behind AotW

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.

This application is typical of the work of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in the early decades of the 20th Century. It’s for Sharpsburg survivor Henry Marcus Miller.

The original document is in the US National Archives in Washington, DC (United States Headstone Applications for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1949; NARA microfilm publication M1916); I found it online thanks to Ancestry.com.

The applicant Mrs. A.L. Bowen was Alma Jessie Miller Bowen (1886-1962), Henry’s daughter from his second marriage to Mary Agatha Jane Lee McCall in 1885. Improbably, Alma’s husband’s first name was also Alma.