The Alabama in the Civil War Message Board

Horse flies!

Hi all,

I was in Chattanooga this last week meeting with customers. My afternoon freed up on Thursday, so I made a quick trip to Stevenson and Bridgeport, AL to visit locations where my wife and my ancestors lived in the mid to late 1800's. It was a snap decision, so I hadn't made a lot of preparations with addresses, maps, etc., but it was interesting seeing the area and just getting a "lay of the land".

Here's my question. What's with the horse flies? In both Northwest Georgia, Southeast Tennessee and Northeast Alabama, whenever I got out of the cities, I ran into plagues of big, one-inch long, carnivorous horse flies. Is this something recent or is it always like this in this area in the countryside?

If so, did Civil War era writings comment on these horse flies? If so, they would have been a plague to the soldiers in camp and on the march, no less than swarms of mosquitoes.

While in Stevenson, AL, I got a quick look at Fort Harker. It's a small square fort with seven remains of gun emplacements. It occupies a hillock and the clear field of fire still exists around it. I was a little surprised at how small it was. I presume it had additional entrenchments surrounding for a larger force, as I would think with just this small fort, it would have been a real temptation to any sizable force.

My ancestors with the surname WILLOUGHBY were literally "blown out" of North Alabama (Jackson County), as both the father and oldest son in the family were casualties of the war and left a family with a wife, four daughters and a six-year old son. They had to be rescued by an uncle from Chattanooga, as they were left destitute, defenseless and the target of more than one visit by marauding Union foraging parties.

My wife had family in Bridgeport in the 1880's. Her gg-grandfather was a first sergeant in the 17th Virginia Infantry and post-war used his expertise as a blacksmith to gain employment with the railroad. His name was Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Field and the last place I can find him and his wife Georgianna HAYDEN Field is in Bridgeport in 1880. I am hoping to communicate with a local historian/genealogist to see if any of the family members are traceable to any of the local cemeteries or if any other records exist.

I repeat, "What is it with the horse flies?". ;-)

Jim

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