William Mathews was a member of Captain Alexander Godwin's Campbellton Cavalry unit, raised during the summer of 1864 at Campbellton in Jackson County, Florida.

This was a "home guard" or militia company that was not associated with any regular units, although some of the men earlier served in other units.

They were called out on September 26, 1864, to oppose General Alexander Asboth's approaching Federal column and skirmished with the Union soldiers in and around Campbellton before falling back.

On September 27, 1864, they fought as part of the Confederate cavalry force during the Battle of Marianna, Florida. Mathews sustained minor wounds in the fighting and was taken prisoner by the Union force.

He was imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and eventually Elmira, New York, where he died on December 24, 1864. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira.

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