Desire assistance in determining how many and which units William Barwell Hughes served in so that ALL of his CSA records can be ordered.

I have known some data about Capt. William Barwell Hughes since the late ‘60s; however, I have only recently tried to pull my data together in an effort to assist another researcher. I knew he was a captain in the Civil War and had served at Fort Morgan.

1) My mother-in-law gave me a copy of the Port of Mobile.

”Tecumseh To Be Raised”, Port of Mobile, August 1969, p. 21, quotes part of a diary entry published in an August 6, 1864 Mobile newspaper:

“Two cannonball holes were also found, apparently from the guns of a water battery , validating the account in a diary which was published in a Mobile newspaper August 6, 1864, the day after the Battle of Mobile Bay: ‘In front westward rode the Tecumseh, vomiting fire through 8 apertures constantly revolving. On her left, a large sized frigate, and in their wake the balance of the fleet, each succeeding file covering in part that which preceded it…Yet, the long line slowly advances, and as the first file is entering the channel, our fire concentrates on the monster monitor Tecumseh which, steering off westward, bravely stands the shock, till suddenly and just as Captain Hughes has sent her amidships one of her heaviest shots, she disappears as by magic from the broad bosom of the waters, engulfed in a whirlpool…[to] a grave from which none will rise, till a just and avenging God shall call them up to be doomed to the still more frightening and everlasting punishment reserved for the murderers of public peace and domestic happiness.’

“Captain W. B. Hughes, for whom the firing water battery was later honorarily named,….”

4) A family genealogy published in 1907 indicates the following:
”In 1861 he was first made Serg. Maj. of Lomax' regiment of infantry and sent to Pensacola, Fla.; and soon thereafter he served at Mt. Vernon, before Washington, and in the forts at the entrance of Mobile Bay. In 1863 he was made Captain of Battery A., and during the siege of Fort Morgan the following year greatly distinguished himself for the skill with which he handled his battery. The fort capitulated and Capt. Hughes remained a prisoner until after the close of the war….”

No sources cited by the author/compiler.

5) On September 7, 2001, Dr. Ken Jones kindly sent me 1st Battalion, Alabama Artillery Muster Roll, which shows:
*Co. "A" (Montgomery, Mobile Counties); HUGHES, William B., Capt. (promoted from Lt., Co. "B")
*Co. "B" (Greene, Barbour, and Macon Counties); HUGHES, William B., 1st Lt. (from Co. "C"; promoted, Capt., Co. "A")
*Co. "C" (Perry County); HUGHES, William B., Capt. (transferred to Co. "B")

6) A fellow researcher has an obit that includes the following:
“When the war broke out he joined the Montgomery True Blues as first lieutenant, and went to Pensacola. At Pensacola he received his commission of First Lieutenant in the regular army, and was ordered to Fort Morgan and then promoted captain. He was captured there and sent to Fort Lafayette, and afterwards to Fort Warren, in Boston harbor.”

7) The fellow researcher also sent information from The Confederate Veteran Magazine, 1902
which includes the following:
”Her crew were heartily aided by the men of the Gaines, and a detachment of soldiers from the fort under
Captains William B. Hughes and Cochran.”

8) The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 39, p. 440

“The report now made to me was that the casemates, which had been rendered as safe as possible for the
men, some had been breached, others partially (Captains Johnston, Fisher, and Hughes informed me that another shot on them would bring down the walls of their company quarters) , so that a resumption of the severe fire from the enemy would in all likelihood inflict great loss of life, there being no bomb-proof in the fort.”
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Would like to know if Capt. Hughes was indeed a captain in company C, as well as A. Seems a little
strange to me that he would have been captain, 1st Lt., and then captain again, but I know a lot of strange
things happened during this war.

So far it seems W. B. Hughes served in at least three companies A, B, and C., 1st Battalion, Alabama Artillery. Both the obit and the family genealogy seem to indicate service in other units as well.

Regarding the family genealogy: I tried to locate mention of Lomax’s regiment of infantry without
much success. I located a Lt. Col. Tennant Lomax in the 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment, which was
organized in Montgomery in April, 1861, per Dr. Jones’ website, but those folks went to VA.
However, Dr. Jones indicates: “Co. "G", Montgomery Free Blues (Montgomery): William G. Andrews (resigned, 13 Aug 61) [Part of this company transferred to artillery at the end of 1 year; apparently part of Co. "H" was transferred to fill this vacancy in Co. "G"].“ Is it possible that W. B. Hughes was in that part of the company that transferred to the artillery? Is the unit referenced in the obit “Montgomery True Blues” the same as “Montgomery Free Blues”? And/or did Lomax’s regiment of infantry have something to do with “Camp LOMAX, near Pensacola, FL? (2nd Cav)” referenced in Dr. Jones’ message of September 2000? W. B. Hughes’ name does not appear on the muster of the 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment that Dr. Jones kindly sent to me.

The family genealogy indicates W. B. Hughes went to Pensacola and then Mt. Vernon. Was
he there when the Federal Arsenal at Mt. Vernon was seized? What unit(s) were responsible for
taking the arsenal? Does this relate to Alan’s and Hayes’ April 2001 messages regarding
the Alabama Volunteer Corps, especially since the obit indicates he was 1st Lt. in the Montgomery True Blues and then mention is made that he was commissioned in “the regular army”.

W. B. Hughes’ presence and service at Fort Morgan seems readily verifiable. What about the balance?

Any and all assistance much appreciated!

Margaret