96) Private Elliott BATSON - Inscription on tombstone #1647 reads “Errin Batson Co. C 16 S.C. REG. C.S.A.” Taken prisoner as a result of the battle of Nashville, Tennessee. Each and every man who was in the war should have a paper trail. Tombstone #1647 should belong to Private Elliott Batson of Company K 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry aka the Greenville Regiment and not to Ervin or Irvin Batson of Company C 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry. These were two separate soldiers living in two separate households with two separate enlistment dates and in two separate companies with two separate birth years. The following obituary of Corporal Irvin Batson was prepared by his wife and was provided by Dr. Ron Bridwell of the University of South Carolina. “After a painful illness of several weeks. Ervin Batson, a loyal soldier passed away at his home in Greenville Co, S.C. He was a son of Lewis and Elizabeth Batson and was the youngest child of eleven. He was born on Paris Mountain, S.C. Feb. 13, 1843 and died 3 of March 1915. On the 15 day of Oct 1861 he enlisted in Company C 16 S.C. regiment in Gen Guess battalion under Capt. T.G. Croft at Piney Mountain, S.C. and served in that command until the first day of Sep. 1864 and at that time was a member of Company C 16 S.C. under Capt T.G Croft. While in such service on the first day of Sep. 1864 at Lovejoy Georgia he was wounded and lost his right leg. In 1860 he was married to Mrs. Catherine Pool, and of their union nine children were born six of whom are now living. His second wife was Mrs. Nora Seruton (copied as written) who survives him. They were married in July 1905. He was a good citizen and a consistent member of The Baptist Church. His battle is over he wears the crown.” The obituary was written by Nora Batson. The United States Government not only misspelled the wrong soldier’s given name but also his rank and he magically appears on tombstone #1647 at the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery without any prison transfers or mention of him ever taken prisoner. Sonya Eason of the UDC Martha Reid Chapter recently found Irvin Batson's death certificate. It is the compilers opinion his correct name was Irvin Batson as that is what is on his tombstone in Greenville, South Carolina as opposed to newspaper obituaries or Confederate Compiled Military Service Records who reported his given name as Ervin. The 1850 United States census listed “Ervin Batson living in Greenville, South Carolina and in the household of Lewis and Elizabeth Batson and listed his age as 8, born about 1842.” The National Grave Locator as used in conjunction with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs listed the soldier as “Errin Batson a private in the Confederate Army and who died on March 13, 1865 and buried at Camp Chase in grave #1647.” While the National Cemetery Administration reports the soldier being Errin Batson of Company C 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry it may pay for them to look at the photograph of the tombstone for Irvin Batson on Find-A-Grave memorial #106870069. Confederate Compiled Military Service Records reported “Elliott Batson enlisting on September 6, 1862 at Greenville, South Carolina in Company K 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry.” The 1850 United States census listed “Elliott Batson living in the household of Hezkiah (Hezekiah) and Lucy Batson and living in Greenville, South Carolina and listed Elliott’s age as 23, born about 1827” and mentioned his “occupation as a laborer.” The 1860 United States census listed “E. Batson living by himself at Paris Mountain, South Carolina with the nearest Post Office as Greenville and listed his age as 33 and born about 1827” and mentioned his “occupation as a farmer.” In September of 1864, shortly after the official date of the Atlanta Campaign, General Hood of the Confederate Army purposed to General Sherman of the United States Army that an exchange of prisoners could be made, this at a time when the Dix-Hill Cartel agreement was nearly idle. General Hood wanted to include those prisoners at Camp Sumter, also known as Andersonville in the exchange but General Sherman insisted that only able bodied soldiers be exchanged. The exchange took place on September 19, and 22, 1864 and involved nearly 2,000 soldiers, as we shall see Private Elliott Batson was among those exchanged. The exchanged prisoners went immediately back into their respective armies. Federal POW records reported “Private Elliott Batson of Company K 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry taken prisoner on September 2, 1864 near Jonesboro, Georgia and his name appears of a roll of prisoners of war exchanged by order of Major General W. T. Sherman, Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi, at Rough and Ready, Georgia, September 19th and 22nd 1864.” Almost at this exact same time Corporal Irvin Batson of Company C 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry whom the National Cemetery Administration claims to be buried in grave #1647 had “his right leg amputated and was recovering at the Ocmulgee hospital in Macon, Georgia” well behind Confederate lines as documented on his Confederate Compiled Military Service Records on http://www.fold3.com on pages 15 and 16. Federal POW records reported “Private Elliott Batson of Company K 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry taken prisoner again on December 17, 1864 at Franklin, Tennessee” due to the battle of Nashville, Tennessee. The battle of Nashville, Tennessee fought on December 15th and 16th 1864 was a decisive Union victory and left the Confederate Army of Tennessee in disarray. Using the Confederate Order of Battle at Nashville, the “16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry was part of General Cheatham’s Corps.” The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion reported the following in the itinerary of Cheatham’s Army Corps Series I Volume XLV/1 (S#93) “Thursday and Friday, December 15 and 16.- The battle of Nashville, followed by our retreat. On the night of the 16th we reached Franklin. (Tennessee) Saturday December 17.- We continued our retreat and reached the vicinity of Spring Hill that night.” According Wikipedia “Battle of Franklin 1864” “The Union wounded had been left behind in Franklin. (After the battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864) Many of the prisoners, including all captured wounded and medical personnel, were recovered on December 18 when Union forces re-entered Franklin in pursuit of Hood.” Federal POW records reported “Private Elliott Batson of Company K 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry was forwarded to Nashville, Tennessee where he was admitted to the United States General Hospital on December 28, 1864 and then transferred to the Provost Marshal on January 10, 1865 and reported his age as 38,” born about 1827 which refers back to his year of birth on his 1850 and 1860 United States census reports. Federal POW records reported him “forwarded to Louisville, Kentucky, where he arrived on January 12, 1865” and finally “transferred to Camp Chase where he arrived on January 15, 1865.” Federal POW records reported “Private Elliott Batson’s death due to pneumonia on March 13, 1865 and reported him in Company K 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry and reported him buried in grave #1647” as found on his records at http://www.fold3.com on page number 11. How the United States government misidentified this soldier for nearly 150 years is not known. According to the 1850 and 1860 United States slave schedules Elliott Batson owned no slaves.