Joshua H Beard (bef. 1844 - 1863)

Died 3 Mar 1863 after age 19 in Alton, Madison, Illinois, United States

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Biography

1st Sgt Joshua Beard served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 07-26-1861
Mustered out: Died while POW 1863
Side: CSA
Regiment(s): 2nd Reg, Arkansas Cavalry

Joshua was born before 1844. He joined the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry in 1861. On Dec 30, 1862, he was captured at Oxford, Mississippi, and on Feb 5 1863 arrived at Alton Military Prison. He died less than a month later of variola (smallpox). His name is on the monument at the Alton Confederate Cemetery.

Sources

• "United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FS54-YM8 : 4 December 2014), Joshua H. Beard, First Sergeant, Company 1A, 2nd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry, Confederate; citing NARA microfilm publication M376 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 2; FHL microfilm 821,812.
• "Arkansas Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XX52-9Y3 : 27 November 2014), Joshua H Beard, 1862; from "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Arkansas," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M317 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1961), roll 14.
• Selected records of the War Department relating to Confederate prisoners of war, 1861-1865 [microform]. U.S. War Department. Published 1965. NARA publication M598 Roll 13, page 214
• "United States Register of Confederates and Civilians Who Died in the North,1861-1865," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1W-Y6KF : 16 March 2018), Joshua H Beard, 03 Mar 1863; citing Death, Alton, Madison, Illinois, United States, p. 3, NARA microfilm publication M918 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1; FHL microfilm 1,024,456.

Research Notes

The Joshua Beard in the 1860 Census in Polk Co. survives the war; it cannot be that Joshua. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Arkansas_Cavalry_Regiment_(Slemons%27) tells us that company A (becoming H, which matches his records) was formed in Calhoun County, AK. At one point, his military records list him as Josiah H. Baird and J.H. Baird. "Enlisted at Pitman’s Ferry, Arkansas, July 26, 1861; transferred to Co. A, 2nd Arkansas Cavalry, May 15, 1862; appointed second sergeant, May 15, 1862; promoted first sergeant; " so if he enlisted that near to Missouri, he might have lived in Missouri and not Arkansas, but a census search of Missouri shows no likely candidates.