Military Monday~Two Isaac Hurst

Sometimes the resources we are exposed to can be confusing and add more doubt than certainty to our research. Case in point is Isaac Hurst of Chesterfield County, South Carolina.  

In pre-civil war Chesterfield County there were two young men by the name of Isaac Hurst, who were born at such a time that they would be of age to serve when the Civil War began in 1861. 

www.ancestry.com

Those two men were:

• Isaac F. Hurst, age 33, son of William & Nancy Rivers Hurst.
• Isaac Hurst, age 35, son of Isaac & Henrietta Rivers Hurst.

We know that neither of these two men survived the Civil War. So we have two men and our task is to determine when, where and how each of these men died?

We start by looking at Civil War resources to determine what happened to these two men. But, first let’s take a quick look on FindAGrave. 

FindAGrave reveals tombstones for both of our men:

• Find A Grave Memorial# 43479224 – Isaac Hurst
• Find A Grave Memorial#30006251 – Isaac F. Hurst

Isaac Hurst
Find A Grave Memorial# 43479224 ¹
This memorial shows that Isaac Hurst son of Isaac & Henrietta Rivers Hurst was: 
Birth: Jan. 15, 1837
Death: Jul. 2, 1862
Wounded June 15, 1862 at Secessionville, James Island, S.C. from which he never recovered.
Fold3.com ²
Isaac Hurst appears on a list of casualties, of Smith’s Battalion, in the engagement at Sucessionville, S. C. , June 16, 1862.  
http://www.fold3.com/image/259306628/
Broken Fortunes, page 173, ³
Shows that Isaac Hurst, Private, Co. B, 9th SCVI Bn., died 25 June 1862 at Sucessionville, Died of Wounds.
So we have a conflict; his tombstone shows that Isaac died 2 July 1862; Broken Fortunes shows a death date of 25 June 1862. 
A U.S., Confederate Army Casualty Lists and Reports, 1861-1865 shows Isaac Hurst was severely wounded on June 19, 1862. ⁴


It unclear whether Isaac Hurst died 25 June 1862 or 2 July 1862.


Isaac F. Hurst
Find A Grave Memorial# 30006251 ⁵
Birth: 1837
Death: Oct. 4, 1862

Died at home at age 27 of wounds received in Civil War. Private 4th Regiment South Carolina Cavalry Company A (Craig's)CSA. Formerly served as Co. A,. 12th Battalion South Carolina Cavalry
Company A, 12th SCVCB, died of disease 04 October 1862 at Georgetown, South Carolina,
Fold3.com
Pvt. Isaac F. Hurst died 4 October 1862⁶
http://www.fold3.com/image/#20|66894526
Company A, 12th SCVCav., ⁷http://www.fold3.com/image/20/66894520/
Broken Fortunes, page 173 ⁸
Died while serving in Civil War. Broken Fortunes, Randolph W. Kirkland, Jr., The SC Historical Society, Charleston, SC, 1995, Page 173.  Source: Pvt. Isaac F. Hurst, age 27, was a member of Craig's CO 4th SC CAV CSA. He enlisted 26 December 1861, at Cheraw, SC, and died on 4 Oct. 1862.


In my research there is no doubt that Isaac F. Hurst son of William and Nancy Rivers Hurst died 4 October 1862, at home, from wounds received in the Civil War. There is doubt as to the date of death for Isaac Hurst son of Isaac & Henrietta Rivers Hurst; but we know he died at Sucessionville, of wounds received in battle.

One more mystery.
Then in the book “Broken Fortunes” we have one additional Isaac Hurst that died in the Civil War from South Carolina.


Broken Fortunes, page 173 ⁹
This book shows an Isaac Hurst, age 27, Private, 4th SCVC, died 15 May 1864 at home, died of Disease. The age of this Isaac Hurst matches the age of Isaac F. Hurst but the death dates are different. The 4th SCV was primarily made up of men from the Chesterfield area of Cheraw; yet, only 2 known Isaac Hurst perished in the Civil War. There is no Isaac Hurst listed with the 4th Cav on Fold3.com.

So who is Isaac Hurst, age 27, Private, 4th SCVC, died 15 May 1864 at home, died of Disease?




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[1] Find A Grave Memorial# 43479224
[2] http://www.fold3.com/image/259306628/
[3] Randolph W. Kirkland Jr., Broken Fortunes: South Carolina Soldiers, Sailors and Citizens Who Died in the Service of Their Country and State in the War for Southern Independence, 1861-1865 (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina, 1997), page 173.
[4] Records of the Adjutant and Inspector General's Department, "U.S., Confederate Army Casualty Lists and Reports, 1861-1865," digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry.com (Http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 7 June 2014), Military Engagement at Secessionville, James Island, South Carolina; citing Microfilm publication M836, 7 rolls. ARC ID: 653994; Isaac Hurst.
[5] Find A Grave Memorial#30006251
[6] http://www.fold3.com/image/#20|66894526
[7] http://www.fold3.com/image/20/66894520/
[8] Randolph W. Kirkland Jr., Broken Fortunes: South Carolina Soldiers, Sailors and Citizens Who Died in the Service of Their Country and State in the War for Southern Independence, 1861-1865 (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina, 1997), page 173.
[9] Ibid.