Joseph T. Dollar (abt. 1841 - aft. 1887)

Born about 1841 in Meriwether, Georgia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Willingham) Dollar — married 5 Oct 1861 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama

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Biography

Private Joseph Dollar served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: March 1862
Mustered out: mmm dd, yyyy
Side: CSA
Regiment(s): Company D, 34th Alabama Infantry

Joseph was born about 1841 in Meriwether County, Georgia. He is the son of John Dollar and Mary Nelson. Joseph lived with his parents on their farm in Meriwether County. Joseph's grandmother, Hannah Dollar, died in Meriwether County, Georgia in 1853. The estate of her husband, Joseph Dollar, was finalized in 1856. Joseph and his family moved from Meriwether County to Tallapoosa County and were living there when the Alabama state census was taken in 1855. Abraham Lincoln was elected to the office of President in November of 1860. In December South Carolina issued article of secession. Alabama followed them in January of 1861. War came to the south and to Alabama in April of 1861 after Lincoln attempted to resupply Ft Sumter in the Charleston harbor. General P.G.T. Beauregard and his troops fired upon Ft. Sumter with artillery and the fort surrendered.

Joseph was married in October of that same year. The next year as the war progressed Joseph and his brother, John enlisted and went off to war.

Military

Joseph enlisted with his brother John at Loachapoka, Alabama in March of 1862 in Company D of the 34th Alabama Infantry Regiment as a Private.

34th Infantry Regiment, organized at Loachapoka, Alabama, in April, 1862, contained men from Montgomery and the counties of Tallapoosa, Coosa, and Russell. It moved to Tupelo, Mississippi, and was assigned to General Manigault's Brigade where it remained for the duration of the war. The unit saw little action during the Kentucky Campaign then took an active part in many conflicts of the Army of Tennessee from Murfreesboro to Atlanta. Later it fought in Hood's winter operations in Tennessee and at Bentonville, North Carolina. The regiment reported 11 killed and 77 wounded at Murfreesboro, had many captured at Missionary Ridge, and in December, 1863, totalled 388 men and 281 arms. It lost 14 killed and 46 wounded at Ezra Church and was almost annihilated at Nashville. Few surrendered on April 26, 1865. The field officers were Colonel Julius C.B. Mitchell, Lieutenant Colonels John C. Carter and James W. Echols, and Majors Henry R. McCoy and John N. Slaughter. SOLDIERS:

Joseph was captured at Missionary Ridge on the 25th of November in 1863 during the Chattanooga Campaign and was sent to Rock Island Barracks in Illinois as a POW where he entered in December 1863.

Records indicate that Joseph enlisted in the U.S. Infantry on 15 October 1864 for a one year period for frontier service. The 3rd U.S. Infantry was sent to the Department of Missouri. The regiment was tasked to protect mail routes from attack by hostile Indians. General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant at Appomatox, Virginia in April of 1865. Records indicate that Joseph deserted the U.S. Army in September of 1865 en route to Julesburg in Colorado Territory. Nothing is known about where Joseph went after this time. By summer of 1887 Joseph had returned to Tallapoosa County.

Letters exist that were written by Joseph's brother , John Henry Dollar, to their sister in 1887 when she was living in Arkansas. She had married a brother of Elizabeth Willingham wife of Joseph T. Dollar. In the letter John Henry mentions Joseph and that he had returned to Tallapoosa County. John Henry also said that he could not believe where Joseph had been and barely recognized him.

Joseph and Johnwent to visit their aunt Polly Porter in Newsite, Tallapoosa County. Joseph wrote letters to his sisters that were living in Arkansas. He was asking family in Arkansas if they knew where his wife Elizabeth was and asked if she had been married again.

Other researchers have indicated that Elizabeth moved to Arkansas where her oldest sister had moved. Elizabeth was living with her sister in Tallapoosa County in 1880.

Research Notes

A Joseph Dollar applied for a pension in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. He was living in East Tallassee with his wife in 1921.

Family

Joseph was married to Elizabeth WIllingham on the 5th of October 1861.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZY4-LSS : 12 April 2016), Joseph Dollar in household of John Dollar, Meriwether county, Meriwether, Georgia, United States; citing family 280, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMT-K7WD : 4 November 2017), Joseph T Dollar and Eliz Willingham, 1861; citing Tallapoosa, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 2,217,263.

"United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XKFR-9ZP : 4 December 2014), Joseph T. Dullar, Private, Company D, 34th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Confederate; citing NARA microfilm publication M374 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 13; FHL microfilm 821,961. "United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSJ2-4WY : 4 December 2014), Jos. T. Dollar, , Company , Unassigned US Volunteer Infantry, Union; citing NARA microfilm publication M1290 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 23; FHL microfilm 1,604,906.