Head Springs Cemetery

Location:

US Highway 11

DeKalb County, Alabama

34.63360, -85.61330

Find A Grave Cemetery ID: 23331

Date of Visit: April 13, 2013

Moses C. Hengar

Corp Co F  7 Ala Cav

Confederate States Army

CW Patty

Corput’s Co 

Ga Lt Arty

Pvt

Richard Mahaffey

Co F

Malones

Ala Cav

CSA

1836

1863

The following is posted on Mahaffey’s Find a Grave memorial:

July 6, 1863 Richard Mahaffey died of Pycemia of Vaccination. Effects of deceased sodier ($43.50) turned over to Quartermaster, C.S.A. 1963 (Conf. Arch. Chap.10, File No. 21, pg.405). Name appeared on a list of sodiers killed in battle, or who died of wounds or disease, Certificate number 1679, "remarks" Q.M.R. (Conf. Arch., Chap. 10, File No. 2, pg.169). Measles and small pox killed many many soldiers, and the military vaccinated soldiers and civilians in mass in an effort to forstall an epidemic. Richard died from pyacemia, which is blood poisoning or general septicemia, resulting from the absorption of septic matter into the circulation. An ulcer developed from a measles vaccination. Vaccination material, live virus, was obtained from a blister on an individual with an active case of measles. If the amount given was too great, or if the sample taken was septic, the recipient could easily contract measles as well as blood poisoning. Richard developed an ulcer at the point of the vaccination, then measles, and, finally, blood poisoning according to the records. Imagine how he must have suffered for those 8 days in a hot, un-air conditioned hospital in the month of July at Tunnel Hill, Georgia! When I visited the site of the Tunnel Hill hospitals and the Tunnel during the annual reinactment, we saw photographs of the actual hospitals. "There were so many hospitals at the Tunnel Hill location," one observer said that "it looked like a city." "The Tunnel Hill location was an excellent site for the hospitals, because there was abundant fresh water from a spring on the site, the railroad provided easy transport of patients, and the mountain on the North side of the hospital provided protection from the enemy." The following from the Tunnel Hill Historical Foundation, the Daily Citizen. The Tunnel Hill Historical Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic sites in and around Tunnel Hill, GA. 138th Anniversary Reenactment, September 7-8, 2002, beginning on page 34. "... from the battlefields of Chickamauga, Ringold and the cemetery at Tunnel Hill. The following note was made on the lists that were kept as the soldiers remains were disinterred. 'They were buried at Tunnel Hill in the Citizens' Graveyard, about one mile from the village on the Cleveland wagon road. Thirteen of these were in the east part of the Graveyard commencing at the South end. Thirty-five were put in the cars for shipment from Ringgold last Wednesday and we suppose reached their destination before this. Ninety were placed in the cars at Tunnel Friday evening and will go forward Monday next.' The first three removals began in May 1867; the second, October, 1867 and the final removal concluded July 28, 1869. The firm of Scott & Lyle of Dalton was paid $1,427.70 for the removal and shipment of 1126 Confederate remains. They were received at the Confederate Memorial Cemetery in Marietta, GA, for re-burial and still rest there today. As a December 1999, sixty-seven names of soldiers removed from Tunnel Hill have been identified. Their names were gathered from several sources and are listed below" (Beginning with Alabama) Number 9. was - Mahaffey, Richard d: July 6, 1863 Pvt. Co. F 9th Ala Cav This information about the Tunnel Hill location, medical information, and military unit information was given to me by Marvin Sowder, a local historian at Tunnel Hill, Georgia.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15568401/richard-mahaffey: accessed 24 July 2022), memorial page for Richard Mahaffey (1836–1863), Find a Grave Memorial ID 15568401, citing Head Springs Cemetery, Valley Head, DeKalb County, Alabama, USA; Maintained by Evening Blues (contributor 46587085).

New Hope Baptist Church

Location:

State Road 129

Marion County, Alabama

N 34° 11.471   W087° 40.196

Find A Grave Cemetery ID: 24935

Date of Visit: August 26, 2012

John Green

Capt Co L

9 (Malone’s) Ala Cavalry

Confederate States Army

Apr 1827   Oct 8 1902

Bristow Cemetery

Location:

Alabama Highway 227/Duck Springs Road

Etowah County, Alabama

N 34° 11.888     W085° 57.343

Date of Visit: December 11, 2011

Daniel Fur

Pvt

Co E Ala Cav Res

Confederate States Army

1817    1879

Walter D. Furr

Pvt Co G 6 Ga Calvary

Confederate States Army

July 9 1845       May 9 1916

SO Reeves

Serg. Co I  9 Regt 7 Ala Cav

Confederate States Army

Apr 17 1830   May 22 1906

On August 30, 1862 Reeves enlisted in Captain Lea’s Company of Thomas’ Battalion of Calvary which became Company I of the 7^th Alabama Calvary. The 7^th was reorganized as Malones 9^th Alabama Calvary.

• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for S.O. Reeves, Malones 9^th Alabama Calvary, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (http://www.fold3.com).
• Sifakis, Stewart. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Alabama. Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books, 2007.

MP Waldrop

Pvt Co G 49 Ala Inf

Confederate States Army

Nov 4 1844     Mar 2 1911

Martin D Waldrop

Pvt Co K  3 Conf Cav

Confederate States Army

Nov 4 1844   Dec 6 1882

Thomas F. Smith

Ord Serg Co G. 49 Ala Inf

Confederate States Army

Jun 2 1833  Dec 17 1867

John F Sizemore

Lieut

Co F

9 Regt 7 Ala Cav

Oct 10 1827   Oct 20 1875

On September 21, 1862 Sizemore enlisted in as 3^rd Lieutenant  in Captain Davenport’s  Company of Thomas’ Battalion of Calvary which became Company F of the 7^th Alabama Calvary. The 7^th was reorganized as Malones 9^th Alabama Calvary. He resigned by recommendation of Colonel Malone in lieu of facing a Board of Examiners for incompetence.

• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, entry for John F. Sizemore, Malones 9^th Alabama Calvary, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (http://www.fold3.com).

Jasper Waldrop

Pvt Co G. 49 Ala Inf

Confederate States Army

Jun 24 1839   Mar 11 1901

Rev Alfred W Mintz

Pvt Co A

Cobbs Legion Ga Cav

1844   1915

CSA

Pvt Elisha T. Bristow

Co B

48 Ala Inf

CSA

1818

1863

Elisha Bristow was the son of the noted Methodist preacher Warrick Brister who settled in Blout County, Alabama in the early 1800’s. He contracted pneumonia and died at the American Hotel Hospital in Staunton, Virginia on November 21, 1862.

• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, entry for E.T. Bristow, 48^th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (http://www.fold3.com).
• West, Anson. A History of Methodism in Alabama. Nashville, Tennessee, Methodist Episcopal Church South, 1893. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/26434/.

Edwards Brothers

Francis Marion Edwards

Co E

12 Ala Inf

1840    1862

Serg

Charles P Edwards

Co C

24 Bn Ala Cav

1839

1862

Their Confederate headstones set at right angles to the tombstone of John and Arnette Edwards.  Census records indicate that Francis Marion Edwards and Charles Pickney Edwards were sons of John and Nettie Edwards.

Francis enlisted in Richmond, Virginia on July 20, 1861. In September he was admitted to a General Hospital in Culpeper Court House, Virginia. He died in Richmond in 1862.

There is no record of a Pickney Edwards in the 24^th Battalion of Alabama Cavalry. A Charles B. Edwards enlisted in Company C in 1863 and was absent without leave in 1864. A Sargent Pickney Edwards enlisted Janurary13, 1862 in Captain Edwards Company that became Company G 49^th Alabama Infantry. This sergeant Edwards died of unknown reason February 25, 1862.

I believe the headstones are cenotaphs.

• 1850 U.S. Census, Alabama, DeKalb County, Population Schedule, Enumeration District : Division 25, p.366B, dwelling 560, family 560, John Edwards: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 16 Feb 2020);  image 69, NARA Roll M432_5
• 1860 U.S. Census, DeKalb County, Alabama, Population Schedule, Census Place: Division 2, Post Office: Lebanon, p.133, dwelling 296, family 303, John Edwards: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 17 Feb 2020),  NARA Roll M653_9, Family History Library Film: 803009.
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for Francis Marion Edwards, 12 Ala Infantry,  Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (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 Charles Edwards, 24^th Alabama Calvary Battalion, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (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 Pinkney Edwards, 49^th Alabama Infrantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (http://www.fold3.com)

Dalrymple Brothers

Pvt

John D Dalrymple

Co G

49 Ala Inf

CSA

1932

1862

Pvt. Berry H. Dalrymple

Co G

49 Ala Inf

1831

1862

Pvt

Leuda Dalrymple

Co G

49 Ala Inf

CSA

1838

1862

Berry H. and John Drayton Edwards were two sons of Henry Hitt and Hannah Dalrymple. Henry was dead by the time of war, but Hannah lived to see her sons go off to war and not return. John and Berry markers are side by side in the cemetery.

John and Berry enlisted in Captain Jeptha Edwards Dekalb County Company that became Company G of the 49^th Alabama. Berry enlisted on February 10, 1862 and it is thought that his brother followed suit.  March was a time of sickness and both brothers contracted measles and died. Berry died on March 24 and John died on March 23^rd or 24^th. A Captain Beason reported that their personal affects were sent to their wives – Nancy, the wife of Berry and Elizabeth, the wife of John.

Leuda Dalrymple is also buried at Bristow Cemetery. He is identified as a brother of John and Berry in an unsourced family tree at Ancestry. He does not appear in census records for this family or in DeKalb County, Alabama. Louda enlisted in Captain Jeptha Edwards company of volunteers on January 13, 1862. This company became Company G of the 49^th Alabama. was killed at Shiloh on April 7, 1862. Captain Beeson stated that the body and personal effects fell into the hands of the enemy. A wife, Maranda, applied for any due pay in 1862.

• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, Entry for John D. Dalrymple, 49^th Alabama Infantry,  Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (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 Berry H. Dalrymple, 49^th Alabama Infantry,  Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (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 Leuda Dalrymple, 49^th Alabama Infantry,  Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (http://www.fold3.com).
• 1850 U.S. Census, Alabama, DeKalb County, Population Schedule, Enumeration District : Division 25, p.359A, dwelling 452, family 452, Henry Dalrymple: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 16 Feb 2020);  image 74, NARA Roll M432_5.

Coats Brothers

Pvt

Terrell Jehu Coats

Co I

10 Ala Inf

CSA

1835

1864

Corp

William S Coats

Co I

10 Ala Inf

CSA

1830

1864

Pvt John S Coats

Co I

10 Ala Inf

CSA

1837

1862

Serg

James A Coats

Co G

49 Ala Inf

CSA

1939

4-1-1862

Shiloh

In Bristow Cemetery there are Confederate headstones for John S. Coats, James A. Coats, Terrel J. Coats, and William S. Coats. The headstones for John, Terrel, and William are side by side suggesting some relationship. I do not have a picture of James’ headstone. A Find a Grave memorial for James was added in 2013. The headstone pictured in his memorial appears to be which leads me to believe that it was added since my visit in 2011.  It is clear from census records that James, John, and Terrell Coats are sons of Jehu and Mary Coats. I cannot find any records linking William to the family.

Terell enlisted March 1, 1862. He was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital Number 1 in Richmond on August 30, 1862. This illness resulted in a 35 day furlough. He would eventually return to duty. In May of 1863 he was in the Pratt Hospital in Lynchburg, Virginia.  He was able to return to duty again, however he would get sick one more time. He was admitted to Howards Grove Hospital in Richmond on June 13 with rubeola and typhoid fever and died June 20, 1864.

William enlisted in Montgomery on June 4, 1861. He was in Chimborazo Hospital Number 3 for illness in May of 1862. In the summer of 1864, he was reported missing since May 12, 1864 and presumed dead. In May the 10^th Alabama was involved in the battles around Spotsylvania Court House and was in action on 12^th of May.

John enlisted June 4, 1861. He was admitted to the Chimborazo Hospital Number 3 May 17 sick with pneumonia. He died June 15, 1862.

James enlisted January 13, 1862 in Captain Edwards Dekalb County company. James was killed at Shiloh on April 6, 1862.

• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama. Original data from: The National Archives, entry for James A Coats, 49^th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (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 S. Coats, 10th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (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 Terrel Jehu Coats, 10th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (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 John S. Coats, 10th Alabama Infantry, Retrieved from at 3-Fold February 17, 2020 (http://www.fold3.com).
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 February 2020), memorial page for Sgt James A Coats (1839–1 Apr 1862), Find A Grave Memorial no. 102958049, citing Bristow Cemetery, Duck Springs, Etowah County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by Maria Gilliland (Headstone Hunter) (contributor 47958320) .
• 1850 U.S. Census, Alabama, DeKalb County, Population Schedule, Enumeration District : Division 25, p.351A, dwelling 345, family 345, Jehu Coats: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 16 Feb 2020);  image 58, NARA Roll M432_5.
• 1860 U.S. Census, DeKalb County, Alabama, Population Schedule, Census Place: Division 3, Post Office: Duck Springs, p.133, dwelling 19, family 19, Mary Coates: digital images, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com:accessed 17 Feb 2020),  NARA Roll M653_9, Family History Library Film: 803009.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Alabama. Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books, 2007.