Had the Southern Confederacy survived would this have been their
Congressional Medal of Honor? What were the results when General Robert E.
Lee asked what happened to the “badges of distinction?”
The Tennessee Genealogical Society’s newest publication, The
Confederate States of America Roll of Honor, promises to be of interest
not only to Civil War buffs, but to historians and genealogists as well.
Compiled from WAR OF
THE REBELLION: A COMPILATION OF THE OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE UNION AND
CONFEDERATE ARMIES, the roll carries the names of almost 2,100 soldiers
representing all of the Confederate states and some border states. The men
listed, includes commissioned officers recommended by a superior and
privates and non-commissioned officers elected by fellow soldiers for
helping achieve a “signal victory.”
Each company was
authorized to elect one private or non-commissioned officer from its unit
for the honor. How many were actually named is unknown. “We wish the
records of all unit selections had survived,” says TGS president James E.
Bobo who compiled the list of recipients and related information, “but we
can publish only the names found in the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies.”
“Honor is generally
denied known and unknown heroes of the nation that loses a war or ceases to
exist,” Bobo added, “and this collection is offered to address that
injustice because, regardless of the motivation for patriot soldiers, these
men — at that time and at that place —were heroes.”
Surnames on the roll run
from Abbott to Young. Thirty-four of the honored men were Smiths, followed
in order by soldiers named Jones, Moore, Williams, Brown, Johnson, and
Wilson. The most recognized honoree was Corp. Samuel L. Neely/Neeley who was
elected to the roll of honor five times before being mortally wounded in
August 1864 at the battle of Weldon Railroad in Virginia. A native of
Tennessee, he was living in Rienzi, Miss., in 1861 when he enlisted at age
19 in the Tishomingo Riflemen which became Company A of the 2nd Regiment of
Mississippi Volunteers.
For the historian, the
book includes a short history of military medals for gallantry; documents
relative to the establishment of the Roll of Honor, and battle reports
resulting in the award. For the genealogist, the book includes the
recipients’ names, military units, and some biographical information. Names
are sorted alphabetically by individual and also by state and military unit.
This
softback edition is priced at $15.00. See TGS order form for ordering
information. |