Confederates after the Civil War EXPERT GENEALOGY Editor: Jeannette Holland Austin Series: Civil War Subject: Confederates after the Civil War Date: July 14, 1999 My 2nd great grand-mother, Jane Smith, was married about 1854 to Wesley Clements. They removed from the old plantation home of her father located in Monroe County, Georgia to Muscogee County, where I found them on the 1860 Census with two children. >From there, the life of Wesley Clements is sketchy at best, because he became a soldier in the Confederate Army, and apparently did not survive the war. Upon examining the Muster Rolls, which one needs to do in order to follow the battles or squirmishes, illnesses, whether present in camp, etc., various names are suspect....such as "W" Clements, or "W. C." Clements. If Wesley was one of these individuals who served from Georgia, his activity during the war was short-lived, because there is simply very little on it. With no "Wesley"...he could have even succumbed prior to his first muster. No one in my family ever remembered hearing of him, especially since Jane remarried after the war to Thomas Young Brent. It was the Brent husband who was remembered and adored, because he assumed the responsibility of Jane's father's plantation as well as the rearing of his two Clements step-children. Typically, Jane's father lost all that he had during the war, and during the Reconstruction period his once-thriving planation fell from status to that of a struggling farm. Without labor, the Old South died. The Clement children moved off to Dublin to get work in town. Their lives, like so many, were enveloped in survival. Because Jane remained on her father's farm with her Brent husband running it, stories of their lives were passed down. However, no one remembered the Clement children, or their father. Since Jane re-married, she did not apply for a widow's pension. So, we have nothing there. I assumed that Wesley was killed during the early part of the war. So, how do I find additional information? Here are some places to search: 1. The Confederate Veterans Magazines for obituaries. This magazine was published after the war for a number of years and generally contained articles about the battles, as well as posted obituaries. Also, various Confederate Camps recorded their member-soldier deaths, often with just a name. 2. National Cemeteries. Examining the Muster Rolls, one can usually determine the date soldier was in a certain location, and from there examine the battles or squirmishes which surrounded the area. If he was last mustered near Vicksburg, for example, he might be buried at the Vicksburg National Cemetery. The efforts to bury the Confederate Dead leave us suffering for information. Frequently, soldiers were buried under crosses, or might have their unit or regiment on a tombstone. I have seen nothing but a year on a tombstone. From this, one is reminded of the battle fought in that area, then assumes the death occurred during the several days of the battle. Too, soldiers fell along the way, and were buried in unlikely places. Sometimes, the bodies were re-interred into local Confederate Cemeteries. Thus, the identify of thousands has been lost. 3. Local Cemeteries. If your soldier died in Richmond, Virginia, he still might be brought home for burial. It's worth it to search all the county cemeteries. Another place to search - graveyards of local churches. Soldiers died of common ailments - dysentary, cholera, consumption. Confederate Hospitals were filled with ailing patients. Too, soldiers were sent home on leave during such ailments. There are some existing patient lists at Richmond and Chimporazee Hospitals, for example. To find them, go to a local family history center and look under "Civil War", then "hospitals". To try and help myself on Wesley Clements, and others, I compiled The Confederate Dead Database. This is an alphabetical listing of soldiers which was abstracted from obituaries in the Confederate Veteran Magazine, as well as from National Cemeteries. Also, included are some local Confederate Cemeteries. Information to be found (if applicable) is the soldier's name, spouse, birthdate, deathdate, place, regiment, etc. Of course, the obituaries provide the most data.