Benjamin L. Bowen's :
The Exploits of Waul's Texas Legion Table of Contents.
Benjamin L Bowen's
e-history files
The exploits of Waul's Texas Legion
Willis' Battalion Texas Cavalry company F
The soldier biographies.Read about
[ William M. Bowen ] [ James F. Byrd ] [ Thomas M.Harwood ] [ Samuel Parsons Johnson ] [ Hamilton Ransom ]
Note: Bio's for soldiers other than those of Company F Willis' Battalion Texas Cavalry are being placed in the rosters.To contribute your Willis' Battalion Texas Cavalry or
Waul's Lexas Legion soldier biography to this project contact: Ben Bowenor
Waul's Texas Legion discussion forum, post a question, comment or information.
In the Spring of 1862 William M. Bowen of Caldwell County Texas, the son of Green Bowen and Mary Elizabeth Fabor enlisted in Waul's Texas Legion Confederate States Army. William was assigned to Cavalry company F which was known after the October 1862 reorganization of the legion asWillis' Battalion Texas Cavalry, commanded by Lt. Colonel Leonidas Willis. The battallion was sometimes refered to as Waul's Texas Legion Cavalry Willis' Battalion.
William, born in 1844 in Illinois would have been a boy of eighteen years old. These eight years between arrival in Texas and his enlistment would have given the spireted boy ample time to hone the skills required to become one of the elite fighting men of the Confederate Texas Cavalry.On an application for a Confederate pension filed for in late 1904 and approved in early1905 in Caldwell County,at the Prarie Lea Post Office William M. Bowen stated that he served until the end of the war.
In sworn statements before judge George Kyser of Caldwell County, Both J.J. Coulter and George Washington New (G.W. New) attested to knowing and serving with William in the war. J.J. Coulter stated that he was aquainted with William since the spring of 1862 and that he was frequently with William in the company througout the summer of 1862.
G.W. New stated that he ( G.W.) was a member of the same legion and Battalion in Company "C" and he personally knew that William joined in the spring of 1862 and served to the close of the war. Mr. New also stated that he had known William "since he was a school boy". All three gentlemen appear on the list of Confederate Soldiers of Caldwell County maintained by the Caldwell County Genealogical and Historical Society.hsoc@bcsnet.net .Indications are that a young William migrated with his family to Texas from Illinois between 1850 and 1854. The family appears on the 1850 census in Jefferson County Illinois, and on the Goliad County Texas census of 1860.
William had four sisters Eliza Anna, Elizabeth, Mary A., Mary Jane all born in Illinois and three brothers. John, Abraham and Joseph Green Bowen who was possibly the first of our clan born in Texas in February of 1856 in Goliad County .
William's father, Green Bowen served in Company E of Hobby's Eighth Texas volunteer infantryWilliam M. " Bill" Bowen was the husband of Mahala Duke Bowen, the daughter of David Duke and Matilda Killingsworth of Jackson Alabama. Bill and Mahala were wed October 12, 1868 in Guadalupe County, Texas. William, as much of the clan of Bowen's were, was a farmer and was also a freighter. Between the years of 1870 and 1879 William and Mahala had seven children, six boys named Green, William Henry, James Lawrence, Ithama ( I.T.), John Davis, and Josephus and their daughter, Eliza Mahala. Most of the clan stayed in and around the same area with some removing to Luling Texas. William M. Bowen's son James Lawrence Bowen, married his cousin Dora Alice Bowen, daughter of William's brother Abraham and wife Adeline Prudence Courtney Rice. James and Dora had nine children, the first of whom was Seymour Courtney Bowen who married Bessie Myrtle Phillips who had three children one of which was Wayne Bowen who married Ruth Romanos-Chapa who are the father and mother of the humble writer of this biography.
Notes from Records of enlistment :
Transcription of records from The Texas State Archives.
Name & Rank: Bowen Willam, Pvt.
Comm. Off: Harwood,Thomas M., Capt.
Organ: Co. F, Cav., Waul's Legion, CSA
Enlist: Jan.20-62 (1862)
Disch:
Descrip: age 20; Nativ. Ill ; Res. De Witt Co. ; Single
Remarks: R&F 104; Co.mus into srv. Jan.20-62, Wm.H. Kelley Capt.;Co. sta, at Camp Waul July10-62;
Reorganized & called into serv. of CSA Je.7-62 for 3 yrs.or war; 1MR
War Department Record.
Roll of Prisoners of WarW.M. Bowen Pvt., Co. F Willis' Cavalry Batt'n Residence :Goliad County, Texas Appears on a
Roll Of Prisoners of war
of Willis' Cavalry Battalion, Ross' Brigade, Confederate States Army,commanded by Capt. J.T. Conn, surrendered at Citronelle, Ala. by Lieut. Gen. R. Taylor, C.S.A., to Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby, U.S.A., May 4. 1865 and paroled at Jackson, Miss.,May 13, 1865
From THIRD TEXAS CAVALRY." The Handbook of Texas Online.
" Decimated and exhausted, the East Texas regiment remained bivouacked in Mississippi during the final months of the war. About half the men were granted furloughs; desertion took a further toll. When the Third Texas ( Ross' brigade) capitulated to Union major general Edward R. S. Canby at Citronelle, Alabama, in May 1865, there were but 207 members of the unit left to surrender."
Written by Benjamin L. Bowen
James F.Byrd
Byrd, James F. - Dec. 18, 1844 - June 9, 1915
Born in Kentucky, Joined the Confederate Army at Gonzales, Texas 1862. Was in Company F Willis Battalion of Cavalry, Originally of Virginia. Fought in Battle of Holly Springs, Harrisburg, Ft. Pillow and others. Captured. He became prisioner of War on Ship Island, Escaped by volunteering to help load boat, then joining prisoners to be exchanged.
Married Eliza Elizabeth May. Made permanent home at Pecan Mott west of Hayrick Mountain.Buried at the Hayrick Cemetery which is located four miles east of Robert Lee on Texas Highway 158; and left on an unpaved road 4.3 miles. Surveyed February 3, 1974 by Mrs. Mike Lomas and Mrs. T. M. Wylie.
From "Stalkin' Kin, Vol. IV, No. 4, by Mary Love Berryman.
Thomas M.Harwood
In May 1861 [ Thomas M. ] Harwood revisited his parental home in Virginia and joined the nearest Confederate unit, an Alabama regiment, but soon returned to Texas to urge recruitment. There he enlisted in the "99 Texas Tigers," which became part of Waul's[ Texas ] Legion.
At its reorganization, Harwood was elected captain of Company F of Leonidas Willis's battalion of cavalry; he became its major in November 1862.
He fought at Holly Springs, Grenada, and Pontotoc, Mississippi; and Fort Pillow, Moscow, and Cochran's Crossroads, Tennessee.BIBLIOGRAPHY: Margaret Catherine Berry, UT Austin: Traditions and Nostalgia (Austin: Shoal Creek, 1975). James Burke, Jr., Burke's Texas Almanac and Immigrant's Handbook for 1879 (Houston, 1879; facsimile, Austin: Steck-Warlick, 1969). In Memoriam: Resolutions and Tributes on the Life and Character of Thomas Moore Harwood (Gonzales, Texas: Reese and Beach, 1900).
Helen Hoskins Rugeley
Samuel Parsons Johnson
From: Gregory S.Johnson
My great-grandfather, Samuel Parsons Johnson, served in Willis Battalion Company F. He's in your list ed in the roster as "S.P. Johnson" as that is how he was commonly known.
S.P. was born and raised in Carroll County, MS. Yet based on the pension applications, he was residing in Gonzales County, Tx. when he enlisted. After the war, he went back to Carroll County and lived in or around Vaiden, MS. until his death in 1922. He's buried there in Old Salem Cemetery. I've always wondered how or why a MS boy came to enlist in a Tx. Cavalry. I don't know when he went to Tx., so it's possible he was there searching for a better life when the war broke out. But I was also thinking that perhaps someone from this Legion recruited men from MS. Any thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated.
I have some photocopies of two Pension Applications that his widow completed after his death, which indicates that he enlisted in 1862 and was still in active duty when the war ended. The name of the Legion and the Battalion are also on his grave marker. Incidentally, if you want to see pictures of him and his grave, visit my website . Scroll down for the pictures and click on the thumbnails to enlarge them.
Gregory Johnson
Hamilton Ransom
Company A, Cavalry Battalion, Waul's Texas Legion.From : Steve Ransom SSRANSOM@aol.com
Wed, 9 Mar 2005
Subject: Addition to your Willis' Battalions engagements.
I saw your site and noted that a February 1864 engagement seems to be missing.
My 2xgreat uncle, Hamilton Ransom's National Archives record shows he was wounded 2/21/64 at West Point, MS.
Family tradition indicates he lost a leg so I'm assuming the following synopsis' statement he was totally disabled would've resulted from that wound?
Here's a synopsis of my notes on his record:
Hamilton Ransom was in Company A, Cavalry Battalion, Waul's Texas Legion.
Enlisted as a Private 4/24/1862 at Burleson County by J.G. Thomas with horse valuation at $125.00.
Was listed as 1st Corporal by roll for January & February 1863.
The May 1,1864 roster has him absent: wounded in action and left at hospital 2/21/1864.
He appears on register of the Invalid Corps, P.A.C.S. (Provisional Army of the Confederate Sates) with date of retirement 9/12/1864 with remarks: Totally disabled.
The rolls of The Legion for Sept and Oct 1864 states absent-wounded in action at Westpoint 2/21/1864 and sent to hospital.
The last roll is that of Prisoners of War, Willis' Cavalry Battalion (note this is same as Waul's Legion), Ross' Brigade, C.S. Army, commanded by Capt. J.T. Conn, surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama by Lt. Gen. R. Taylor, C.S.A. to Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby, U.S.A. on May 4, 1865 and parolled at Jackson, Mississippi May 13,1865 - Private, Co. A, Willis' Cavalry Battalion and residence Washington County Texas.
My notes also indicate the following re the Feb 1864 engagement:
This would have been while fighting with Nathan Bedford Forrest against Smith's Cavalry advance in conjunction with Sherman's advance towards Jackson, Mississippi and Selma, Alabama (successfully thwarted I should add).
Thought you might want to know this.
Steve Ransom,
Burleson Co., Texas
Benjamin L. Bowen's :
The Exploits of Waul's Texas Legion Table of Contents.
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