The Men and their Stories

1^st Company, Richmond Howitzers
 

The Men and Their Stories

Edward Stephens MCCARTHY

McCARTHY, Edward Stephens ("NED"): b. Richmond 2/21/36; enl. 4/21/61 at Richmond; Pvt., 1st Co. Elected 2nd Lt. 5/ 10/61. Prom. 1st Lt. 11/17/61. Prom. Capl. 4/21/64. Killed 6/4/64 near Cold Harbor. Bur. Shockoe Hill Cem., Richmond. Thomas J. Macon: "He was possessed of a most decided personality; he was rather stout in figure, with a large, full face, piercing eyes, and in manner rather inclined to be reticent in speech; but he had a heart as large as a barn door, was sympathetic with all who needed a friend and as brave as Marshall Ney. Careful of his men under fire, never seeking his own protection, even under the most trying ordeal of a very severe fire from the enemy's guns, such was the character of Captain Edward S. McCarthy."

William Meade DAME

DAME, William Meade: b. Danville, 12/17/44; ed. Danville Military Acad. Enl. 10/17/62, at Brandy Stn. Paroled, 4/11-21/65, at Farmville. Baggage master, Richmond & Danville Railroad; taught school; grad., Epis. Theological Sem., Alexandria, 1869. Rector, at Norfolk, Alexandria, Baltimore. Mbr. Richmond Howitzer Assn. Mbr. Society of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States, in the State of Maryland. Auth., The Rapidan To Richmond (1920). Died 1/27/1923.

Frederick William Nicholls CROUCH

CROUCH, Frederick William Nicholas: b. London, 7/31/08; musician, sailor; teacher, singer, composer of "Kathleen Mavoureen," Emigrated to U.S. 1849, res. New York, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia, Richmond. Enl. 4/19/61 at Richmond; Pvt., Co. A (Richmond Grays), 1st Regt. Va. lnt. (redesig. Co. G, 12th Regt. Va. lnt.) Dischd., 7/6/61. Enl. 11/12/61 at Leesburg; Pvt., 1st Co. Richmond Howitzers; substitute for Joseph Seay. Apptd. Bugler. In service thru Dec. 1864. At the dose of the war, The State (Richmond), 4/11/86, reported: "his figure in a shabby gray artillery jacket with red facings was a familiar one on our streets." Crouch taught music in Richmond, and, after 1871, in Baltimore. Said to have been a "varnisher" in a Baltimore chair factory in his last days, living in poverty. Died 8/18/96, while on a visit to Portland, Me. Bur. Loudon Cem., Baltimore.

Robert Augustus STILES

STILES, Robert Augustus: b. Woodford Co. , Ky. 6/27i36, son of Rev. Joseph Clay Stiles. Grad. Yale College, 1859. Attended Columbia Law School, New York City, 1860. res. Richmond, 1861. Enl. 7/22/61 at Manassas; Pvt., 1st Co. Richmond Howitzers. Actg. Lt. & Adjt., Cabell's Bn. Va. Arty., 1863-1864. Held unconfirmed commission as 1st Lt. Engrs., but remained on duty with' the arty. corps, pending the appointment in the engineers. His commission as 1st Lt., 1st Regt. Confederate Engineers was confirmed 1/12/65, but on 1/13, he was appointed Major, with confirmation, and assumed command at Chaffin's Bluff. Captured at Saylor's Creek 4/6/65, he was sent to Johnson's Island, Ohio, and to Ft. Lafayette. He refused to take the oath and was held a prisoner until 1 0/21/65 when he signed the oath, with his fingers crossed. Studied law at U.Va., and in 1867, opened his practice in Richmond. Mbr. Richmond Howitzer Assn. Mbr. R. E. Lee Camp, No.1, C.V. Prominent speaker and participant in veterans' parades and ceremonies. Auth., Four Years Under Marse Robert(1905). Died 10/5/1905. Burial in Hollywood Cemetery.

Charles CAMM

CAMM, Charles: enl. April 1863, at Fredericksburg; Pvt., 1st Co. Wded., captured, 7/4/63, at Gettysburg; sent to Letterman Gen. Hosp., and sent to U.S. Gen. Hosp., West Bldgs., Baltimore. On roll of paroled and exchanged prisoners at Camp Lee, Richmond; 9/29/63. In Gen. Hosp., Petersburg, acute diarrhea, Aug. 1864.

Alan MORTON

MORTON, Allan: age 20; enl. 4/21/61 at Richmond; Pvt., 1st Co. Apptd. Cpl. 12/23/62. Died of wounds at Gettysburg 7/3/63. Reinterred at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond 12/18/66.

John Esten COOKE

COOKE, John Esten: b. Winchester, 11/31/30; lawyer, 1851, Richmond; historian, author. Pvt., Howitzer Co., 1859. Enl. 4/21/61, at Richmond; Sgt., 1st Co. Dischd. 1/31/62. Apptd. 5/19/62, 1st Lt. of Arty.; assd. 8/8/62, to staff, Brig. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. Apptd. Capt. of Arty.; assd. to staff, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. Assd. Chief of Ordnance, Stuart's Cav. Div. Apptd., 1864, Capl. & A.I.G., Arty. Corps, Army of No. Va. Paroled, Appomattox C.H., 4/9/65. Auth., Life of Stonewall Jackson (1863), Surry of Eagle's Nest(1866), Mohun (1869), Wearing of the Gray(1867), Life of General Robert E. Lee (1871); Died 9/27/86, at "The Briars," in Clarke Co.

John Joseph BOWEN

BOWEN, John Joseph ("JOE"): age 21; enl. 4/21/61, at Richmond; Pvt., 1st Co. On sick furlough, Aug. 1862-Feb. 1863. Absent, Nov.-Dec. 1864. Polk Miller, 7/24/1901, wrote from Los Angeles: "I met Joe Bowen, an old First Howitzer boy, who has a large business in Portland, and as usual with Virginians, he still loves his Mother state, and would like to 'come back some day:" Mbr. Tatum & Bowen, logging machinery, pumps, saws, etc.; in Portland, Oreg. directories, 1899-1912. Auth., The Strategy of Robert E. Lee (1914).

William Savage MOORE

MOORE, William Savage: Henrico Co.; age 16; enl. Capt. W. W. Parker's Co. Va. Light Arty. Dischd. for disability 12/10/62. Enl. 1864(?); Pvt., 1st Co. Transf. 3/21/65, to Co. I, 15th Regt. Va. Nil., Capt. Prison records carry him with the rank of 2nd Lt. and Capt., and indicate he was wded. in left arm, and captured 4/3/65, and sent to U.S. hosp., Washington, D.C. Released 6/6/65, age 19.

John Camden SHIELDS

SHIELDS, John Camden: b. Riverside Farm, Rockbridge Co. 8/10/20. Publisher, Lynchburg Virginian. Capt. Lynchburg Mechanics' Artillery. Ed. and part owner, Richmond Whig. Major, Va. Militia. Pvt., Company F, 1st Regt. Va. Vols., Richmond, June 1859. Elected 12/1/59, 1st Lt., Howitzer Co., 1st Regt. Va. Vols. Enl. 4/21/61, at Richmond; 1st Lt., Howitzer Co. Elected 5/10/61, Capt., 1st Co., Richmond Howitzers. Transf., and assd. to Camp of Instruction, Camp Lee, Richmond. Apptd. 6/20/62 Lt. Col., Provo Army, C.S., and Commandant of Conscripts for the State of Virginia. Apptd. Colonel 11/13/62. Commandant of the Post at Camp of Instruction, Camp Lee, 1862-1865. Granted a full pardon , and amnesty by Pres. Andrew Johnson 10/6/65. Took the Oath of Amnesty, Richmond 12/20/65. Published Richmond Whig, 1871-1875. Mbr. Richmond Howitzer Assn. Retired and farmed, Rockbridge Co. Mbr. Board of Visitors, V.M.I., 1874-1876. Died at his home, Riverside, Rockbridge Co. 6/30/1904. Bur. Stonewall Jackson Cem., Lexington.

John Van Lew MCCREERY

McCREERY, John Van Lew ("VAN"): age 23; enl. 4/21/61 at Richmond; Pvt., 1st Co. Prom. Cpl., Sgt., 1862. Paroled at Richmond 4/18/65. In hardware business after the war. Mbr. Richmond Howitzer Assn. Mbr. R. E. Lee Camp No.1, C.V. Author., "That Hog Hole," Pamphlet No.4, Contributions To A History of The Richmond Howitzer Battalion (1886). Wrote newspaper articles about the Howitzers. Auth., Recollections, 1862-1863, in Va. Historical Society collections. Died 1/30/ 1904. Bur. Hollywood Cem.

James Burwell FICKLEN

FICKLEN, James Burwell was born at 'Bellville,' near Winchester, Virginia, October 1. 1831. His father died when he was eleven years of age, whereupon he and his widowed mother and several sisters moved to Winchester. He was first employed at the dry goods house of John Sherrard. He displayed rare business talent and was a zealous student of literature. In 1850 he moved to Fredericksberg and became a member of the dry goods firm of Ficklen, Halmer & Wallace. Continuing in this prosperous business till 1855, when seeking a larger field, he established in Richmond the dry goods firm of Ficklen & Watkins, which continued till the outbreak of the Civil War. July 11, 1860, he married Miss Fannie A. Pannill of Pittsylvania county, Virginia. He was on duty at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown during the raid and capture of John Brown. In 1863 he purchased a large plantation on James River in Buckingham county, known as the 'Red House Plantation,' and was detailed to raise supplies for the Confederacy.

Robert William Royall

 
1842, Born in Richmond, VA. 1859, Moved to Covington, KY with parents. Enlisted on Oct 15 1861 at Leesburg, VA as Private 1st Company, Richmond Howitzers LA. 1862, due to ill health, applied for a less rigorous position than artillery service and detailed as Clerk in Treasury Department, Richmond, VA. Promoted to 2nd Lieut to be assigned to Ordnance duty and a cadetship in the Regular army. Postwar worked as a bookkeeper in Richmond, VA and then worked at Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad for 28 years. Died on Apr 8 1928 at Richmond, VA and is buried at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA.