Little Wills Valley Road
Keener, Etowah County, Alabama
N 34° 10.319 W085° 56.596
FAG: 23141
Date of Visit: October 15, 2013
Near the edge of the cemetery there are military markers for five soldiers: Robert F. Tabor, William Bethel Tabor, James Richard Crump, Wesley A. Keener, and Reuben Hammett. These are cenotaphs for men buried in northern Alabama and Virginia. War was hard for families of the Duck Springs area of DeKalb County. These men and their families were kin and neighbors.
Pvt
Reuben Hamett
Co G
49 Ala Inf
CSA
1824
1862
Pvt
Wesley A Keener
Co G
49 Ala Inf
CSA
1843
1862
Pvt
Robert F Tabor
Co I
10 Ala Inf
CSA
1843
1862
Pvt
William Bethel Tabor
Co I
10 Ala Inf
CSA
1840
1861
Pvt
James Richard Crump
Co I
10 Ala Inf
CSA
1841
1863
Wesley Keener enlisted in Captain J. Edward’s Company February 10, 1862. He was the son of Lavinia Hamitt who was married to Reuben Hamett. Wesley’s father-in-laww Rueben joined the same company on February 25, 1862. Reuben’s brother Jesse Hamett was already a member of Captain Edwards company when Reuben and Wesley enlisted.
In June of 1862, T.L. Battles and John Thomas signed affidavits attesting to Wesley and Reuban Hamitt joining Company G of the 31st Alabama. According a card in Jesse’s records Captain Edward’s the 49th Regiment of Alabama Infantry, was successively designated as the 53rd (Hale’s) Alabama Infantry, 31st Regiment (Edward’s) and finally the 49th Alabama.
Wesley and Reuben both died in the hospital in Huntsville, Alabama. Reuben died on March 10, 1862 and Wesley died March 13, 1862.
Jesse’s Hamett’s wife Emma signed an affidavit on May 16, 1862 stating that Jesse died of pneumonia in route home on March 10, 1862. His burial place is not known however, there is a recent Confederate military marker at Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville. There are there are 187 unknown Confederate soldiers buried in this cemetery. My thoughts are that Wesley and Reuban are likely buried here also.
On Wesley’s Find A Grave memorial page Charlie Hammett explains that these three men died of measles that was rampant in the camps in Nashville. The 49th was organized in Nashville in January of 1862.
William Bethel Tabor and Robert F. Tabor were sons of John Francis Tabor and Agnes Crump. Bethel enlisted in Company I of the 10th Alabama in Montgomery on June 4, 1861. Shortly afterwards the regiment was sent to Virginia where it was brigaded under General E.K. Smith with the 9th and 11th Alabama and the 19th Mississippi near Manassas and Centerville. In September Bethel was sick with Febris Typhoides (Typhoid Fever). He died September 5 in Camp near Bristow Station. His burial spot is not known.
After his brother died in service of the Confederacy 18 year old Robert F. Tabor enlisted in Company I in the spring of 1862 in Gadsden. After reporting to camp in Virginia he became sick and was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital #3 in Richmond. He died on May 8, 1862. John is buried in Sec D, Row 34, Grave 5 in Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
James Crump enlisted in Gadsden by Captain A.A. Hughes on March 1, 1862. In April he was present for the siege of Yorktown. On May 4, 1862 he was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital #2 with rubeola (measles). He was transferred supposedly to another hospital in Lynchburg on May 9. In late August he was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital No. 11 in Richmond with Cholera Morbus. On September 16 he was sent to a Huguenot Springs Hospital in Powhatan County, Virginia. He remained healthy until wounded in battle at Salem Church where the regiment lost over a fourth of it’s strength. In June he was admitted to 2nd Alabama Hospital in Richmond and he died June 28, 1863. He is buried in Section A, Row J, Grave 124 of Oakwood Cemetery.
Ancestry.com. Alabama, U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1860-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Citing Historical Record Roll data to Jan 1, 1865
, Civil War Soldiers. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.
Brewer, Willis. 1962. Brief Historical Sketches of Military Organizations Raised In Alabama During the Civil War : reproduced from Willis Brewer's Alabama: her history, resources, war record, and public men, from 1540 to 1872 (1872) Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Civil War Centennial Commission. Google Play https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=QogshH4pd50C&pg=GBS.PP4.
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for Reuben Hamett, 49th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for Wesley A. Keener, 49th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for Jesse Hammet, 49th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for William B. Tabor, 10th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for Robert F. Tabor, 10th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for James R. Crump, 10th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61656180/jesse-m-hammett : accessed 16 December 2021), memorial page for Pvt Jesse M Hammett (1821–10 Mar 1862), Find a Grave Memorial ID 61656180, citing Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by Nancy E. Collins (contributor 47113696) .
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23397061/wesley-a-keener : accessed 16 December 2021), memorial page for Pvt Wesley A. Keener (1843–1862), Find a Grave Memorial ID 23397061, citing Greenwood Baptist Church Cemetery, Keener, Etowah County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by . (contributor 46544255) .
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9926274/robert-f-tabor : accessed 16 December 2021), memorial page for PVT Robert F. Tabor (1843–7 Jun 1862), Find a Grave Memorial ID 9926274, citing Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Scott Hutchison (contributor 46635174) .
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37887615/william-bethel-tabor : accessed 16 December 2021), memorial page for Pvt William Bethel Tabor (1840–1861), Find a Grave Memorial ID 37887615, citing Greenwood Baptist Church Cemetery, Keener, Etowah County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by ausomeair (contributor 46934731) .
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37887586/robert-f-tabor : accessed 16 December 2021), memorial page for Pvt Robert F Tabor (1843–1863), Find a Grave Memorial ID 37887586, citing Greenwood Baptist Church Cemetery, Keener, Etowah County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by ausomeair (contributor 46934731) .
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9740328/james-r-crump : accessed 16 December 2021), memorial page for Pvt James R. Crump (1840–28 Jun 1863), Find a Grave Memorial ID 9740328, citing Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Scott Hutchison (contributor 46635174) .
- 1860 U.S. Census, DeKalb County, Alabama, Population Schedule, Census Place: District 3, Post Office: Duck Springs, p.224, dwelling 234, family 200, Memory Crump: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 16 December 2021), NARA Roll M653_9, Family History Library Film: 803009.
- 1860 U.S. Census, DeKalb County, Alabama, Population Schedule, Census Place: District 3, Post Office: Duck Springs, p.224, dwelling 233, family 199, John Tabor: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 16 December 2021), NARA Roll M653_9, Family History Library Film: 803009.
- 1860 U.S. Census, DeKalb County, Alabama, Population Schedule, Census Place: District 3, Post Office: Duck Springs, p.205, dwelling 103, family 90, Reuben Hammet: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 16 December 2021), NARA Roll M653_9, Family History Library Film: 803009.
- 1860 U.S. Census, DeKalb County, Alabama, Population Schedule, Census Place: District 3, Post Office: Duck Springs, p.205, dwelling 104, family 91, William Edwards: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 16 December 2021), NARA Roll M653_9, Family History Library Film: 803009.
Pvt
Noah Alverson
Co D
58 Ala Inf
CSA
1845
1925
John D Alverson
Pvt Co I 18 Ala Inf
Confederate States Army
1835 1925
John B. Rogers
Pvt Co I 9 Regt 7 Ala Cav
Confederate States Army
Dec 10 1845 Feb 3 1892
John Bell Rogers enlisted I. Captain A. Lea’s Company in Thomason’s Battalion of Alabama Calvary on August 30, 1862 in Head Springs, Alabama. In April of 1863 Thomason Battalion was consolidated with Malone Battalion of Calvary to form the 7th Alabama Calvary and the company became Company I of the regiment. Subsequently the 7th became the 9th Alabama Calvary (Malones). Thus the reason for the “Co. I 9 Regiment 7 Ala Cav” inscription.
In Chattanooga on November 27, 1862 Rogers was furloughed sick for 40 days. Sometime in early December of 1863 John B. Rogers crossed over to Union lines at Nashville, took the oath of allegiances at the military prison in Louisville, Kentucky. He was sent north of the Ohio River.
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for John B. Rogers, 9th Alabama Calvary (Malones), Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
AS Hairsten
Co G
44 Ga Inf
CSA
BC Campbell
Pvt Co K 3 Conf Cav
Confederate States Army
Nov 20 1843 Sep 15 1905
Thomas B Knight
Co F
35 Ga Inf
CSA
Mar 25 1839
Oct 2 1918
Francis M Taylor
Pvt. Co I
3 Conf Cav
Confederate States Army
Aug 24 1844 Oct 25 1918
Jacob Seaborn Keener
Pvt Co G 49 Ala Inf
Confederate States Army
May 31 1842 Mar 18 1908
David Washington Keener
Pvt. Co I
3 Conf Cav
Confederate States Army
Oct 20 1825 Nov 2 1910
James P Keener
Pvt Co I 3 Conf Cav
Confederate States Army
Dec 10 1844 Sep 24 1907
Pvt
Gabriel Hill
Co B 11Ala Inf
CSA
1836 1899
Pvt
James M Patrick
Co I
10 Ala Inf
CSA
1841 1888
Pvt James F. Bullard
Co I
10 Ala Inf
CSA
1843
1863
Private Bullard enlisted in Captain Abner Hughes' DeKalb County company in Gadsden on March 14, 1862 at age 19. He was present from the siege on Yorktown to the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. He was killed in battle at the Battle of Salem Church near Fredericksburg on May 3, 1863. The regiment lost 120 killed or wounded of 400 men taken into battle.
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for James F.W. Bullard, 10th Alabama Infantry and 19th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold, December 16, 2021, (http://www.fold3.com).
- Ancestry.com. Alabama, U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1860-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Citing Historical Record Roll data to Jan 1, 1865 Civil War Soldiers. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.
- Brewer, Willis. 1962. Brief Historical Sketches of Military Organizations Raised In Alabama During the Civil War : reproduced from Willis Brewer's Alabama: her history, resources, war record, and public men, from 1540 to 1872 (1872) Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Civil War Centennial Commission. Kindle Book
