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Re: 30th Virginia Battalion Sharpshooters

This may be part of it -- from the Richmond Daily Dispatch of

Substitutes in the Army

November 26, 1863

—Important Habeas Corpus Cate.

—An interesting and important habeas, corpus case was tried before Judge Marshall, in the Circuit Court of Lynchburg, last week. We find the following particulars in the Republican;

The petitioner, Philip T. Withers, a citizen of Lynchburg, having been arrested by the enrolling officer, Major Charles S. Peyton, as a conscript, claimed his exemption on the ground of having furnished a substitute in Co. H, 11th Va, regiment. The paper produced to establish the claim to substitution was signed by Sparrell L. Weight, 2d Lt. commanding Co. H, 11th Va. regiment, and approved by Kirk Otey, Major commanding 11th Va, regiment.

In the return to the writ, Major Peyton alleged that the whole transaction was irregular, illegal, fraudulent and void, and in accordance with the laws and orders on the subject of substitution.—That Sparrell B. Wright, who signed the said paper as 2d Lieut. commanding, and Major Otey, who signed as Major commanding the 11th Va. regiment, were not with their commands at the time of signing the same, but were in the city of Lynchburg, and their commands were with the army of the Potomac. more than one hundred miles distant; and that neither the said Withers nor said Farley, the alleged substitute, were ever with or in any sense members of Co. H, 11th Va. regiment; that the said substitute should have been carried either to the regiment or to a camp of instruction, and there mustered in, and that neither said Wright nor said Otey had any right or authority to receive substitutes in service.

A good deal of testimony was introduced in support of the allegations of the return, showing that both Wright and Otey were in Lynchburg at the time of signing the paper and receiving the substitute, and that no such substitute as Wm. Farley, mentioned in the discharge, had ever been on daily with the company. Testimony was also introduced to establish the genuineness of the paper upon which the discharge was claimed. A paper was also Introduced, signed by Major Otey, purporting to be a descriptive list of said Farley, and a receipt for him from Col. J. C. Shields, Commandant of Conscripts.

The case was fully heard as an important one upon which a large number of others of a similar character depend, and ably argued for two days by James Garland, Robert Whitehead, and E. D. Christian, Esqs., for the petitioner, and M. II. Opink for the Government.

Judge Marshall delivered an able and elaborate opinion in the case on yesterday, discussing all the points in issue. The Judge held that the substitution was illegal, irregular, and void; that the Lieutenant and Major signing were not in command at the time of signing, and, under the laws and regulations, had no authority to receive substitutes in the army; that the principal should have carried his substitute to the regiment, if he was a member of the company; and, if not a member of the company, he should have carried him to a camp of instruction, as prescribed by the orders of the Adjutant and Inspector General of the C. S. Army; that the descriptive list signed by Major Otey was inconsistent with the first paper upon which the petitioner claimed his discharge, and that no such man was receipted for by Major Otey, was ever in the possession or under the control of Col. J. C. Shields, and that the petitioner having failed to show that he had ever furnished a substitute who was at any time on duty with the company, or to bring himself within the equity of the law, must be remanded to the custody of the enrolling officer for service in the army, which was accordingly done. The decision is an important one, effecting many others of a similar character. We understand that Lieut. Wright gave a large number of such discharges for substitution.

An appeal has been taken by the counsel for Mr. Withers.

Kirkwood Otey
Regiment Name 11th Virginia Infantry
Side Confederate
Company F&S
Soldier's Rank_In 1 Lieutenant
Soldier's Rank_Out Colonel
Film Number M382 roll 42

Robert F. Knox
Regiment Name 17th Virginia Infantry.
Side Confederate
Company G
Soldier's Rank_In 2 Lieutenant
Soldier's Rank_Out Captain
Film Number M382 roll 32

Robert F. Knox
Regiment Name 30th Virginia Infantry.
Side Confederate
Company B
Soldier's Rank_In Private
Soldier's Rank_Out 2 Lieutenant
Alternate Name Robert T./Knox
Film Number M382 roll 32

Robert L. Knox
Regiment Name 30th Virginia Infantry.
Side Confederate
Company B
Soldier's Rank_In Private
Soldier's Rank_Out 2 Lieutenant
Alternate Name Robert T./Knox
Film Number M382 roll 32

Robert T. Knox
Regiment Name 30th Virginia Infantry.
Side Confederate
Company B
Soldier's Rank_In Private
Soldier's Rank_Out 2 Lieutenant
Film Number M382 roll 32

R. S. Knox
Regiment Name 30th Virginia Infantry.
Side Confederate
Company B
Soldier's Rank_In Private
Soldier's Rank_Out 2 Lieutenant
Alternate Name Robert T./Knox
Film Number M382 roll 32

30th Regiment, Virginia Infantry
30th Infantry Regiment completed its organization at Fredericksburg, Virginia, in June, 1861. Men of this unit were from Fredericksburg and the counties of Spotsylvania, Caroline, Stafford, and King George. It was assigned to General J.G. Walker's and Corse's Brigade, and fought with the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Fredericksburg. After serving with Longstreet at Suffolk, it was on detached duty in Tennessee and North Carolina. During the spring of 1864 the 30th returned to Virginia and saw action at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor. Later it endured the hardships of the Petersburg trenches north and south of the James River and ended the war at Appomattox. It reported 1 killed and 4 wounded at Malvern Cliff and 39 killed and 121 wounded in the Maryland Campaign. Many were lost at Five Forks and Sayler's Creek, and on April 9, 1865, it surrendered with 8 officers and 82 men. The field officers were Colonels R.M. Cary and Robert S. Chew, Lieutenant Colonels John M. Gouldin and Archibald T. Harrison, and Majors William S. Barton and Robert O. Peatross.

Francis Miller
Regiment Name 45th Virginia Infantry
Side Confederate
Company E
Soldier's Rank_In Private
Soldier's Rank_Out Captain
Film Number M382 roll 38

45th Infantry Regiment was formed in May, 1861, with men from Tazewell, Wythe, Grayson, Carroll, and Bland counties. It was assigned to Echols', G.C. Wharton's, and Forsberg's Brigade, and served in western Virginia. The regiment fought at Carnifax Ferry, reported 26 killed, 96 wounded, 46 captured, and 6 missing in the fight at Cloyd's Mountain, then saw action in the Shenandoah Valley. It sustained many casualties at Third Winchester and during April, 1865, disbanded. The field officers were Colonels William H. Browne, Henry Heth, and W.E. Peters; Lieutenant Colonels Benjamin F. Ficklin, Edwin H. Harman, and William H. Werth; and Majors A.M. David, William C. Sanders, and Gabriel C. Wharton.

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