> There's need for more investigation on his capture on the retreat from Big Black,
Agreed! :-) I've been trying in vain, but can find nothing ... I've been stuck on the fact that the 27th appears (please correct me if I'm wrong about this) to have been nowhere near the battle/retreat (or Champion Hill) as laid down in historical documents (although I admit I was never able to locate an Order of Battle for Big Black River Bridge) ... but as you said ...
> he may be been detached from the regiment at the time.
Yes, that's a thought ... not to mention there had to be many times when disorganization reared its ugly head. Unfortunate for me if that was the case, however ... doubtful I'll ever know for sure if so ...
Here's a question: anybody have any ideas of how to determine where the 27th was, and what they were doing, on May 17?
> 27th Cavalry Regiment [also called 1st Texas Legion] was organized during the spring of 1862 using Whitfield's 4th Texas Cavalry Battalion as its nucleus. Many of the men were recruited at Daingerfield, Clarksville, and Paris, and in Titus County. After fighting at Elkhorn Tavern as a battalion, only 9 officers and 111 men were present.
Right, I've seen that. Given that his first muster roll notes that he was mustered into service on February 26, 1862, that makes perfect sense. Given the many things I was reading I was just never able to be certain when the group R.W. was with actually began fighting ... something about a company A moving to B (and B moving to C) to make room for the new company A (Titus Invincibles) which was the one R.W. was in; something about several Texas units joining Whitfield's group in late 1862, not way back in February ... and then there's the fact that all of the copies of the Company Muster Rolls have the following text at the bottom:
"The 27th Regiment Texas Cavalry (also known as the 1st Texas Legion and as Whitfield's Legion Texas Cavalry) was first organized as the 4th Battalion Texas Cavalry November 12, 1861, with four companies, A to D. It was increased to a regiment of thirteen companies April 2, 1862, and re-organized May 8, 1862."
R.W. is always referred to as being in Company A ... I suppose he could have been in the original A and then stayed in it for the re-org ... I'll just have to keep digging on all that ...
> Company A Muster Rolls [partial]:
> May & June,1863 Recorded as Present [Big Black was May 17 & he was recorded present?]
Yes, indeed he was, for the May & June roll -- yet on the Jul & Aug roll it says quite clearly that he was captured during the retreat from Big Black. Quite puzzling, eh? :-) I suppose we can always assume for bad recordkeeping ... but of course that makes our jobs a whole lot more difficult ...
I don't really know how to go about showing pictures to you folks (I don't have a server of my own) but I can type out the pertinent muster rolls and two POW forms for you ... the oldest one we have a copy of is Feb/Mar 1862 (remarks are "Mustered into service 26 Feb, 1862 by Capt. Brailsford at Lee's Creek, Ark" ... the second roll has the same thing but adds what appears to be "330 miles $33" ... does that make any sense?), and we have copies of all of them, each for a two-month period, from Feb/Mar 1862 through July & Aug, 1863 ... and we also have May & June, 1864; I'll start with Mar/Apr 1863 and move forward, starting below the asterisks.
Thanks again, George!
Bill
*******************************************
*******************************************
A | 27 Cav. | Texas
R. W. Acuff
Pvt, Co. A, 1 Texas Legion Cavalry.
Company Muster Roll of the organization named above, for Mar & Apr, 1863
Enlisted:
When Feb. 1, 1862
Where Daingerfield
By whom E.R. Hawkins
Period 12
Last paid:
By whom T. A. Hester (?)
To what time Oct. 31, 1862
Present or absent Present
Remarks
B. R. Stough
*******************************************
A | 27 Cav. | Texas
R. W. Acuff
Pvt, Co. A, 1 Texas Legion Cavalry.
Company Muster Roll of the organization named above, for May & June, 1863
Enlisted:
When Feb. 1, 1862
Where Daingerfield
By whom E.R. Hawkins
Period 12 mos.
Last paid:
By whom R. J. Lee
To what time Apr. 30, 1863
Present or absent Present
Remarks
B. R. Stough
*******************************************
A | 27 Cav. | Texas
R. W. Acuff
Pvt, Co. A, 1 Texas Legion Cavalry.
Company Muster Roll of the organization named above, for July & Aug, 1863
Enlisted:
When Feb. 7, 1862
Where Daingerfield
By whom E.R. Hawkins
Period 12 mos.
Last paid:
By whom Lt. R. J. Lee
To what time Apr. 30, 1863
Present or absent Absent
Remarks Captured on retreat from Big Black.
B. R. Stough
*******************************************
A | 27 Cav. | Texas
R. W. Acuff
Pvt, Co. A, 1 Texas Legion Cavalry.
Company Muster Roll of the organization named above, for May & June, 1864
Enlisted:
When Feb. 7, 1862
Where Daingerfield
By whom E.R. Hawkins
Period 12 mos.
Last paid:
By whom Capt. Lee
To what time Apr. 30, 1863
Present or absent Absent
Remarks Absent in arrest prison.
B. R. Stough
*******************************************
A | 27 Cav. Batt | Texas
R. W. Acuff
Pvt, C. A, 1 Texas Batt
Appears on a
Roll of Prisoners of War
paroled at Vicksburg, Miss., according to the
terms of capitulation entered into by the com-
manding Generals of the United States and
Confederate forces July 4, 1863.
Roll dated not dated
Paroled date not dated
Where captured Vicksburg
When captured July 4, 1863
*******************************************
A | 27 Cav. (Whitfield's Legion) | Texas
R. W. Acuff
Pvt, C. A, Whitfield's Legion
Residence Titus County Texas
Appears on a
Roll of Prisoners of War
of 1st Squadron of Whitfield's Legion, Ross'
Brig. Texas Cavalry, Confederate States Army,
commanded by R. I. Brailsford, Capt., surren-
dered at Citronelle, Ala., by Lieut. Gen. R.
Taylor, C.S.A., to Maj. Gen. E.R.S Canby,
U.S.A., May 4, 1865, and paroled at Jackson,
Miss., May 13, 1865.
Roll dated Jackson, Miss., May 13, 1865