behind AotW

Rufus King Felder and his cousin Miers Martindale Felder enlisted together in July 1861 near their homes in Washington County, TX, and joined the Dixie Blues, later Company E of the 5th Texas Infantry. They had their photographs taken soon afterward.

Miers was seriously wounded at Manassas, VA on 30 August 1862 and was disabled for further service, but Rufus was with his company through all their battles, including on South Mountain and at Sharpsburg, MD in September 1862, and was surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.

He returned to Washington County and farmed and raised livestock, amassing a prosperous 800 acre operation by his death at age 82 in 1922.

In 1868 he married preacher’s daughter Margaret Eliza Matthews (1847-1884) and she bore him eight children. I believe these are the newlyweds:

Margaret died in 1884 birthing their last child, daughter Margaret Eliza (1884-1978), and Rufus re-married the following year, 20 year old Mary Loula Virginia Nelson (1865-1942), daughter of a local physician. Rufus was then 45. They had 4 more children by the turn of the century.

The photographs above were shared to Rufus’ memorial by Karen Webster in 2018; the picture of Rufus and Miers is in the Texas Heritage Museum at Hill College, Hillsboro, TX.