
Stanton, went out of his was to see that conditions were primitive. When a Confederate officer complained
to Commissary General William Hoffman about the “inhuman treatment” he had
suffered at Camp Chase, Hoffman replied that the treatment was “retaliation for
the innumerable outrages which have been committed on our people.”
14.
(Captain) Albert G.
“A.G.” Clopton, C.S.A., Prisoner of War, of Huntsville, Alabama, and Texas, son
of William Hales Clopton, Sr., and his wife, Avery Garrett Smith. He organized at Winchester, Tennessee,
in the spring of 1862, Company 1, 41st Tennessee Infantry. He was made its captain. Soon afterward he was made regimental
surgeon and served in that capacity through the War. He was taken prisoner and held briefly at Ft. Donelson when
he was discovered inside Federal lines.
He was in civilian clothing, having removed his uniform to have it
washed. He was given a pass by
General Grant, who later discovered much to his chagrin, that he had given the
pass to a Confederate officer.
15.
Abraham Clopton, C.S.A.,
of Arkansas, son of John Clopton and his wife, Martha, of South Carolina. He enlisted December 1861 with the
Weaver Light Battery. He was an
Artificer. The modern definition
of an artificer is a “military mechanic.”
16.
Lieutenant Colonel
Albert Gallatin Clopton, M.D., C.S.A.,
of Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, son of Alford Clopton, M.S., C.S.A., and
his wife Sarah Kendrick. He was
the husband of Anna M. Henderson. Texas,
He was in the cavalry, Company D, Ragsdale’s Battalion, Company D, 1st
Texas Infantry, Lieutenant Colonel; Texas Infantry, 3rd State
Troops, Surgeon; and as General & Staff Surgeon.
17.
Alford Clopton, M.D.,
C.S.A., of New Kent County, Virginia, son of David Clopton, Sr., and his wife,
Mary Ann Vanderwall He is buried
at Tuskegee Cemetery, Macon County, Alabama.

18.
Alfred W. Clopton,
C.S.A.,
Died of A Fever, of Richmond, Virginia, son of Edward A. Jackson Clopton, Esq.,
and his first wife, Dorothea C. Rodgers.
He served from Virginia in the 4th Cavalry, Company I, E. He
enlisted on March 1, 1862 in Company 1, 4th Virginia Cavalry, from
March 1862 until March 1, 1863 and served as a private. He also served in Company E from March
1, 1863 until September 4, 1864. He was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital in
Richmond on August 24, 1864 with a fever,
he was sent home and there he died on September 9, 1864. Chimborazo Hospital was located on a
hill near Richmond and was the Confederacy’s chief medical complex. It boasted 150 wards with a capacity
for more than 8,000 patients. The
single story pavilions served 76,000 patients during the War. Like most hospitals, they were
themselves breeding grounds of disease.
19.
(Lieutenant Commander)
Anthony Clopton, Sr., C.S.A.,
of Tennessee, son of Benjamin Michaux Clopton, C.S.A. and his wife, Justine
Augusta Haden. He was the husband
of Margaret Sophronia Mayes, of Arkansas. In 1862 or '63, Mr. Clopton enlisted
in the Confederate States Army with Company D, Davidson's (afterward Daly's
and, finally, Ragsdale's) Battalion, Texas Cavalry. Records from that period give evidence he served in various
capacities including: the
Quartermaster's Office as clerk, Quartermaster Sergeant, and Wagon Master. The
Quarter Master’s Department was dedicated to securing food and clothing for the
troops. One of the great paradoxes
of the War was that while attempting to totally annihilate each other, the two
sides quickly realized they needed each other to survive. Bruce Catton opines the War would have
ended “a year or two sooner if there had been no mutual trade with the enemy on
either side.”
20.
B. M. Clopton, C.S.A.,
son of Oliver Hazard Perry Clopton and his wife, Paulina L. Cobbs. He served in Company H. 12th
Kentucky Cavalry; and, Company F, 1st Kentucky Infantry. Long considered the aristocratic arm of
combat, the use of long rang infantry weapons during the Civil War reduced the
cavalry to the important but unglamorous tasks of scouting and
skirmishing. They formed screens
around the army and could wreck havoc among opposing troops who sometimes ran
unceremoniously away from the battleground. Although the Southerners were the superior horsemen, neither
they nor the less finely tuned Yankees could confront a trained infantry firing
modern weapons and stay in the saddle.
As Bruce Catton notes: “To
be romantic, you had to be on a horse.”
21.
B. M. Clopton,
C.S.A. He served in Company B., 13th
Battalion Louisiana (Partisan Rangers).
Music. During the American
Civil War, military bands were, with few exceptions, composed entirely of brass
and percussion instruments.
Confederate army regulations stated that “When it is desired to have
bands of music for regiments, there will be allowed for each, sixteen privates
to act as musicians, in addition to the chief musicians authorized by law . . .
[and furthermore] . . . the musicians of the band . . . will be instructed as
soldiers and liable to serve in the ranks on any occasion.” Military bandsmen, in addition to
playing for various military functions and to simply entertain the troops, were
expected to serve as stretcher bearers and assisted in medical operations in
field hospitals. They also helped
transport and care for the wounded and buried the dead.
22.
B. M. Clopton,
C.S.A. He served from Virginia in
Company A, 25th Infantry Battalion.
They were recruited and supported in the Allegheny Highlands of
Virginia. "That Splendid Regiment" as the 25th Virginia
was known, fought at Rich Mountain, Greenbrier River, Allegheny Mountain,
McDowell, Cross Keys, Port Republic, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Cedar Run,
Manassas No. 2, Chantilly, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg,
Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Fishers Hill, Cedar Creek, Cold Harbor,
Petersburg, Fort Steadman, Appomattox Courthouse.
23.
Benjamin Franklin
Clopton, Sr., U.S.A., of Dade County, Missouri, son of William Guy Clopton and
his wife, Mary Hunt Bryant. He
enlisted in the United States Army in 1862 and was discharged March 31, 1863.

24.
Benjamin Michaux
Clopton, C.S.A., of Davidson County, Texas, son of Anthony Clopton and his
wife, Rhoda Hoggatt. He was the
husband of Justine Augusta Haden, of Tennessee. He served in Company B, 10th Texas Infantry. The Texas Tenth Infantry Regiment was
organized in the fall of 1861 and was captured at the Battle of Arkansas Post
on January 11, 1863. The remaining men from the regiment were consolidated into
the Army of Tennessee in July of 1863. It was under Patrick Cleburne that the
regiment had the most impact which included the defense of Atlanta from
Sherman's brutal march to the sea.
They fought in the following battles: Devall's Bluff, Arkansas Post,
Chickamauga, Chattanooga Siege, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary
Ridge, Ringgold, Atlanta Campaign, Resaca, Pickett's Mill, New Hope Church,
Jonesboro, Franklin, Nashville, Carolinas Campaign, Bentonville. They surrendered with General Joseph
Johnston and the Army of Tennessee on April 26 of 1865.
25.
Benjamin Michaux
Clopton, C.S.A., Prisoner of War, of Murfreesboro, Rutherford County,
Tennessee, son of Walter Clopton, Jr. and his wife, Martha Ann Duffer. He was the husband of Mary Elizabeth McLin and Texanna
Tennessee Lynn.
26.
David Boyd Clopton,
C.S.A., of Paulding County, Georgia, son of John M. Clopton, C.S.A., and his
wife, Jane Tinsley. He served in
Company H, 19th Georgia Infantry. Originally known as the Second Regiment, Fourth Brigade,
Georgia State Troops, the Nineteenth Georgia Infantry mustered into Confederate
service in August 1861. It fought at West Point, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville,
Gaines' Mill, Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill. The regiment lost heavily at Cedar Mountain and Second
Manassas, and the following month at Antietam it suffered casualties of more
than 50%. After Chancellorsville
the Nineteenth went to North Carolina and then to Charleston. It was sent to defend Florida against
the Union advance in early 1864. In May of 1864 the well traveled regiment
found itself back in Virginia, fighting at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor,
before defending Petersburg during the rest of 1864-1865. The Nineteenth was
ordered to North Carolina near the close of the war, where it surrendered.
27.
(Captain) David C.
Clopton, C.S.A., of
Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, son of Alford Clopton, M.S., C.S.A., and his
wife Sarah Kendrick. He was the husband
of Martha E. Ligon, Mary F. Chambers, and Virginia Caroline (Tunstall)
Clay. He served in Company A, D, 1st
Alabama Artillery Battalion, 2nd Alabama Infantry Regiment; and, in
12th Alabama Infantry, General and Staff Quarter Master’s
Department. The 12th Alabama Regiment was organized
at Richmond in July 1861, with members from Montgomery and Mobile, and Coffee,
Coosa, De Kalb, Jackson, Macon, Morgan, and Pike counties. It fought in the
Virginia area during the war. He
is buried at Oakwood Cemetery, Montgomery County, Alabama.
28.
Edward Andrew Jackson
Clopton, Esq., C.S.A., of
Richmond, Virginia, son of Edwin J. Clopton, Sr. Virginia, First State
Reserves, Company D, Private.
- (Corporal) Edwin J. Clopton, Jr., C.S.A., of Virginia, son of
Edwin J. Clopton, Sr. He
served in Company D, 1st Virginia State Reserves, Virginia
Company B, 52nd Military.
- (Captain) Francis Bacon Clopton, C.S.A.,
son of The Honorable John Bacon Clopton and his wife, Maria Gaitskell
Foster. Virginia, Assistant
Engineer, Captain.
- F. C. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company E, 2nd North
Carolina Infantry Battalion.
- Francis Clark Clopton, C.S.A.,
of Meriwether County, Georgia, son of Pleasant Perrin Clopton and his
wife, Nancy Phillips. He
served in Company A, 60th Georgia Volunteers Regiment, Evan’s
Brigade, Gordon’s Division, Company A. Company A was known as the Anthony Grays. The 6oth
fought in the following battles:
Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill,
Bristoe Station, Groveton, 2nd Manassas, Chantilly, Sharpsburg,
Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Marye's Heights, Salem
Church, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold
Harbor, Monocacy, 3rd Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, Hatcher's
Run, Fort Steadman, Saylor's Creek, Appomattox Court House.
- George Clopton, C.S.A.
He served in Company G., 30th North Carolina Infantry.
- George W. Clopton, C.S.A., South Carolina, Infantry, Hampton
Legion, Company C.; and, South Carolina, 27th Infantry, Company
D.
- George Washington Clopton, Sr., C.S.A., of Pettis County,
Missouri, son of Abner
William Clopton, III and his wife, Lyndia Virginia Jenkins. He served in Company B, 10th
Missouri Infantry. He served
four years, and was with General Kirby Smith in New Orleans for their
surrender Friday, May 26, 1865.
The Confederate Lt. General Simon Bolivar Buckner, who had
surrendered Ft. Donelson to Grant in February 1862, met representatives of
Major General Canby to surrender the last significant army of the Confederacy. Mr. Clopton was paroled at
Shreveport, La, June 8, 1865.
- (Sergeant) H. Clopton, C.S.A., possibly H. C. Clopton, son of
Oliver Hazard Perry Clopton and his wife, Paulina L. Cobbs. He was the husband of Maudy
E. He served in Company F, 33rd
Texas Cavalry.
- (Private) Henry Harrison Clopton, C.S.A., Prisoner of War, the son
of John M. Clopton, and Jane, his wife. He was the husband of Martha Emily
“Mattie” Petree. He is listed simply as H. H.
Clopton at the age of 16 about the same time as his father, who enlisted
when he was 60. He served in
the C.S.A. as did his father and his four brothers. He served in Alabama, Cavalry,
Hardie’s Battalion Reserves, Company E. He enlisted September 21, 1864 at Cherokee. He was paroled May 19, 1865 at
Talladega, Alabama.
- Henry Clopton, C.S.A., Killed in Action, son of Walter Clopton,
Jr.
- (Junior Second Lieutenant) Hoggatt Clopton, C.S.A., of “Clopton
Hall,” Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas, son of John Hoggatt Clopton, Jr.
and his wife, Matilda Caroline Drake. He served in Company H, Cooke’s Arkansas Infantry
Regiment, Junior Second Lieutenant; and, Albert W. Johnson’s Regiment,
Lieutenant and Junior Second Lieutenant. He resigned August 13, 1862 at Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Hoggatt Clopton, C.S.A., of Bastrop County, Texas, son of Benjamin
Michaux Clopton, C.S.A., and his wife, Justine Augusta Haden. Husband of Martha Anne Christian.
- (Junior Second Lieutenant) James A. Tipton Clopton, C.S.A.,
Prisoner of War, of Meriwether County, Georgia, son of Pleasant Perrin
Clopton and his wife, Nancy Phillips. He served in Company A, 60th Georgia
Volunteers Regiment, Evan’s Brigade, Gordon’s Division. Entered the Confederate Army as a
private on September 16, 1861.
He was captured at Roanoke Island, North Carolina. It was imperative to the Union to
capture the island. The
seizure of Hatteras Inlet earlier gave partial control that portion of the
coast to the Federals, but Confederate control of Roanoke between Pamlico
and Albemarle sounds still permitted Albermarle to be used for blockade
running. The capture of the
island would also provide control of the many rivers flowing from the
interior of North Carolina. The Confederates were overwhelmed
by the Federal fleet, and on Saturday, February 8, 1862, the back door to
Norfolk was opened to the Yankees.
About 3,000 Confederates were taken prisoner. Lieutenant Clopton was released at
Elizabeth City, and appointed first Sergeant and then elected Junior
Second Lieutenant. He was
again wounded, and captured at Point Lookout, Maryland. He was exchanged at Venus Point,
Savannah River. Company A was
known as the Anthony Grays. The 60th fought in the following
battles: Gaines Mill, Malvern
Hill, Bristoe Station,
Groveton, 2nd Manassas, Chantilly, Sharpsburg, Shepherdstown,
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Marye's Heights, Salem Church,
Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor,
Monocacy, 3rd Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, Hatcher's Run, Fort
Steadman, Saylor's Creek, Appomattox Court House.
- (Private) J. C. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company I, 25th
Alabama Infantry and is listed on the muster roll as Clapton. He died June 4, 1863 at Mobile,
Alabama and was survived by his wife, Lucinda Clapton
- (Second Lieutenant) James F. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company E,
2nd North Carolina Infantry Battalion.
- J. M. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company H, Hardy’s Arkansas
Infantry Regiment. He
enlisted April 28, 1862 in Pike County, Arkansas and detailed as a
blacksmith July 20, 1863 through February 29, 1864 with Company K, 24th
Arkansas Infantry.
- James Malvern Clopton, C.S.A., of Huntsville, Alabama, son of
James Alexander Clopton, M.D. and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Penny. He served iin Company B, 35th
Alabama Infantry; and, Company E, Hardie’s Battalion Calvary
Reserves. The 35th
Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized at Lagrange, March 12, 1862, with
about 750 men recruited from Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone,
and Madison counties. It
fought in the Georgia and other contiguous areas in the war.
- (Second Lieutenant) James Osgood Andrews Clopton, C.S.A. Killed in Action, of Eatonton,
Putnam County, Georgia, son of Alford Clopton, M.S., C.S.A., and his wife
Sarah Kendrick. He served in
Company H, 33rd Alabama Infantry. He was killed in action on Sunday, August 21, 1864, as
General Judson Kilpatrick’s Federal cavalry raided Georgia’s Lovejoy’s
Station. Their efforts to
destroy the Macon and Western Railroad were blocked as the Confederates
fought bravely but in vain to stop General William Tecumseh Sherman’s
forthcoming “March to the Sea.” The Thirty-third Alabama Infantry
Regiment was organized at Pensacola, FL, on 23 April 1862, with men
recruited from Butler, Coffee, Covington, Dale, and Montgomery counties. It fought in the following
locations, the Battle of Shiloh; Munfordsville; Perryville; Murfeesboro;
Chickamauga; Missionary Ridge; Ringgold Gap; Atlanta, at New Hope Church,
and around Atlanta; Franklin.
- (Private) James R. Clopton, U.S.A., of Hart County Kentucky, son
of William B. Clopton and his wife, Lettice Bush. He was the husband of Mary
Elizabeth Reynolds. He served
in Company A, Kentucky Infantry.
- James Wilford Clopton, C.S.A., of Davidson County, Texas, son of
Anthony Clopton and his wife, Rhoda Hoggatt. He served in Company K, 24th Arkansas
Infantry.
- (Corporal) James Wilford Clopton, I., C.S.A. Prisoner of War, of Marshall
County, Mississippi, son of John Hoggatt Clopton, Jr. and his wife,
Matilda Caroline Drake. He was
the husband of Sarah Elizabeth Rainey. . He
served in Company C, 15th Arkansas (Josey’s) Infantry. He served in Yell’s Rifles, Major
General Cleburn’s Command. He
was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh.
With approximately 60,000 troops, Union General George B. “Little
Mac” McClellan began his long crawl up the Virginia peninsula with the intention
of capturing Richmond. The
Confederates, with about 40,000 men stuck first on April 6, 1862, at
Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, near a little country church
called Shiloh. The fighting was fierce and
both sides ultimately claimed victory, although with 13,000 Federal losses
and nearly 11,000 Confederate,
it was a big price to pay.
Although the Confederates intended and nearly succeeded to destroy
the Union forces, they did not.
They continued to drop deeper south, leaving more of the
Mississippi vulnerable to Federal seizure. Mr. Clopton was later captured in Arkansas on leave and
taken to Alton, Illinois.
After being held prisoner for five months, he was exchanged and
rejoined his Regiment at Murfreesboro. Alton was the cite of a nearly empty state prison
which, in early 1862, was converted to hold prisoners of war. Small Pox ran rampant at the
prison. At war’s end, approximately 21% of
the 7,717 Confederate prisoners had died, second only to the disgraceful
77% suffered at Rock Island, Illinois’s prison facility.
- (First Lieutenant) Jesse Perkins Clopton, I., C.S.A. Prisoner of War, of Davidson
County, Tennessee, son of John Hoggatt Clopton, Jr. and his wife, Matilda
Caroline Drake. He was the
husband of Virginia C. Swan. He was First Lieutenant, Adj. 1st Arkansas
Cavalry. He was a graduate of
the College at Lebanon, Tennessee.
His study of medicine was interrupted by the start of the Civil
War, and he enlisted in 1861 in the 15th Arkansas Regiment, Cleburn's
Command. During the war he
was wounded, and after rejoining his Regiment after a four month hospital
stay, was captured. He was
exchanged and fought in the Battle of Helena. Prior to May 1863, there
existed between the sides a rather elaborate set of agreements regarding a
cooperative system of prisoner exchanges. If the prisoner could not be immediately exchanged,
they were to be paroled, sent home, and agree not to fight again until the
other side received an equal number of parolees. But the Confederates refused to exchange black
soldiers, and Union generals hurled accusations that the South constantly
violated the use of paroled soldiers in battle. Although neither side was prepared to take care of
massive numbers of prisoners, the agreement was buried under mountains of
paper work and charges of ungentlemanly conduct, and was abandoned.
- John Clopton, M.D., C.S.A.,
Surgeon, 13th Mississippi Infantry. The 13th Mississippi
fought at Manassas, Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg,
Lookout Mountain, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Cedar Creed, and
Appomattox Courthouse.
- John Clopton, M.D., C.S.A., Assistant Surgeon, 5th
Texas Infantry.
- John Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company F, 21st
Virginia Infantry.
- (Sergeant) John Dabney Clopton, C.S.A., Killed in Action, son of
Rueben Monroe Clopton, I., and his wife, Caroline Eliza Hunter. He served in Company E, 19th
Mississippi Infantry.
- John Fielding Clopton, Sr., M.D., C.S.A.,
of Virginia, son of William Edmund Clopton, Sr., Esq. and his wife, Mary
Ann Apperson. He was the
husband of Wilhelmina Somerville Piggott. He was Assistant Surgeon, 34th Virginia
Infantry; and, General and Staff Surgeon, Medical Purv.
- (Private) John M. Clopton, C.S.A., the son of David Clopton of
South Carolina and his wife, Priscilla. At the age of 60 he enlisted in Company E., Hardie’s
Battalion, Calvary Reserves of Alabama on September 28, 1864. Four of his surviving sons had
already enlisted in the C.S.A., including his youngest, Henry Harrison
Clopton, who was only 16.
- John H. Clopton, C.S.A., Served in Company A, 2nd
Mississippi Reserve Regiment; and, Mississippi, Unatt. Reserves, Moore’s
Company.
- John P. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company B, 18th
Virginia Infantry.
- John W. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company C, 1st
Mississippi Sharpe Shooter Battalion. Company A, “Coms Avengers,” was raised in Carroll
County, Mississippi. Company
B, the “Red Rebels,” was raised in Holmes County, Mississippi. Company C, Captain Leigh’s Independent
Company, was raised in Yalobusha County, Mississippi. Company D, the “Wigfall Guards,”
was raised in Tennessee. They fought in Vicksburg, battle of Corinth; on
the Tallahatchie near Fort Pemberton; Canton when Sherman began his march
to Meridian from Vicksburg, fell back to Demopolis, Ala.; Resaca, skirmishing on the
Cassville line; New Hope Church; Kennesaw Mountain; Peachtree Creek;
Franklin; Nashville; Columbia; Bentonville, North Carolina.
- Jonathan Phillips Clopton, M.D., C.S.A.,
of Meriwether County, Georgia, son of Pleasant Perrin Clopton and his
wife, Nancy Phillips. He was
a surgeon with the 55th Georgia Infantry. He was a graduate of Jefferson
Medical College in Philadelphia and served as a surgeon throughout the
War. The Fifty-fifth was sent
to east Tennessee, in the spring of 1862, and in Heth's division marched
into Kentucky. Returning to east Tennessee, it served in that department
until it surrendered with the rest of the garrison of Cumberland Gap in
the summer of 1863. After exchange it was placed on detached service,
guarding prisoners at Andersonville, Georgia., and Salisbury, North
Carolina. In March,
1865, the detachments of the regiment were ordered to report to General
Johnston in North Carolina, but the war ended before the order could be
obeyed.
- Joseph Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company I, 18th
Tennessee Infantry. The 18th
Tennessee (Bates) Regiment was organized June 11, 1861 and mustered into
Confederate Service August 7, 1861.
The men fought in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga,
Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Reseca, New Hope Church, Powder
Springs Road and Chattahoochee River, Franklin. Surrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina.
- Leonard G. Clopton, C.S.A., son of John D. Clopton of Granville,
North Carolina and Missouri, and his wife, Rebecca. He served in Company H,
Clarke’s Missouri Infantry Regiment; and, Company A, Snider’s Battalion,
Missouri Cavalry.
- (Major) Lucius C. Clopton, C.S.A.,
of Meriwether County,
Georgia, son of Pleasant Perrin Clopton and his wife, Nancy Phillips. He served in the Pike County
Georgia Cavalry.
- (Private) M. C. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company A, 4th
Alabama Cavalry.
- Maria Gaitskell (Foster) Clopton,
the wife of The Honorable John Bacon Clopton. Mrs. Clopton’s contributions to the Confederate Cause
through her fund raising efforts and her successful hospital in Richmond
are recognized by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Membership to that association
will be accepted through her line.
- (Sergeant) Martin Kendrick Clopton, C.S.A.,
Died of Typhoid Fever, of Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, son of Alford
Clopton, M.S., C.S.A., of New Kent County, Virginia, and his wife Sarah
Kendrick, of Washington County, Georgia. He was the husband of Sara Elizabeth Greathouse, of
Newton County, Georgia. He
served in Company D, 61st Alabama Infantry. He served in Robert E. Lee’s Army
of Virginia. He died in a
Confederate hospital at Greenville, North Carolina. The 61st Alabama Infantry, also
known as the 59th Alabama Infantry, was organized at Pollard in September,
1863. A number of the men, from Barbour, Chambers, Coffee, Henry, and
Macon counties. It fought at The Wilderness; Spotsylvania; 2nd Cold Harbor; Snicker's Gap and
Winchester; Fisher's Hill; Hare's Hill.
- Mortimer L. Clopton, C.S.A.,
of “Mount Ida,” Cumberland County, Virginia, son of William Dowles
Clopton, Sr., C.S.A. and his wife, Mary S. Jones. He was the husband of Bernetta
Horde. Virginia, 18th
Infantry, Company E.; and, Virginia, Infantry, 25th
Battalion. He was a
sharpshooter.
- (Corporal) Nathaniel
Alford Clopton, C.S.A., of “Grassdale,” Fauquier County, Virginia, son of
Nathaniel Vanderwall Clopton and his wife, Sarah Susan Grant Skinker, of
“Spring Farm.” He served in
Company H, 4th Virginia Calvary. "This Company (Company H, the Black Horse Cavalry from
Warrenton) was enrolled in Warrenton 25 April and ordered to
Dumfries. They marched to
Brantsville (21 miles) and were ordered to Warrenton Springs, six miles
beyond their point of departure.
They reached Warrenton Springs on the 28th of April. Forty-six members were at Harpers
Ferry 5 days after joining." Signed by Capt. Wm. H. Payne, Commanding
Officer.
- Nathadious D. Clopton, C.S.A., son of John M. Clopton, C.S.A., and
his wife, Jane Tinsley. He
served in Company D, 22nd Alabama Infantry. The 22nd Alabama
Infantry Regiment was first organized at Montgomery on 6 October 1861, and
was encamped at Mobile during that winter. Men were recruited from
Calhoun, Cherokee, Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, Montgomery, Pike, Randolph,
and Walker counties. He died
April 11, 1862 in Corinth, Mississippi, “of disease.” Following the battle
of Shiloh. His regiment
fought at Shiloh; Mumfordsville; Perryville; Chickamauga;
Missionary ; Dalton to Atlanta, losing gradually by the constant
fighting; Jonesboro; Franklin, ; Nashville. ; North Carolina; Kinston and
; surrendered at Greenesboro, NC, on 26 April 1865.
- (Second Lieutenant) Patrick Henry Clopton, III., C.S.A., of New
Kent County, Virginia, son of Patrick Henry Clopton, Sr., and his wife
Harriet Dowles. He served in
the 56th Virginia Infantry, Company; and, Company D, 10th
Virginia Cavalry.
- R. M. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company D, 1st
Mississippi Cavalry; Company K, 3rd Mississippi Infantry; and,
Company K, 23rd Mississippi Infantry.
- Reuben Monroe Clopton, II., C.S.A., son of Reuben Monroe Clopton,
I., and his wife, Carolina Eliza Hunter. Husband of Sarah Clopton Campbell and Willie Eugene
Smith.
- Robert Clopton, U.S.A., Died of Wounds Received in Action, of Hart
County Kentucky, son of David Clopton and his wife, Lavinia Codgill. He was the husband of Priscilla
Davis, of Indiana. He served
in Company F, 39th Iowa Infantry.
- Robert Anderson Clopton, M.D., C.S.A., Prisoner of War, of
Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Milan, Tennessee, son of John Marshall
Clopton, M.D., and his wife, Mary W. Terry. Dr. Clopton served with Colonel Jackson’s Company G,
First Kentucky Cavalry Regiment.
He was taken prisoner in 1863 and was paroled two months later. He did not again enter service.
- (First Lieutenant) Robert E. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company H,
33rd Mississippi Infantry; and, Company I, 11th
Mississippi Infantry. The 11th
Mississippi Infantry was a consolidation of individual companies formed in
Mississippi. Company I -known
as the Van Dorn Reserve and was raised in Monroe County, Mississippi. The regiment took part in some of
the heaviest fighting of the war.
In the battles of Manassas and second Manassas, Sharpsburg,
Gettysburg (in Pickett’s charge of July 3), Bristoe Station, Mine Run, the
Wilderness, Talley's Mill, Spottsylvania Courthouse, Petersburg. By the time they fought at
Petersburg there were only sixty four men remaining in the regiment. After Hatcher's Run the regiment
was disbanded rather than be captured.
- (Sergeant) Robert J. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company I, 2nd
Mississippi Partisan Rangers.
- (Lieutenant) Samuel Cornelius Clopton, Jr., D.Div., C.S.A., of
China, son of Samuel Cornelius Clopton and, and his wife, Keziah F.
Turpin. Virginia, served in Company A. 13th Virginia Artillery
Battalion; and, Company D, Virginia First State’s Reserves.
- T. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company B, 12th Mississippi
Cavalry. 12th
Mississippi Cavalry, Company
B -known as- Ryan’s Company (raised in Lowndes County, MS) This regiment was organized of Alabama and
Mississippi unassigned companies after Sherman's raid to Meridian. It took part in the battles around
Richmond, Virginia; part of the command of General Pillow in his raid upon
Sherman's communications ; Lafayette, Georgia; defense of Spanish Fort,
east of Mobile Bay; capitulated at Citronelle, May 4, 1865.
- T. C. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company K, 3rd Mississippi
Infantry. The 3rd
Mississippi Infantry, Company K was known as the “McWillie Blues,” and was
raised in Copiah County, Mississippi. It took part in the defense of the Mississippi coast in
1861 at Ship Island, Pass Christian, and Biloxi. It then was assigned to the Vicksburg defense. After Vicksburg it fought in the
battles at Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Columbia, Franklin,
Nashville, Kinston, and Bentonville. Surrendered near Durham Station on April 26,
1865.
- Thomas Alexander Clopton, C.S.A.,
Prisoner of War, of Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, son of Thomas B.
Clopton, M.D., a veteran of the War of 1812, and his wife, Harriet B.
Claiborne. He was in and out
of hospitals throughout the war and was eventually captured and sent to
the infamous Federal prison at Fort Delaware. Although scurvy reached epidemic proportions at the
prison and the amount and quality of food given to the prisoners was
appalling, United States Commissary General William Hoffman, in charge of
Confederate prisoners in the North, considered that only food that was
absolutely necessarily purchased, and vegetables were considered, by him,
a luxury. At the end of the
War, $23,000 remained in the Fort Delaware relief fund, even as hundreds
of men languished in misery. He is buried at Concord United
Methodist Church Cemetery, Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia.
- (Captain) Thomas Coles Clopton, M.D., C.S.A., of Gloucester
County, Virginia, son of Edwin J. Clopton, Sr. He was the husband of Malvina Doswell. He served as Company Commander in
Company D, 24th Virginia Cavalry; and, as Company Commander iin
Company D, 40th Cavalry Battalion. On January 3, 1863, the 59 year old physician was
chosen to lead a company of men recruited from Gloucester County. They were, in fact, all boys below
draft age. Although from
Gloucester, they were based at Saluda and were to resist the passage of
any Federals cavalry patrols into Gloucester Point.
- Thomas Edmond Clopton, C.S.A., Killed in Action, son of Rueben
Monroe Clopton, I, and his wife, Caroline Eliza Hunter. He served in Company K, 23rd
Mississippi Infantry; and, Grace’s Cavalry Company, Mississippi (St.
Troops).
- Thomas H. Clopton, C.S.A., served in Company A, 44th
North Carolina Infantry.
- (Third Lieutenant) Thomas Jones Clopton, M.D., C.S.A., of “Havers
Hall,” Gloucester, Virginia, son of Thomas Coles Clopton, M.D., C.S.A., of
“Camden,” and his wife, Malvina Doswell. He was the husband of Mildred Cecilia Anderson of King
& Queen County, Virginia.
He served in the 5th Virginia Cavalry; and, Company A,
34th Virginia Infantry.
- W. A. Clopton, served in Company C, 45th Tennessee
Infantry. The 45th
was mainly from Wilson and Rutherford counties. It fought in the following battles: Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Battle of
Murfreesboro; Battle of Chickamauga; Missionary Ridge; Dalton, Georgia;
skirmishing, through Adairsville, Cassville, Cartersville, Powder Springs,
Marietta, Peach Tree Creek; it was surrendered and paroled at Greensboro,
North Carolina, May 1, 1865.
- Waldegrave James Clopton, C.S.A.
son of James Brown Clopton, Sr., M.D., of New Kent County, Virginia and
his wife, Mary R. Reese, of Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia. He was the husband of Frances D.
Lamar of Georgia. W. J.
produced oil cloth for the government at Montgomery, Alabama throughout
the War. He was a private in
Company B, the Montgomery County Reserves.
- Walter D. Clopton, C.S.A., of Richmond, Virginia, son of William
Clopton of New Kent County and his wife, Sarah E. Vaughan. He served in Company E, 18th
Virginia Infantry.
- W. B. Clopton, C.S.A., and served in Company A. 13th
South Carolina Infantry. The
men took part in Seven Days Battles,
2nd Manassas, Chantilly, Antietam, Shepherdstown Ford
Fredericksburg
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg,. Falling Waters,. Bristoe Campaign,.
Mine Run Campaign,. The Wilderness,. Spotsylvania Court House,. North
Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburg Siege, 1st Squirrel Level Road,. Jones'
Farm,. 1st Pegram's Farm, Five Forks, and Appomattox
- William Abner S. Clopton, C.S.A., Killed in Action, of Virginia,
son of James Chappell Clopton, A.B. and his wife, Mary Ann Cottrell. He served in Shoemaker’s Company,
Virginia Horse Artillery. The
following obituary appeared in the October 1, 1863 issue of the Religious
Herald: Was
killed, December the 5th, 1862, near Port Royal, Va. [on the Rappahannock
River east of Fredericksburg],
in an encounter with Federal gunboats, Wm. A. S. CLOPTON, a member of the
Lynchburg Beauregard artillery, and son of the Rev. James C. Clopton of
Lynchburg, aged 19 years and 4 months. Though not eighteen years of age at the beginning of
hostilities, the deceased was among the first to enlist in the defense of
the invaded rights of the country, and as he was prompt to enter the
service, so he was faithful in the discharge of every duty devolved upon
him. He faltered at no
hardship, quailed at no danger, murmured at no fortune, but was always at
his post, ready to do a soldier's part with cheerful alacrity. He passed through the -?- Virginia
campaigns of last year, participating in several battles, and was never
found wanting in the hour of need, or laggard in the discharge of
obligations. In the truest
sense of the term, he was a faithful soldier, which, in a word,
comprehends all of praise and of compliment that might be said in that
-?-. His character as a man
was equally admirable and commendable. The better and nobler qualities of the heart he
possessed in an eminent degree.
Even-tempered and cheerful in disposition, he was always an
agreeable companion, shedding a sunny influence around in hours of deepest
gloom. The blended beautifies
of generous and sympathetic emotions shone brightly in him. to make others happy was more his
aim than to enhanced his own pleasures. His mind was quick, vigorous and strong, and would have
matured, had he lived, into very marked intellectual development. The deceased was a member of the
Baptist church, and in his blameless life illustrated the hallowing and
beautifying influences of religion.
In his death his parents have sustained the loss of an affectionate
and promising son, around whom their affections and hopes were fondly
clustered; his friends a valued and trusted companion; and the country an
unfaltering soldier. But he
has left the legacy of a good name and untarnished memory to those who
love him.
- William Calvin Clopton, C.S.A., of Paulding County, Georgia, son
of John M. Clopton, C.S.A., and his wife, Jane Tinsley.. He served in Company H, 19th
Georgia Infantry. He died in
Lynchburg, Virginia at the Confederate hospital from either injuries
received during the War or possibly of measles following an outbreak of
the disease that resulted in many deaths in his unit.
- (Private) William Capers Clopton, C.S.A.,
son of John Hoggatt “Jack” Clopton, Sr. and his wife, Matilda Caroline
Drake. He served in Company
K, 1st Arkansas (Dobbin’s) Cavalry. He enlisted Helena at the age of seventeen and was
paroled at Wittsburg.
- (Major)
William Dowles Clopton, Sr., C.S.A., of New Kent County, Virginia, son of
Patrick Henry Clopton, Sr., and his wife Harriet Dowles of New Kent
County, Virginia. He was the
husband of Mary S. Jones, of “Mole Hill,” and Lucie Perkins Chores. Virginia, 3rd Cavalry,
Company G.
- (First Lieutenant) William Edmund Clopton, Esq., C.S.A.,
of “Oakland,” New Kent County, Virginia, son of William Edmund Clopton,
Sr., Esq. and his wife, Mary Ann Apperson. He was the husband of Ellen Hesseltine Hill. He served in Company F, 3rd
Virginia Cavalry.
- (First Lieutenant) William Hales Clopton, Jr., C.S.A., of Oglethorpe County,
Georgia, son of William Hales Clopton, Sr. and his wife Avery Garrett
Smith. He was the husband of
Manirva Caroline Phillips. He
served in Company I, 11th Mississippi Infantry.

- William Henry Harrison Clopton, C.S.A.,
of Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, son of Thomas B. Clopton, M.D., a
veteran of the War of 1812, and his wife, Harriet B. Claiborne. He served in Company F, 44th
Georgia Infantry, Cantrell’s Company, Georgia Cavalry; and, Company B, 3rd
Georgia Infantry. He is
buried at Concord United Methodist Church Cemetery, Eatonton, Putnam
County, Georgia.
- (First Lieutenant) William Hickman Clopton, Esq., C.S.A., of
Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, son of James Alexander Clopton, M.D.
and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Penny. Mr. Clopton was educated at La Grange
(Alabama) Military Academy, 1860-61, Southern University, Greensboro,
Alabama, 1861-1862, and received his LL.B. from the University of Virginia
in 1868. He entered the
C.S.A. April 1, 1864 at Montgomery, Alabama, at the age of 16, in
Shockley’s Alabama Escort Company, formed in 1864 by Cadet’s of the
University of Alabama. He
served under General Dan Adams as a member of his escort and later with
scouts for the Department of Alabama. He also served as escort to General Abraham
Buford. He received a saber
wound at Selma. He
surrendered with Forrest at Gainsville, Alabama, May 10, 1865.
- (Captain) William Izzard Clopton, C.S.A.,
son of The Honorable John Bacon Clopton and his wife, Maria Gaitskell
Foster. He was Senior First
Lieutenant, Company I and H, 1st Virginia Artillery; and,
Captain, Company B, 38th Virginia Light Artillery
Battalion.