Previously, I wrote about the life of William Johnson, the Barber of Natchez, who was a free black man and slaveowner. Click (HERE) for the post. This was part 1 of an article detailing forgotten or little known aspects of Natchez history. Part 2 deals with women soldiers and their connection to the Bluff City.
After the fall of Vicksburg, the 95th Illinois Infantry was ordered down the Mississippi River to Natchez. One of the soldiers who disembarked from the steamer on July 13th, 1863, was Jennie Hodgers, alias Albert Cashier, of Company G. On that hot summer day, she and her comrades began a three-month occupation of the city. Infantry soldiers soon transformed into wranglers as one of their first tasks involved capturing 5,000 head of cattle that the Confederates were driving from Texas to Johnston's army in the vicinity of Jackson.
Another expedition was undertaken by a detachment comprised partially of Company B to capture a Confederate ordnance train bound for Kirby Smith's troops in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.
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| Looking towards Natchez Under the Hill Jennie Hodgers disembarked here with the 95th Illinois Photo by Mark Hidlebaugh |
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| Natchez Under the Hill, May 1862 |
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| Natchez Under the Hill, ca 1880 looking towards the bluffs http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/LSU_TJP/id/157/rec/102 |
As the summer wore on, Hodgers and her comrades continued to deal with Rebel bands that lurked in the area. When not chasing Confederate cavalry, they drilled and provided food and protection for the ex-slaves that flocked to the Federals in Natchez. And they also confiscated cotton.
While garrisoning the Bluff City, Pvt. Cashier and the 95th Illinois received a visit from their division commander, General John McArthur who attended their dress parade. Impressed, the general conveyed his satisfaction with the unit's appearance.
By the middle of October 1863, the regiment was ordered back to Vicksburg and thence over to Louisiana in order to participate in Nathaniel Banks' ill-fated Red River Campaign. Talk about "confiscating" cotton..... But that's a whole other topic.
Click (HERE) for a video I did on Hodgers at Natchez.
There was a Confederate woman soldier with a Natchez connection as well.
On April 18th,
1862, a year before Hodgers arrived in Natchez, a woman mustered in there to
Some historians have suggested that military officials allowed her to remain with
the regiment as a laundress and that she followed it to Port Hudson where
Miles’ Legion served garrison duty. The
basis for this theory lies with an account from a regimental history of the 8th
New Hampshire Infantry that records that “Mrs. Bradley, wife of a 2d sergeant
in a company of Miles’ Legion was struck in the leg by a piece of shell this
morning. She suffered amputation, but
died soon after.” Researchers believe that Mrs. Bradley was
“William Bradley” due to the same last name and connection with Miles’
Legion. However, this theory is faulty.
A search for Mrs. Bradley’s husband yielded
one match: George Bradley who
enlisted in Company H of Miles’ Legion in March 1862. Records note that he was a resident of Memphis yet enlisted in New Orleans as a corporal and was promoted to sergeant.
Further research
reveals that Mrs. Bradley was Mrs. Matilda A. Bradley. According to Port Hudson’s post hospital
ledger that lists her full name, she was struck in the left thigh by a shell on June 11th,
1863, during the siege (May 21-July 9th) and died a few days later after surgeons amputated her leg. Colonel William R. Miles mentioned the possible bombardment that claimed her life in his report, “The enemy has opened some
additional guns on me to-day, placed in a new position between Troth's road and
the river. He has kept up a tremendous fire during the day from all his guns
and mortars.” Ironically, he concluded
with, “…the small number of casualties would seem to indicate that a special
Providence is protecting us.” Unfortunately, that was not the case for Matilda.
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| Port Hudson Post Hospital 1864 |
And she wasn't the only laundress of Miles' Legion who died at Port Hudson. Mary Jane Ford passed away on November 25th, 1862, approximately seven months before Matilda's death. A child also died there on December 4th, 1862. Records state that this child belonged to a laundress of Miles' Legion. Whether the mother was Matilda Bradley or Mary Ford is unknown. However, the child may very well have been Mary Ford's instead. With Ford's death date and that of the child being so close, it is reasonable to surmise that disease claimed them both around the same time.
Both laundresses and the child were buried in a cemetery in Port Hudson that is now on private property. Unfortunately, the cemetery is now gone and the graves of all of the interments have been lost to history.
Click (HERE) for a post I wrote about laundresses.
Click (HERE) for a post I wrote about laundresses.
As for George Bradley, initial research reveals that he was originally from New Hampshire and came south working on the railroads. In 1860, he appears in a census report for Proctor Township, Crittendon County, Arkansas, which is about 15 miles from Memphis, the location Bradley gave as his residence when he enlisted in Miles' Legion. He is listed as 34 years old and indicated he had been married within the year. His occupation was "boss on railroad" and he was sharing a residence with 13 railroad laborers. So he and his new wife, Matilda, were not living together at that time. After the war, George Bradley went west to Texas where he died in the early 1870's. Click (HERE) for his page on Find a Grave. We are still conducting research.
I say "we" because I have had a lot of help with this project and would like to thank my long-time friend, Dwayne, who did most of the work. He is a reporter and has relished this challenge! Not only that, this project has led him to uncover family connections. He has been on this case and has uncovered a great deal of new information. Before we began our search, we did not even have a first name for Mrs. Bradley. And now we know it was Matilda. Unfortunately, neither of us has been able to definitively locate her in any record other than the Port Hudson hospital register: no marriage document, no census report, nothing. Research is ongoing.
I would also like to thank the rangers at Port Hudson for their patience in dealing with us!
UPDATE: 5/25/17: Jeff Giambrone who works at the Mississippi State Archives told me about a reference to a woman soldier he came across years ago in a collection held there in Jackson. I always get excited when I learn about new accounts. So Mark and I planned to take a trip to check it out. It just so happens that the account wasn't "new" but rather provided a piece of the puzzle of "William Bradley's" story! Up until this time, the only source of her service in Miles' Legion has been her carded service records (see above) — no diary accounts, letters, or newspaper articles. But then I came across the document in the state archives, per Jeff Giambrone, and I was ecstatic to be able to fill in a few more blanks in this woman soldier's account. As it turns out, "William Bradley" was a runaway slave girl-one who happened to have briefly served in the Confederate army with Miles' Legion! She is one of at least eight black women who served as soldiers in the Civil War. At least five of those pulled off the ultimate ruse as black women serving in white regiments. And two of those enlisted in Confederate regiments, one of whom being "William Bradley." There are a few more details about her story which I include in my book, including exactly how she was discovered..
Historians have suggested that Cathy Williams was the first black woman documented to have enlisted in the military as a soldier. However, she did so after the war as a Buffalo Soldier. Another black woman soldier, Maria Lewis, joined the 8th New York Cavalry in 1863. So Bradley, who enlisted in April 1862, was the first black woman to serve as a documented soldier in the ranks and it is interesting that she was a Confederate soldier.
Click (HERE) to see a video where I show viewers where Bradley was discovered in Natchez.
And with this new bit of information, I can positively say that "William Bradley" and Mrs. (Matilda) Bradley, the laundress of Miles' Legion, were different women. Plus, they served in different companies and were different areas.
I would like to thank Jeff Giambrone for passing along this account. All he knew was that it was about a woman soldier. He had no idea that he just helped provide another piece of a puzzle that my friend, Dwayne, and I have been working on for a while. Ironic timing. It was also nice meeting him. I failed to notify him that Mark and I were coming, and as it turns out, he was working that day.
Mr. Giambrone has published several books and articles, mostly about Mississippi's part in the Civil War. He maintains an interesting blog, which you can find by clicking (HERE).
I would also like to thank the rangers at Port Hudson for their patience in dealing with us!
UPDATE: 5/25/17: Jeff Giambrone who works at the Mississippi State Archives told me about a reference to a woman soldier he came across years ago in a collection held there in Jackson. I always get excited when I learn about new accounts. So Mark and I planned to take a trip to check it out. It just so happens that the account wasn't "new" but rather provided a piece of the puzzle of "William Bradley's" story! Up until this time, the only source of her service in Miles' Legion has been her carded service records (see above) — no diary accounts, letters, or newspaper articles. But then I came across the document in the state archives, per Jeff Giambrone, and I was ecstatic to be able to fill in a few more blanks in this woman soldier's account. As it turns out, "William Bradley" was a runaway slave girl-one who happened to have briefly served in the Confederate army with Miles' Legion! She is one of at least eight black women who served as soldiers in the Civil War. At least five of those pulled off the ultimate ruse as black women serving in white regiments. And two of those enlisted in Confederate regiments, one of whom being "William Bradley." There are a few more details about her story which I include in my book, including exactly how she was discovered..
Historians have suggested that Cathy Williams was the first black woman documented to have enlisted in the military as a soldier. However, she did so after the war as a Buffalo Soldier. Another black woman soldier, Maria Lewis, joined the 8th New York Cavalry in 1863. So Bradley, who enlisted in April 1862, was the first black woman to serve as a documented soldier in the ranks and it is interesting that she was a Confederate soldier.
Click (HERE) to see a video where I show viewers where Bradley was discovered in Natchez.
And with this new bit of information, I can positively say that "William Bradley" and Mrs. (Matilda) Bradley, the laundress of Miles' Legion, were different women. Plus, they served in different companies and were different areas.
I would like to thank Jeff Giambrone for passing along this account. All he knew was that it was about a woman soldier. He had no idea that he just helped provide another piece of a puzzle that my friend, Dwayne, and I have been working on for a while. Ironic timing. It was also nice meeting him. I failed to notify him that Mark and I were coming, and as it turns out, he was working that day.
Mr. Giambrone has published several books and articles, mostly about Mississippi's part in the Civil War. He maintains an interesting blog, which you can find by clicking (HERE).
Until next formation...rest.
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