Days of Terror and a March to Death

Wednesday, 1 March 1865 - The Union Twentieth Corps entered Chesterfield, South Carolina.

Thursday, 2 March 1865 - General Sherman entered the city and stayed overnight in this "dirty little town"[1] of about twenty houses, one hotel, and a court house.

Sunday, 12 March 1865 - Chesterfield County, South Carolina.

Hezekiah "Hugh" Brock and his wife Sallie along with their six boys are enjoying a quiet day after working all week in the fields.

During the past week Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick and Gen. Sherman has both entered this quite community and had established camp at Cheraw while the Union soldiers made raids on local farms in Chesterfield County, South Carolina and nearby Anson County, North Carolina. On 12 March the soldier visited the farm of Hugh and Sallie Brock.

Hugh was taken prisoner while his wife and children watched him being taken away from their farm home in Chesterfield, SC. Hugh & Sallie's oldest son (Benjamin Franklin), my great grandfather, had just turned 14 and the youngest (Pleasant Elmore) wasn't quite 12 months old. Hugh never saw his family again. After being taken prisoner, he was forced marched to Wilmington, NC and sent by train to the Confederate Prison at Point Lookout, Maryland.

I know that you, my readers, have heard of stories about the living conditions at Andersonville in Georgia. In the North, Point Lookout was their equivalence to Andersonville in the South.

Sunday, 9 April 1865 – THE WAR IS OVER – General Lee surrender's to General Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

Monday, 12 June 1865[2]- Exactly 3 months to the day of his imprisonment Hugh passed away at Point Lookout. Cause of death was listed as inflammation of the lungs which probably translates to pneumonia. This is also 2 months and some days after the War has ended and he is still being held as a Prisoner of War (POW)[3].

Hugh was in a SC Reserve outfit. He was a Private, Co. C. 5th Battalion, SC Reserves enlisting 15 Sept 1864 and present through 31 Oct. 1864. He was also a Private in Co. K, 4th South Carolina State Troops from 1 Aug 1863 to 1 Feb 1864. He was a civilian farmer when imprisoned on 12 March 1865.

As a young kid I used to listen to my mom tell the story passed down from generation to generation on the imprisonment of great great-grandfather Hezekiah. Mom would say that the Yankee's took him and his family never ever heard from him again. If you believe the story as passed down through the ages my g-g-grandmother Sallie was never notified of his death. Sallie, my g-g-grandmother, never got over the loss of her husband, she never remarried; maybe she was waiting for Hezekiah to come home. She raised her six boys to adulthood and lived with her son Alsey during her later years.

This is one of the first stories I researched when I became interested in genealogy. At that time I was serving with the Air Force and stationed in Ogden, Utah.

With help from the wonderful volunteers in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City I found that indeed Hezekiah was a civilian and had been taken prisoner on 12 March 1865 and learned of his death at Pt. Lookout, Maryland.

Don't discount those family stories, while they may not be entirely true there is also the chance that a sliver of truth can be found in the story.

Hezekiah "Hugh" Brock, b. 29 February 1827; d. 12 June 1865, Pt. Lookout Prison Camp for Confederates, St. Mary's County, Maryland.

Gone but not forgotten

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[1] John G. Barrett, Sherman's March Through the Carolinas (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, February 1996), Page 106.

[2] Randolph W. Kirkland Jr., Broken Fortunes (Columbia, South Carolina: SC Historical Society, 1995), page 38.

[3] "POW's held at Point Lookout Maryland", FHL Film #1303418, Entry #3906, H. Brock died 12 June 1865, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Holmes-Boatwright Missing Links to Chesterfield Families

Michael Holmes was born on 22 Jul 1827 in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. He died on 20 Sep 1886 at the age of 59 in Abbeville, Henry Co., AL.

Michael Holmes and his cousin, John Martin Boatwright came to Henry County, Alabama in July 1845.

Michael served as a Private, Company B, 6th Alabama Infantry Regiment. While away for the War, Michael regularly wrote home to his Mother. Those letters can be accessed and read at this link.

Michael Holmes and Martha E. Howerton were married on 23 Dec 1851. Martha E. Howerton, daughter of John Wesley Howerton and Elizabeth Jane Chester, was born on 25 Dec 1832 in SC. She died on 8 May 1857 at the age of 24.

Michael Holmes and Martha E. Howerton had the following child:

1. Martha A. Holmes was born about 1852 in Abbeville, Henry County, Alabama and died in 1916.

Michael Holmes and Martha Eliza Roberts were married on 17 Jul 1860. Martha Eliza Roberts, daughter of Birch M. Roberts and Harriet M. Hardwick, was born on 25 Oct 1839 in Abbeville, Henry, Alabama, United States. She died on 8 Dec 1910 at the age of 71.

Michael Holmes and Martha Eliza Roberts had the following children:

1. Virginia Holmes, born abt 1862, Abbeville, Henry County, Alabama; married A. W. Holley.

2. Georgia Holmes, born on 4 Jun 1863 in Abbeville, Henry County, Alabama. She died on 22 Jul 1906 at the age of 43.

3. J. Edward Holmes, born in Feb 1866 in Abbeville, Henry County, Alabama.

4. Alexander Holmes, born about 1868 in Abbeville, Henry County, Alabama.

5. Mary Alma Holmes, born in Dec 1871 in Henry County, Alabama

6. Hinton Craddock Holmes, born 16 May 1874, Henry County, Alabama; married Danie Wood; died 11 Jan 1952.

7. Annie Holmes, born in Oct 1876 in Henry County, Alabama.

Michael Holmes died at the early age of 59. He was a well-respected member of his community. The following obituary and tribute is a testimony to his standing within the community.

The death of Michael Holmes, Age 59, was a great shock to his family and friends. He died at his home at Wesley on September 20, 1886. Several days before his death, a short notice as follows appeared in a local newspaper: "Abbeville Times - Friday, September 17, 1886. We regret to learn of the serious illness of Mr. Mike Holmes of Wesley caused by a carbuncle on his face.

He was not expected to live through last Tuesday night, but we learn that he was a good deal better Wednesday morning. We earnestly hope he may speedily recover for he is Henry County's best citizen. Since putting the above in type, we learn with regret that Mr. Holmes is gradually growing worse and is not expected to live through today, Thursday. " MICHAEL HOLMES died Monday morning, September 20, 1886, about three O'clock and was buried in Judson Cemetery the same evening.

Several announcements of his death were published in County newspapers, the first one in a Columbia, Alabama paper, The Columbia Enterprise: Thursday, September 23, 1886; "A SAD DEATH: Mr. Mike Holmes of Wesley, Ala. died at his residence about three O'clock on last Monday morning and was buried at Judson Church on the same evening. Mr. Holmes was one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of our county and had amassed a large fortune. He has a large number of friends who will mourn his death. His family and friends have our sympathy on this bereavement." Other tributes appeared in Abbeville newspapers:

Abbeville Times - Friday September 24, 1886

Mr. M. Holmes who has been a citizen of this county for 40 odd years departed this life on last Sunday night at his home at Wesley, Ala. and was buried Monday evening at Judson Cemetery. He was truly a good man and loved by all that know him. The Times extends its sympathies to his many relatives and friends.

Abbeville Times - Friday September 24, 1886

MR. MIKE HOLMES

Born in Anson County North Carolina on 22nd July, 1827, Died the 20 inst. at 3:30 A.M. at his home Wesley, Alabama. An honest man the noblest work of God's creation, a faithful friend, a kind neighbor, a loving and indulgent father and husband. He came in 1845, a poor boy with a widowed mother, five sisters and one brother Ned, who was killed near Atlanta in 1864. With only $2.50 in his pocket in a strange Country among strangers, yet by his every industry, pluck and determination, he has amassed quite a competency, and leaves his family well provided. He has acted well his part in all the affairs of' life and leaves no stain upon his character. There are quite a number of successful men in this and surrounding country who owe their start in life to the aid and advise of Mike Holmes, but he is gone, and we shall see him no more, until the summons comes for us to join that innumerable host which will move from the pale realms of earth to a purer, fairer, and brighter world beyond this veil.

A FRIEND

This connection to families in Chesterfield County was just recently made, see post here. It's great finding missing individuals and connecting them to your family. My thanks to Mary Nell in Georgia and Mary F. in Alabama for working with me to connect these family members.