Thanks Bruce,

I was hoping you might respond to this posting, since I consider you THE expert for questions like this because of your "More Confederate Generals in Gray", a book I just love to thumb through when I have a few minutes to spare and just read the well-written and researched bios of some of the "lost" Generals of the Confederacy. I'm looking forward to your "Colonels" book, which must be an overwhelming undertaking. It's not a "big deal", but when I run/stumble across a high-ranking officer and brigade commander like Statham and can find so little about him online, it makes me want to collect a little info (with the help of my friends) and put it on places like Findagrave.Com, just so others can find it easily.

Got any idea why there is so little information available about him. On Ancestry.Com and other sources, I can't even find him in a family tree, much less find his date and place of birth, marriage, etc. With your help and "Deep South Gent", we'll have something online to remember this man.

I started to close, but almost as a "P.S." and to let other "Buffs" know they are not alone in their idiosyncrasies. Te reason I started hunting for more info on W.S. Statham is because, as a hobby or when I'm killing time, I take out a piece of paper and from memory write out the brigade-level order of battle, both North and South, for Gettysburg, Shiloh, etc. It's not enough for me to have the last or even the full name and middle initial, I want the full name including the middle name for my memory exercise. I know that might sound a little obsessive-compulsive, but it's something I enjoy and I believe it helps me with my memory generally. Just thought I'd reveal that, so anyone else who has this "sickness" won't feel like a complete nut.

Thanks,

Jim