Charles James Munnerlyn

Charles James Munnerlyn (born February 14, 1822 in Georgetown , South Carolina , † May 17, 1898 in Bainbridge , Georgia ) was a Confederate officer and politician.

Career

Charles James Munnerlyn, only child of Hannah White Shackelford (1794-1887) and Charles Lewis Munnerlyn (1787-1857), studied law at Emory College in Oxford (Georgia). After he was admitted to the bar, he found that his interests had changed in the meantime, so he never practiced as a lawyer. When his father died in 1857, he inherited his plantation , which laid the foundation for his prosperity.

Munnerlyn had both a political and a military career. In 1861 he took part in the Georgia Secession Assembly as a delegate for Decatur County and voted to leave the Union . He favored the formation of the Confederate States of America and supported the election of Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) as President of the Confederate States . As a patriot, he then responded to the first call for men when the southern states had one after another declared their exit from the Union and declared war. He volunteered as a private in the Bainbridge Independent , Georgia’s first regiment . Then when the Civil War began, he was probably the richest plantation owner in Decatur County with the rank of private. During the retreat from Laurel Hill in northwest Virginia, he and much of the First Georgia Regiment then lost food for a week in the Allegheny Mountains . As a result, his health deteriorated rapidly and he resigned from the Confederate Army . On his return to Decatur County, he was elected as a member of the First Confederate Congress in November 1861 , where he served between 1862 and 1864. He suffered a defeat in his re-election because he had voted for the Conscription Act, an unpopular law at the time with the majority. Then he signed up again as a private in the fifth cavalry battalion of Florida that was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel George Washington Scott (1829-1903). Because of his patriotism, which President Davis was known, and his merits, he made him a major and ordered him to Florida to raise a regiment south of the front line. The main task of the regiment was to maintain a steady flow of supplies, especially with cattle for the starving army in Virginia. He performed this duty devotedly, which earned him a promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel - a rank he held until the end of the war. His regiment was subsequently merged with others to form First Battalion Florida Special Cavalry , which he then commanded. The battalion was often referred to as the Cattle Battalion, Cow Calvary, Commissary Battalion or Munnerlyn's Battalion and consisted of nearly 800 soldiers. At the end of the war he was asked by Major General Sam Jones (1819-1887), the then commander in Florida, to keep a low profile and to be ready to allow all officers of the previous Confederate government to escape who wish to leave the country. He helped the Confederate War Minister Judah Philip Benjamin (1811-1884) escape. He then returned home a poor man, his fortune was gone, he risked everything and lost everything for his country. Without any complaint or derogatory words, it accepted this like a gentleman that he was. He was later promoted to colonel by Decatur County - a rank he held for 14 years until his death. During this time he was instrumental in building the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad . At the time of his death it ranged from Savannah to Bainbridge.

family

Munnerlyn was married to Harriet Eugenia Shackelford (1825-1887). The couple had at least eleven children: Mary Hannah (1845–1927), Charles James (1847–1916), James Shackelford (1850–1882), Eugenius Calhoun (1854–1929), Harriet Cowdrey (1854–1913), Caroline Eugenia ( 1856–1857), Eugenia Shackleford (1857–1950), Ernest Octavius ​​(1858–1858), Elma (1862–1939), John Paul (1863–1910), and Florida Davis (1865–1931).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Harriet Eugenia Shackelford Munnerlyn in the database of Find a Grave (English)
2. ↑ Mary Hannah Munnerlyn English in the database of Find a Grave (English)
3. ↑ Charles James Munnerlyn in the database of Find a Grave (English)
4. ↑ James Shackelford Munnerlyn (1850–1882) in the Find a Grave database (English)
5. ↑ Eugenius Calhoun Munnerlyn in the database of Find a Grave (English)
6. ↑ Harriet Cowdrey Munnerlyn Binford in the database of Find a Grave (English)
7. ↑ Caroline Eugenia Munnerlyn in the database of Find a Grave (English)
8. ↑ Eugenia Shackleford Munnerlyn Etheridge in the database of Find a Grave (English)
9. ↑ Ernest Octavius Munnerlyn in the database of Find a Grave (English)
10. ↑ Elma Munnerlyn Etheridge in the database of Find a Grave (English)
11. ↑ John Paul Munnerlyn in the database of Find a Grave (English)
12. ↑ Florida Davis Munnerlyn Bethea in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Web links

• Charles James Munnerlyn in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Charles James Munnerlyn on the web link of The Political Graveyard