Civil War

Civil War - Memoirs & Stories Told

From Jasper County, Mississippi

Civil War record of John Gray Little, William Edwin Little and Benjamin Franklin Little - sons of Benjamin and Epsey Fikes Little.

Submitted & Written by Della Yerby

(* Documentation has been sent along with this writing, verifying the information within, including: John Gray Little's Service Record, John Gray Little's Prison Record, Camp Douglas Prisoner List, and John Gray's Oath of Allegiance.)

When the Civil War began in 1861, a lot of Southern men joined up. In the Little's family, there were 3 brother's who went into the service together. They were farmers and had no idea what lay ahead of them. William Edwin Little was the oldest of the 3 brothers. John Gray Little and Benjamin Franklin Little were the other two brothers. John Gray Little was my great grandfather.

The brother's lived and signed up in Bibb Co., AL. They joined the 20th AL Inf. Regt., Co. H. The company was formed in Marion Co., AL. They entered the service on Oct 19, 1861 and were sent to Mobile, AL

In a short time it was ordered into Eastern TN, near Knoxville. They were sent there on Feb. 18, 1862. They were put in General Bragg's Corp. under Barton's Brigade, Dept. of East TN.

On the way to Knoxville, bad luck fell on the brother's. William Edwin, the oldest, came down with Typhoid Fever near Louden's, TN. There was no way to help him, and he died on Apr 6, 1862. We are not sure where he is buried. It must have been hard for John Gray and Benjamin F. to lose their brother this soon after joining the Confederacy. They had hoped that they could stay together, but William Edwin Little never saw any battles.

They were put under Tracy's Brigade in Oct. and sent to Port Gibson, MS. The battle was fought on May 1, 1863. The company was well thought of for their outstanding discharges of their duties.

John and Benjamin were put in Stevenson's Brigade under General Pettus. They were sent to Champion's Hill where a large battle was fought against Grant and his army. Champions Hill was East of Vicksburg. They hurt the Union Army at this battle. They were then moved into Vicksburg. The company was under General Pemberton at Vicksburg. They set in for a siege of the city.

On July 4, 1863, the army surrendered to Grant's Army. On July 8, 1863, John Gray and Benjamin F. signed their Parole from the Union Army. They agreed to not take up arms against the Union again.

From Vicksburg, they were sent to Enterprise, MS. on furlough. They stayed there about 3 weeks and rejoined their unit at Demopolis, AL. From then on, they both saw their share of battles. They were put in Stevenson's Division, Army of TN.

They were at Missionary Ridge, which was a very bloody battle. General Bragg wrote that the 20th Ala. behaved gallantly. The company lost a lot of men here, which is at Chattanooga, TN.

The Army of TN started its move South toward Atlanta. They fought all the way. Grant's Army under General Sherman forced them back. John Gray and Benjamin F. were in every battle from Dalton, GA to Atlanta, GA. When in Atlanta, they began another Vicksburg. Then on Sept 1, 1864, they were pushed out of Atlanta and went south.

On Sept 3, 1864, both John Gray and Benjamin F. were captured at a place called Stockbridge, GA. It was North of Jonesboro, GA.

John and Benjamin were in Nashville, TN Prison and were sent to Louisville, KY Military Prison in Oct. 1864. They had been captured by Co. A. Dept of OH, Army of the Cumberland. From Louisville, KY Prison, John Gray and Benjamin were transferred to Camp Douglas, IL on Nov 1, 1864.

John Gray and Benjamin F had fought together from Vicksburg to Atlanta, and stayed together after being captured. They went through the whole war together, and fought together.

Sometimes in Dec. 1864, Benjamin came down with a blood infection called "Erysipelas". There at Camp Douglas, he died on Dec. 30, 1864. He had been there only 2 months.

Camp Douglas was a hell hole. It was worse than Andersonville. There was nothing to eat or clothes to wear. All of that was stolen by the Camp's Commander. More people died at Camp Douglas during the last 5 months of the war, than at any other camp.

The South was losing the War. It was only time before the war would end. John Gray had lost both his brothers, not in battle, but by illness. The Commander of the Prison offered the prisoners a chance to live by signing the Oath of Allegiance for the U.S. Army (Union) in Dec. 1864. John Gray signed it and was transferred on 15 Apr, 1865 to the 5th U.S. Army. On John Gray's Prison records, it showed that he was loyal to the South and that he was avoiding the Conscription Act., so he joined the Union Army. Most men that signed this, did so in order to live, have food to eat and just basically to survive. He was loyal to the South but did what he had to do, as many, many men did in order to get to come home again.

I have John Gray's War, and Prison records and it breaks my heart to think of him having to go thru so much. Many men did the same thing, from so many families.

Nettie Little Andrews, my mother, told me (and she knew and loved her grandpa, John Gray) that when John Gray came home after the war, he went to the house and asked his mother, Epsey, where her husband was. Epsey did not recognize John because of his long hair and beard. She told him that her husband was out in the field plowing. He started to the field, and his daddy, also named Benjamin, saw him coming, and knew that it was his son. He threw down the plow lines and grabbed his son. Then he asked him, if he had seen his mother yet. John replied that yes, he had, but she didn't know him. They went to the house, and Benjamin asked Epsey if she knew who it was, and she said no. He said, "Well, this is John" and she grabbed and hugged him and cried.

Benjamin Franklin Little, brother to John Gray Little, is buried at Oak Woods Cem., Block 2, Grave 352 in Chicago City cemetery.

William Edwin Little, brother to John Gray Little, is buried near Loudens, TN. Unknown cem. or exact area.

I have John Gray Little's Civil War blanket that he used while in the war. My grandfather, W. E. Little, son of John Gray had given the blanket to my mother, and she gave it to me. There is not a hole, a tear, or anything in the blanket. The binding around it is in perfect condition. There are blood stains on it, where he was wounded. I have some of his hair, some cedar needles, and pieces of wood that was in the blanket. He told that he would have to stand a scantling board up against a fence, wrap up in his blanket and sleep. One morning he woke up and it had snowed during the night. There was just a little hole where his breath had melted the snow, for him to breathe.

John Gray also told my mother that he and a buddy of his had wanted some turnip greens so bad, they went to a field and got some sweet potato vines. They were cooking them over an open fire, and had them almost done, when a sniper shot and killed his buddy. He said he never did get to eat any of his "greens".

John Gray Little died at age 93 at the home of his son, William Edward Little. He is buried in the Whitman Cem., which is located in Newton Co., but only about 2 miles from the home of W.E. Little. One of W. E. Little's sons has a home near the cemetery, and has kept it up. I have gotten a CSA marker for his grave, through the Daughters of the Confederacy, because I want anyone that goes to the cemetery, in years to come, to know what he did for his country. Let's not forget all the men who fought, and are still fighting for their country!! God Bless America.

By Della Andrews Yerby Jul 1990

Chronological Map of Their Journey Throughout the Civil War

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