| Notes |
- CONFEDERATE TENNESSEE TROOPS
47th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry
Overview: 47th Infantry Regiment completed its organization in December 16, 1861, at Camp Trenton, Gibson County, Tennessee. The men were from the counties of Obion, Gibson, and Dyer. For a time it remained at Camp Trenton, then was involved in the conflicts at Shiloh and Richmond.
Reorganized May 8, 1862; and later it was attached to P.Smith's, Vaughan's, and Palmer's Brigade, and during October, 1862, consolidated with the 12th Regiment. The unit participated in the campaigns of the Army of Tennessee from Murfreesboro to Atlanta, endured Hood's winter operations in Tennessee, and fought its last battle at Bentonville. It sustained 67 casualties at Shiloh, 32 at Richmond, and more than thirty percent of the 263 engaged at Murfreesboro. The 47th reported 87 killed and wounded at Chickamauga, and the 12th/47th totalled 373 men and 220 arms in December, 1863. Only a remnant surrendered in April, 1865. The field officers were Colonels Munson R. Hill and William M. Watkins, Lieutenant Colonels W.E. Holmes and Vincent G. Wynne, and Major Thomas R. Shearon.
Formed part of Company "D", 2nd Consolidated Tennessee Infantry Regiment. Paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina May 2, 1865.
FIELD OFFICERS
Colonels-Munson R. Hill, William M. Watkins.
Lieutenant Colonels-B. E. Holmes, Vincent C. Wynne.
Major-Thomas R. Shearon
The 47th Regiment was a West Tennessee organization, organized at Camp Trenton, Gibson County, December 16, 1861, from 10 companies which had been enrolled during November and December.
CAPTAINS
James R. White, William Stacy, Thomas B. Moffat, Co. "A". Enrolled at Troy, Obion County.
James H. Sinclair, Robert B. Patterson, Co. "B". Men from Gibson and Dyer Counties.
Vincent C. Wynne (to lieutenant colonel), Peter Marchant, Co. "C". Enrolled at Dyersburg, Dyer County.
W. M. Watkins (to colonel), James N. Watkins, Co. "D". Enrolled at Dyersburg, Dyer County.
George B. Miller, Franc C. Sampson, Co. "E". Enrolled at Dyersburg, Dyer County.
Jesse L. Branch, George R. Booth, Co. "F" Enrolled at Humboldt, Gibson County.
Thomas J. Carthel, James O. January, Co. "G". Enrolled at Camp Trenton, Gibson County.
John A. Duncan, B. E. Holmes, W. H. Holoman, Co. "H". Men from Obion and Gibson Counties.
W. S. Moore, James R. Oliver, Co. "I". Enrolled at Troy, Obion County.
T. E. Cummings, Co. "K". Enrolled at Camp Trenton, Gibson County.
At the reorganization Captain Vincent C. Wynne replaced Holmes as lieutenant colonel. Colonel Hill resigned in 1863, and Captain William M. Watkins succeeded him as colonel.
The regiment remained at Camp Trenton, unattached to any brigade, until just before the Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862. The action report for that engagement stated the 47th, unattached, arrived on the field April 7. No reports of its activity were found, but the West Tennessee Whig, of Jackson, Tennessee, dated April 25, 1862, published a list of casualties from the 47th Regiment in the Battle of Shiloh totaling five killed, 61 wounded, one missing, so the regiment must have done some fighting after its arrival.
On May 26, at Corinth, Mississippi, it was reported in Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk's Corps, Brigadier General Charles Clark's Division, Brigadier General Bushrod R. Johnson's Brigade, composed of the 12th, 13th, 22nd and 47th Tennessee Infantry Regiments, and Bankhead's Battery. On June 15 Brigadier General Preston Smith was reported in command of the brigade; June 30, Colonel R. M. Russell, with the 22nd Regiment merged into the 12th, and the 154th Senior Regiment added; but on July 8, General Preston Smith was again reported in command of the brigade, in Major General B. F. Cheat-ham's Division. These four regiments remained together for the rest of the war; first in Preston Smith's Brigade; later with Brigadier General Alfred J. Vaughan in command.
The regiment left Corinth May 29 for Tupelo, Mississippi where it remained until July 25. Company reports show much sickness in the regiment while at Tupelo. It left Tupelo via Mobile, and Chattanooga, for Knoxville, to join Major General E. Kirby Smith for his invasion of Kentucky. From Knoxville, it marched on foot, many of the men barefoot, over the Cumberland Mountains to Barbourville, to London, to Richmond, Kentucky, where it was engaged in the battle on August 30, 1862. Here the 47th reported eight killed, 24 wounded.
From Richmond it marched to Lexington, Paris, Cynthiana Frankfort, to Hays Pond, 30 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio; to Shelbyville, 28 miles from Louisville, Kentucky; to Perryville, where it was present but not engaged in the battle fought at that place on October 8, 1862. From Perryville it retreated through Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, to Knoxville, where it took the railroad to Chattanooga. It left Chattanooga November 1, 1862, marching via Bridgeport, Alabama to Manchester, to Tulla-homa, to Murfreesboro, where it arrived December 5, 1862.
It did picket duty at LaVergne for about two weeks; returned to Murfreesboro December 22, and was engaged in the Battle of Murfreesboro. In this battle the 47th was commanded by Captain W. M. Watkins, and reported 86 casualties out of 263 engaged.
Following this battle, the regiment retreated to Shelbyville, arriving January 14, where it was on Provost Guard duty. On April 1, 1863, the l2th/47th was reported as one unit under Colonel T. H. Bell of the 12th Regiment, and from this time on the two regiments acted as one field unit, although separate muster rolls were maintained. It left Shelbyville June 27 for Tullahoma; left Tullahoma July 1 for Chattanooga, where it arrived July 7. Company reports describe this as a very fatiguing march, with heavy rain every day, and only half rations. On July 31, Colonel W. M. Watkins, of the 47th, was reported in command of the l2th/47th, and he remained in command until July, 1864.
On September 7, the regiment left Chattanooga for LaFayette, Georgia; to Rock Spring Church on the 14th; back to LaFayette on the 17th; crossed Chickamauga Creek on the 19th, and attacked the enemy in the Battle of Chickamauga, September 19-20, 1863. Here the 12th/47th reported the expenditure of 14,350 rounds of ammunition, and the loss of 87 killed and wounded, including two captains and three lieutenants killed.
Following the battle it remained in Chattanooga Valley until October 29, when it moved to Sweetwater, but returned to Missionary Ridge November 7, 1863, where the brigade was transferred to Major General T. C. Hind-man's Division. The regiment was engaged in the Battle of Missionary Ridge November 25, and retreated to Dalton, Georgia, where it arrived November 27, and went into winter quarters with no tents, and scanty rations. Crude shelters were erected, which were not as comfortable as they might have been made, "due to a shortage of axes." On December 14, the l2th/47th reported 281 effectives, 373 present, and 220 arms. On January 18, 1864, the 47th re-enlisted for the war, along with Strahl's Brigade, and the 13th and 154th Regiments, which moved General Hiudman to issue a proclamation, reading in part: "The spirit in which these brave men enlisted is an eloquent rebuke to the despondent.* * * With men who thus prefer duty to ease and comfort nothing is impossible in war.
On February 20, the brigade was transferred back to Cheatham's Division, where it remained for the duration. The regiment was part of an expedition which started to reenforce General Polk, in Mississippi. It left Dalton, Georgia, on February 16, reached Demopolis, Alabama, and was ordered back to Dalton. The last company report was dated aboard the train at Atlanta, Georgia, on February 29, where the regiment was awaiting shipment to Dalton. It stated "The men regretted the return to Dalton to eat poor beef and cornbread, having been assured by General Polk there was plenty of pork and bacon in the Confederacy if commissaries would do their duty."
No further details of regimental activities were found, but as part of Cheatham's Division, the regiment went through the Atlanta Campaign under General Joseph E. Johnston, the return to Tennessee under General John B. Hood, and the final move to North Carolina and the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina.
On July 31, 1864, the 12/47th was reported commanded by Captain William S. Moore, of the 12th; on August 31, by Lieutenant Colonel Josiah N. Wyatt, of the 12th; on September 20, by Lieutenant Colonel V. C. Wynne, of the 47th; on December 10, by Captain C. N. Wade, of the 12th; and finally, at Smithfield, North Carolina on March 31, 1865, by Captain James R. Oliver of the 47th. On this date the llth/29th/12th/47th/l3th/51st/ 52nd/154th Tennessee Regiments were all consolidated into one unit under Captain Oliver.
In the final reorganization of General Joseph E. Johnston's Army April 9, 1865, the 47th was reported in the Second Consolidated Tennessee Infantry Regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel George W. Pease, composed of the llth/l2th/l3th/29th/47th/50th/51st/ 52nd/154th Tennessee Infantry Regiments. As part of this regiment it was paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina May 2, 1865.
1880 Census
Name: John B. Sudberry
Residence: Milam, Texas
Birthdate: 1826
Birthplace: Virginia, United States
Relationship to Head: Self
Spouse's Name: Susan Sudberry
Spouse's Birthplace: Tennessee, United States
Father's Name:
Father's Birthplace: Virginia, United States
Mother's Name:
Mother's Birthplace: Virginia, United States
Race or Color (Expanded): White
Ethnicity (Standardized): American
Gender: Male
Martial Status: Married
Age (Expanded): 54 years
Occupation: Farmer
NARA Film Number: T9-1319
Page: 251
Page Character: B
Entry Number: 1698
Film number: 1255319
Household Gender Age
John B. Sudberry M 54
Spouse Susan Sudberry F 55
Child Millie Sudberry F 28
Child John W. Sudberry M 21
Child Virginia Sudberry F 16
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From the Valdo James Smith Research document, The Sudburys of Virginia and Tennessee.
JOHN B. SUDBURY was born about 1825 in Nottoway County, Virginia, the son of
Shadrack Sudbury and his first wife, Elizabeth. The first several years of John's life
were spent in Virginia. Glenn Boyd suggests that John's family was probably still
living there as late as November 23, 1829. In any event, John moved with his family
to Williamson County, Tennessee, sometime before the 1830 Tennessee census.
John spent the remainder of his childhood and adolescence in Williamson County. It
was there that on December 17, 1846, he married SUSAN E. JACKSON, who had
been born in Tennessee in 1825. The ceremony was performed by M.W. Gray,
minister of the Gospel, and John's brother, Jeremiah, served as bondsman. In a
document dated December 1846, transcribed by Glenn Boyd (presumably from the
personal collection of Helen O'Kelly), Shadrack Sudbury lists items of personal property he had given to John, perhaps as wedding gifts. These included a horse and
saddle, a rifle, and "one bed waying 44 lbs."
Between 1847 and 1850, John and Susan moved to Dyer County, Tennessee. Their
move probably coincided with John's father Shadrack's resettlement from Williamson
County to Dyer County in 1848. The listing for John and Susan in the 1850 census
index for Dyer County shows that they already had two children, Nancy (referred to
by her middle name, Elizabeth), age 2, and William, age 11 months. John and Susan
are shown in the 1860 census index for Dyer County with six children, including
Nancy E. (age 12), William H. (age 10), Milly E. (age 8), James (age 6), Robert
(age 4), and John W. (age 2). More information on John and Susan could probably
be obtained by looking up the census records for 1850 and 1860.
John's father, Shadrack, died in 1859, leaving John and his brother Jeremiah and
sister Sarah a reversionary interest in 275 acres of land which Shadrack owned, on
which Shadrack had operated a mill and a carding factory, among other things. On
October 3, 1859, John's stepmother, Susannah, gave Jeremiah, John, and Sarah's
husband, Benjamin Farmer, a quitclaim deed to her life estate in Shadrack's property,
in exchange for their agreement to make annual payments to her of $100.00 each.
The relationship between Jeremiah and John after Shadrack's death seems to have
involved some economic interdependence. Documents transcribed by Glenn Boyd
indicate that in January 1861, John sold Jeremiah four cords of wood, and worked six
days for his brother on the gin wheel and boiler, and sawing wood. Most of the total
payment of $6.50 was given in the form of "credit by lumber".
Late in 1861, John's life was disrupted by the Civil War. According to Glenn Boyd,
John was enrolled in the Confederate Army on December 8, 1861, in Dyer County,
by W.P. Rice, Justice of the Peace. He joined Company "B" of the 47th Tennessee
Infantry regiment at the rank of private. Glenn gives the following information about
John's regiment and his apparently brief military career:
[The 47th Tennessee Infantry] regiment was organized December 16, 1861, at
Camp Trenton, in Gibson County, Tennessee. Unattached to any brigade, the
regiment remained at Camp Trenton until just before the battle of Shiloh, April 6-
7, 1862. The 47th arrived on the [battlefield] on Monday, April 7.
In a Jackson, Tennessee newspaper [the West Tennessee Whig] dated April 25,
1862, a list of casualties from the 47th was published -- 5 killed, 61 wounded, 1
missing. It is highly likely that John B. Sudbury fought in the Battle of Shiloh
with the 47th. It is possible, how-ever, that he may have been at home in Dyer
County at this time. He is listed as "absent at home" or "absent sick" or "absent
without leave" on all of the roll sheets from May 1862 to April 1863, when he
was dropped from the roll for being absent.
Glenn Boyd observes that in the years after 1862, John appears to have been engaged
primarily in farming. Glenn has transcribed the following 1865 note from John to his
brother, Jeremiah: "Brother I have got a little cotton picked and I want some money.
I will send you what I have got picked if you will pay the money when I send the
cotton at 8 cents. October 7 /65 J.B. Sudbury."
Unfortunately, Jeremiah was killed in a mill accident in 1866, and with his death it
seems safe to say that one of the primary stabilizing forces in John's life was gone.
Over the next few years, John, in the words of Glenn Boyd, "ran up a considerable
debt and had to put up all his land and goods to cover it". By 1868, John had
apparently failed to make certain of the payments due his stepmother, Susannah,
under his contract for purchase of his share of her life estate in Shadrack's property.
On June 26, 1868, Susannah filed an Attachment Bill (No. 477) against John,
addressed to the Honorable John L. Williamson, Chancellor, presiding over the
Chancery Court for Dyer County in Dyersburg. In the Bill, which also named John's
children and certain transferees of John's property as defendants, Susannah sought to
have the Court seize and hold John's property until the dispute between them could
be settled. The Bill is a fascinating document, and is worth quoting in its entirety:
Your Complainant [Susannah Sudbury] respectfully represents and shows to your
Honor [Chancellor Williamson] that on the 3d day of October 1859, she sold to
John B. Sudbury and Benjamin F. Farmer her life interest in the real & personal
property of her late husband, Shadrack Sudbury, who died [in] 1859, leaving to
Complainant call of his real & personal property during her natural life or
widowhood, and at Complainant's death or marriage, the same to be divided
between his three children Jeremiah W. Sudbury, John B. Sudbury & Sarah
Frances Sudbury (now Farmer) wife of said Benjamin Farmer, and in
consideration of the deed executed by Complainant to them conveying the before
mentioned life estate which is here filed, marked Exhibit "A" as part of this bill
(which need not be copied) they each executed their several bonds by which they
bound themselves to pay to your Complainant, the sum of one hundred dollars
each annually, the first payment to be due the 1st of January 1860, and on the
same day of each succeeding, the like amount during her natural life.
Complainant states that by the terms of the before mentioned sale of her life
interest to the said parties as shown by said deed she reserved a lien on the
property conveyed to secure the payment of the said lien of one hundred each
annually, and further that afterwards the said Jeremiah Sudbury as executor to
said Shadrack Sudbury deceased filed a bill in this Honorable Court against John
B. Sudbury et al. for the purpose of dividing said property among the children of
the said deceased husband of the Complainant.
That at the January Term 1861 of said Court a final decree was rendered in the
cause, by which 91 1/3 acres of the land consigned free to J.W. Sudbury &
children & the title [vested?] in him and his children, according to the terms of
said [bill?], by which J.B. Sudbury had only a life estate, but a lien was also
reserved in the decree on said land in favor of Complainant to secure the payment
of the before mentioned annuity to Complainant.
She also states that the Bond executed to her by John B. Sudbury here filed
marked Exhibit "B" (which need not be copied) has not been complied with, and
that the sum for which he is thus bound has not been paid to Complainant
annually, and that a large sum of money is due her on said bond, [say?] between
six hundred and one thousand dollars remains due and unpaid, that Elizabeth
Yates, William H., Milly [Emeline?], James, Robert, John and Virginia are the
Christian names of the children of John B. Sudbury, and that they are minors,
that on the 3d day of December, 1867, the said John B. Sudbury did fraudulently
make a conveyance of the before mentioned land (on which Complainant has a
lien for the payment of said annuity) as well as part of a cotton gin and [press?],
hogs, mules, cattle and sheep, and a growing crop of cotton and corn, to the
Defendant, A.M. Roberts, for the ostensible purpose of securing the defendant
James B. Powell, the beneficiary in said deed of trust, a copy of which deed is
herewith filed marked Exhibit "C", made a part of this bill (but which need not
be copied), that said conveyance was fraudulent, and made for the purpose of
delaying Complainant from collecting her annuity, and to hinder and delay
creditors generally in the collection of their debts, and that the same contains
provisions which render it void upon its face.
In consideration of the premises, Complainant prays that John B. Sudbury,
William H. Sudbury, Milly E. Sudbury, James Sudbury, Robert Sudbury, John
Sudbury and Virginia Sudbury, be made parties defendant to this bill, the last
mentioned seven of whom are minors, as designated and described in the caption
thereof, that copy and [?] be issued to them requiring them to answer each and all
of the allegations in this bill, as if specially interrogated thereto (answer under
each being hereby waived) returnable to the august rules of this Court, that cost of
attachment, issue directing the land described in Exhibit "C" to be attached and
held subject to the order of this Court, that Guardian ad-litem to answer for the
minor defendants above named [sic], that at final hearing of this cause, your
Honor will decree said deed of trust to be void and of no force, and will direct the
lien of the Complainant to be enforced upon it, that your Honor will direct an
account to be taken [to] ascertain the amount due her, and that you will direct a
sale on a credit of seven months, of the land in question, or of so much of it as
may be necessary to pay Complainant the sums due her and for general relief your
Complainant will ever pray. This is the first application for writ of attachment.
-- Moss & Skeffington, Solicitors
It's a humble truth that there are two sides to every story, and at present the author of
this history does not have the benefit of John's response to Susannah's allegations.
However, the bill quoted above raises some interesting issues, and prompts some
speculation as to how John found himself in such an unpleasant situation. Clearly
John was not the businessman that his brother Jeremiah was. However, it seems odd
that the court decree of 1861 would have vested Jeremiah with free and clear title to
his share of the inherited land, while leaving John with only a life estate, for which
he was obligated to pay Susannah a substantial annuity. The Civil War undoubtedly
complicated John's financial life, with his brief service in the Army of Tennessee.
Susannah's lawsuit against John, which began in 1868, lasted almost nine years.
Glenn Boyd has indicated that more than 50 pages of documents related to this
proceeding are to be found in the Dyer County Courthouse in Dyersburg. Certainly
the dispute must have been a terrible emotional and financial drain on John and his
family. In any event, Glenn tells us that the Supreme Court of Tennessee on
February 13, 1877, brought an end to the lawsuit by issuing a decree that John's life
estate be sold. The sale in fact took place on May 7, 1877 (with an official report of
the sale being issued on August 8, 1877).
Within a few months after the sale of his property in May 1877, John and his wife
Susan, together with most of their children, left Tennessee for good and moved to
Milam County, Texas. John and Susan are listed as living in Milam County in the
records of the 1880 U.S. census, with three of their children, Millie, John W., and
Virginia, still at home. John is identified as a farmer, while Susan is said to have
been keeping house. (The property on which they were living at the time was
situated next to property occupied by Joseph Gabriel Sudbury and his wife, Jane.
Joseph (entry 1632-2) was the son of John's cousin, James Anthony Sudbury.) On
November 6, 1879, according to Glenn Boyd, John registered his cattle brand in
Milam County and listed his post office box as Rockdale. (The brand was "JBS",
with the J and B sharing the same vertical line.) By 1881, John had acquired some
land in the Rockdale area.
Although nothing further is really known about the lives of John and Susan in the
1880s, it is clear that by late 1888, John and Susan had died. This is indicated by a
deed, housed in the records of the Milam County courthouse in Cameron, evidencing
the purchase of John's land by his son, Robert J. Sudbury. The deed recites that
Robert has purchased the inherited interests of each of his siblings for the collective
sum of fifty dollars, and describes the land as follows:
The first tract being a part of the original A. Carter Sr. original [sic] survey contain
-ing 901A acres conveyed [Simon?] E. Sudbury by the deed of H. Tocket
bearing date 17th day of December 1878 and recorded in book E 1 vol. Record of
Deeds of Milam County Texas pp. 328 & 329. The other of said tracts being part
of Jose Leal 6 league survey containing 40 & 47/100 acres conveyed to J.B.
Sudbury by the deed of Mary E. Allbee and her husband Bernard Allbee bearing
date 29th day of August A.D. 1881 recorded in the records of Milam County
Texas in Vol. 9 on pages 41 & 42.
In addition to describing the nature and extent of John's land, and the date he
acquired the smaller 40-acre parcel, the deed raises some interesting questions. Who
was the "Simon E. Sudbury" who acquired the 90-acre parcel from H. Tocket in
1878? Was there actually some real (and to the author of this history unknown)
individual by that name? Or was it possibly an assumed name by which John sought
some anonymity from the inquiries of Tennessee creditors? Glenn Boyd is of the
opinion that the word which appears to be "Simon" is almost certainly "Susan",
John's wife, whose middle initial was "E".
Unfortunately, the burial places of John and Susan are unknown to us today. Glenn
Boyd's best guess is that they died and were buried in Milam County, near Rockdale,
possibly in the Sandy Creek Cemetery, in graves that are now unmarked.
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|
1826 - 1880 (54 years)
