James R Bell (1818 - 1862)

Born 3 Nov 1818 in Augusta, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Jane (Brownlee) Bell — married 7 Apr 1842 in Augusta, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 28 May 1862 at age 43 in Virginia, United States

Biography

He served in the Confederate army, Fifth Virginia regiment. Was taken sick at Swift Run Gap in 1862, and died in a short time. ^[1]

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CARPENTER'S BATTERY, C.S.A.

AS THE POSSIBILITY OF WAR BETWEEN THE STATES BECAME A VIRTUAL CERTAINTY, YOUNG MEN IN THE SOUTH BEGAN ORGANIZING INTO VOLUNTEER MILITARY COMPANIES, AS PROVIDED FOR UNDER STATE MILITIA LAWS. ONE SUCH UNIT WAS THE "ALLEGHANY ROUGHS", AN INFANTRY UNIT ORGANIZED IN COVINGTON, ALLEGHANY COUNTY, VIRGINIA, ON THE 20TH DAY OF APRIL, 1861. A FEW WEEKS LATER THE UNIT WAS MUSTERED INTO SERVICE AT HARPERS FERRY, VIRGINIA AND OFFICIALLY BECAME COMPANY A OF THE 27TH REGIMENT OF THE 1ST VIRGINIA BRIGADE OF INFANTRY. THE UNIT FOUGHT WITH DISTINCTION AT THE WAR'S FIRST MAJOR BATTLE AT MANASSAS JUNCTION. IT WAS AT THIS BATTLE THAT THE 1ST BRIGADE, INCLUDING THE 2ND, 4TH, 5TH, 27TH AND 33RD VIRGINIA REGIMENTS ADOPTED THE NICKNAME GIVEN THAT DAY TO THEIR COMMANDER, THOMAS J. JACKSON. THEY WERE, FROM THAT DAY ON, "THE STONEWALL BRIGADE". THE "ALLEGHANY ROUGHS" FIRST COMMANDER WAS CAPTAIN THOMAS McCALLISTER. DUE TO ILLNESS, HE WAS FORCED TO RELINQUISH COMMAND TO HIS 1ST LIEUTENANT, ONE JOSEPH HANNA CARPENTER. WHEN REVIEWING THIS CHANGE OF COMMAND, GENERAL JACKSON RECOGNIZED CARPENTER'S NAME AS THAT OF ONE OF HIS FORMER ARTILLERY STUDENTS AT VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE (V.M.I.). ON ORDERS FROM JACKSON, THE UNIT WAS CONVERTED FROM INFANTRY TO ARTILLERY. THE NEW UNIT WAS CALLED THE "ALLEGHANY ARTILLERY" BUT WAS KNOWN THEREAFTER AS"CARPENTER'S BATTERY." THE UNIT NUMBERED APPROXIMATELY 80 MEN AT THE TIME OF CONVERSION TO AN ARTILLERY BATTERY, FIELDING FOUR IRON 6-POUNDER GUNS FROM THE FOUNDRY AT TREDEGAR WORKS IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. BY GETTYSBURG THE UNIT HAD ACQUIRED TWO 12-POUNDER NAPOLEONS AND TWO 3-INCH ORDNANCE RIFLES (WHICH WERE PROBABLY CAPTURED). THE BATTERY REMAINED AT FIGHTING STRENGTH THROUGH MOST OF THE WAR BY THE ADDITION OF NEW RECRUITS AND BY GAINING THE REMNANTS OF DISBANDED ARTILLERY UNITS. IN THE NEARLY TWENTY FIVE BATTLES AND COUNTLESS SKIRMISHES THAT CARPENTER'S BATTERY FOUND ITSELF ENGAGED, 46 MEN WERE KILLED AND 124 BADLY WOUNDED. ON APRIL 1, 1865, AT THE BATTLE OF FIVE FORKS NEAR DINWIDDIE COURTHOUSE, COMMAND OF CARPENTER'S BATTERY WENT TO CORPORAL JOHN WILLEY, AS ALL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS HAD BEEN KILLED OR WOUNDED. IN THAT BATTLE THE BATTERY'S GUNS AND MANY OF ITS CANNONEERS WERE CAPTURED, WITH THOSE FEW ABLE TO FLEE JOINING THE SCATTERED FRAGMENTS OF GENERAL LEE'S ARMY IN THEIR RETREAT FROM PETERSBURG TO APPOMATTOX. AT THE FORMAL SURRENDER ON THE NINTH DAY OF APRIL, 1865, THE ONCE PROUD BATTERY HAD BUT TWO MEN IN ATTENDANCE.

Permission to include the history granted by Carpenter's Battery.Org

James was one of nineteen of the Long Glade Bell Family, that offered up nineteen of its sons, fathers and uncles to the Confederacy, and having ten of them die from wounds or in captivity, nine having wounds wounds from the struggle.

Burial - Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Mount Solon,Augusta County, Virginia, USA^[2]

Three daughters of James R. Bell survive. 4. Francis, died young,

unmarried. 5. Mrs. Rebecca Curry, of Greenbrier. 6. Mrs. Nancy Whitmore, of Augusta.

Sources

1. ↑ Waddell, Joseph A, Annals of Augusta County VA 1888, available online
2. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 March 2020), memorial page for PVT James R. Bell (3 Nov 1818–28 May 1862), Find A Grave: Memorial #15068605, citing Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Mount Solon, Augusta County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Mike (contributor 46775771) .

• Thanks to Jim Vondrak for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Jim and other.

Acknowledgments

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