Hello Mr. Kemp, Perhaps the most knowledgeable gentleman on the 3rd Maryland Cavalry is Hugh Simmons of the Fort Delaware Society in my opinion and this is his email address. heyhugh@rhsresearch.org

A few years ago I took a year off from Camp Chase and researched the former Confederate soldiers who enlisted in the 3rd Maryland Cavalry and donated my work to the Fort Delaware Society and my understanding is they have it on file.

The following is the mini biography I did for the soldier Hugh Clemons:

"#76) CLEMONS, Hugh - A former Confederate with Company C 26th Regiment, Georgia Infantry. He was with Ewell's Corps; Early's Division; Gordon's Brigade at the Gettysburg Campaign. (June 3 - July 24, 1863)

Confederate CMSR's reported him enlisting on February 18, 1862 at Brunswick, Georgia for a period of one year and was wounded during the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Federal POW records stated he turned himself in at Hanover, Pennsylvania. Federal POW records reported him as a prisoner during the Gettysburg Campaign and among a list of captured Confederate soldiers who were desirous of joining the Union Army dated August 30, 1863 at Fort Delaware and transferred to the 3rd Maryland Cavalry and told Union authorities he had been conscripted into the Confederate Army and had been born in Vermont.

Hugh Clemons became a Union volunteer on September 18, 1863 at Fort Delaware and was mustered into U. S. government service with Company E, 3rd Maryland Cavalry on September 23, 1863 at Baltimore. He told Federal authorities that he was 21 years of age, born in Rutland County, Vermont, and a cooper prior to the war. Federal enrollment officers described him as having blue eyes, brown hair, a light complexion and standing 5 feet 5 inches tall. He signed his name “Hugh Clemons”. His sworn declaration of recruit paper and volunteer oath of enlistment paper are located in his 3rd Maryland Cavalry CMSR's.

3rd Maryland Cavalry CMSR's reflected he had a good service record with the regiment and was discharged on September 7, 1865 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. (Note: According to the History and roster of Maryland Volunteers, War 1861-5 prepared by under the authority of the General Assembly of Maryland his name his carried on the roster of Company E on the 3rd Maryland Cavalry and listed as being discharged on September 7, 1865)

He filed for a Federal pension on October 27, 1888 using Company E 3rd Maryland Cavalry as his unit. His widow filed a pension on June 4, 1910. Pension records stated he died on May 28, 1910.

Find-A-Grave memorial #101197606 confirms his death date and states he was born on July 31, 1842. He has an obituary on the Find-A-Grave site that states he went to Georgia in 1858 and was forced into the Confederate Army."

Mr. Kemp, Hugh Clemons has always been a bit of a mystery to me as to why he enlisted in the Confederate Army and why he went to Georgia in the first place.

The 1850 United States census listed Hugh Clemons born about 1843 in New York, (I believe this was in error and should have been Vermont) and living in the town of Luzerne, New York located in Warren County.

Did not see a sister of Hugh Clemons as living in Georgia although it may have been so.

The 1860 United States census listed Hugh Clemons, born about 1842 in Vermont and living with the Thompson family and noted his occupation as a hired hand. He was living in the Georgia Militia District 663 in Lowndes County, Georgia and the nearest Post Office was reported as Valdosta.

Mr. Clemons certainly would have known about the approaching war clouds yet decided to stay in Georgia.

Georgia left the Union on January 9, 1861.

According to his Compiled Military Service Records he enlisted on February 18, 1861 for 12 months.

The first Confederate draft occurred on April 16, 1862 drafting men from the ages of 18-35. Also the Confederates who had volunteered prior to this date saw their original 12 months of service automatically extended for three years or the duration of the war. Many Confederates did not like the idea of volunteering and then being considered as conscripted by the Confederate government. This may be why Hugh Clemons said at Fort Delaware that he was conscripted into the Confederate Army.

I do not believe that Hugh Clemons was "pressed into Confederate service" because of his pre April 16, 1862 enlistment. Perhaps peer pressure but not conscripted or pressed into Confederate service because of his enlistment date.

After being wounded in December 1862 Private Hugh Clemons was given a furlough. It would appear he could have deserted a number of times but did not do so under shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg. Then again a soldier may have thought twice about deserting especially being born in the North.

It almost appears that Hugh Clemons was embarrassed about being in the Confederate Army after the war. Perhaps he did this to be eligible for his Union pension.

The following is what the National Park Service offered about the 26th Georgia Infantry:

26th Infantry Regiment [also called 13th Regiment] completed its organization in October, 1861, at Brunswick, Georgia. Its companies were recruited in the counties of Charlton, Berrien, Glynn, Twiggs, Clinch, Ware, Coffee, and Wayne. After serving in the Department of Georgia at St. Simons Island and Savannah, the unit moved to Virginia where it was brigaded under Generals Lawton, John B. Gordon, and C.A. Evans. The 26th participated in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, fought with Early in the Shenandoah Valley, and ended the war at Appomattox. This regiment came to Virginia with 1,100 officers and men, lost 37 killed and 87 wounded at Second Manassas, and reported 6 killed, 49 wounded, and 6 missing at Sharpsburg. It had 53 casualties at Fredericksburg and 12 at Second Winchester. The unit was detached from its brigade to support the artillery at Gettysburg and lost few casualties. On April 9, 1865, it surrendered 85 men, of which 4 officers and 34 men were armed. The field officers were Colonels Edmund N. Atkinson and Carey W. Styles; Lieutenant Colonels James S. Blain, Eli S. Griffin, William A. Lane, and William A. McDonald; and Majors Thomas N. Gardner and B.F. Grace.

While researching the 3rd Maryland Cavalry an interesting bizarre twist of fate occurred involving Hugh Clemons. As we know Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton surrendered to General Grant on July 4, 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. John C. Pemberton had been born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and married a Southern lady and enlisted in the Confederate Army. A younger brother Andrew J. Pemberton elected to join the Union Army. Those former Confederates who were desirous of joining the Union Army at Fort Delaware were held in a separate pen. There were four companies originally in the 3rd Maryland Cavalry who were mostly former Confederates, Companies D E F and G although later on in the war the four companies were consolidated into two companies. Each potential company of former Confederates had a recruiting officer. Hugh Clemons recruiting officer and the recruiting officer for Company E of the 3rd Maryland Cavalry was then lieutenant Andrew J. Pemberton the brother of the famous Vicksburg defender.

A little bit of everything occurred with the former Confederates of the 3rd Maryland Cavalry. A select few were not former Confederates at all but rather Union deserters at Gettysburg this being confirmed by pulling their pension records at the NARA in Washington, D.C. Two former Confederates with the 42nd Tennessee deserted at Port Hudson but were captured on the Natchez Trail in Mississippi and they claimed to be Union deserters from the Union ironclad ship Essex. When being paroled they told their story and enlisted in the 3rd Maryland Cavalry. I wrote an article about it for the Fort Delaware Society Magazine some time back.

Only one former Confederate with the 3rd Maryland Cavalry, George McDonald met his fate with a firing squad and he had been born in Illinois and was a former Confederate in a Kentucky unit. His mistake was firing upon those who were arresting him for desertion.

And one former Confederate with the 3rd Maryland Cavalry went back to Georgia after the war and was recognized for who he was a Confederate deserter and told his days on earth were numbered. In late November 1866 in Dawson, Georgia a former Confederate sergeant in the 5th Georgia went looking for him. The galvanized Yankee shot first and killed the sergeant. A trail was held and the former Confederate and galvanized Yankee Mr. Brewer, was found not guilty of murder.

If I ever write a book it would probably be about the 3rd Maryland Cavalry. In my opinion it was the most interesting units of the entire war.

I may have Hugh Clemons pension records but if I do they are with hundreds of flash drives and I did a poor job in indexing them.

Everything post war about Hugh Clemons is correct from what you stated in my opinion.

I'm sure there were some Confederates who you might consider as pressed into service or enlisted post April 16, 1862 but much so Southern men rather then Northern men. North Carolina had more former Confederates in the 3rd Maryland Cavalry then any other Southern State.

As you probably know Fort Delaware had former Confederates in other Union units besides the 3rd Maryland Cavalry. However the former Confederates in the 3rd Maryland Cavalry were the largest unit made up of former Confederates about 402 of them. And they did not go out West to fight Indians rather they were fighting in southern states. It was not until General Grant took overall command in March of 1864 that former Confederates who enlisted in Northern units went out West.

The very word galvanized was first mentioned by a clerk in his diary at Fort Delaware in 1863, this learned by Mr. Simmons.

Should you have any further questions my email address is dennis_brooke2001@yahoo.com

Thanks for the interesting question.