behind AotW

New-to-me is this hand-made newspaper published in April 1865 by Confederate prisoners at Fort Delaware. Apparently it was the only edition and perhaps 3 or 4 copies survive. This one is online from New York Heritage, a project of the New York Historical Society.

I came upon this while looking into Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Curtright, 13th Georgia. He survived wounds at Kernstown, Sharpsburg, and the Wilderness, and was a prisoner at Ft Delaware after being captured at Winchester, VA in September 1864.

You can see his contribution to the newspaper in an advertisement in the right column of page one:

This beautiful photograph is of William Wesley Covin, a Sharpsburg survivor, late of the 13th Georgia Infantry, who was born, lived, and died in Hogansville, Troup County, GA over a period of 89 years. Rob Leverett, Jr posted this picture online on the WikiTree database.

This is a copy of a retouched photograph of David McDearmond of Houston County, GA. He enlisted in the 13th Georgia Infantry at age 44 in July 1861 and was killed at Sharpsburg on 17 September 1862. He left a widow and 5 children – his oldest, James (1843-1897), was with him and was wounded at Sharpsburg.

This copy of his photo kindly shared online by the General Lafayette McLaws Camp #79, Sons of Confederate Veterans in Fayetteville, GA.

He’s seen as Andrew David McDearmond on his modern memorial in Fayette County, GA and in some recent genealogies, but I believe that’s wrong. His name was probably just David. Andrew does not appear in any contemporary documents I’ve found; he’s referred to as David in every case. His wife called him David in her pension application, and her stone has his name as David also.

I think “Andrew” came from his listing (clipped below) in Lilian Henderson’s Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865 (Vol. II, c. 1960), a great general reference, but somewhat notorious for errors large and small.