James Daniel Fudge (1830 - 1907)

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Military 1.1.1 Battle of Fort Stedman 1.1.2 Taken Prisoner of War 1.1.2.1 Military Service by Jeff Hooper 1.2 Family Life 1.2.1 Sumter, Georgia 1.2.2 Dooly, Georgia 1.2.3 Orange, Florida 1.2.3.1 Homestead and Deed Recordings 1.2.4 1885 1.3 Death and Burial 2 Sources

Biography

James Daniel Fudge was born 13 Apr 1830 to Jincey 'Jane' Danielly and David Fudge in Columbia County, Georgia, USA.

The Siblings:

• Edward David Fudge 1821-1862
• Mary Fudge 1824-1880
• William M Fudge 1826-1899
• Matilda Jane Fudge 1828-1855
• James Daniel Fudge 1830-1907

In 1850, Jane was 58 with four adult children in the home in Houston County, Georgia. Edward 28 and William 23 were farmers, Mary 25 and James 20 were not listed as employed. Mary's farm was worth $5,000.^[1]

Military

Fudge Pension Application 1905

Pvt Fudge served in C.S.A. Co F 12th Georgia enlisting in 1862.^[2][3][4]

On 24 March, President Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd, and son Tad traveled to City Point, VA, ten miles away, to meet General Grant and their son Robert Todd Lincoln.

Battle of Fort Stedman

President Lincoln watched the 25 Mar 1865 predawn Battle of Fort Stedman, Petersburg, VA, where General Lee led PVT Fudge. It was also called Battle of Hare's Hill.

Taken Prisoner of War

PVT Fudge and 10,000 others were following Maj Gen John B Gordon resulting in 600 deaths, 2,400 wounded, and Fudge among the 1,000 captured or missing. James Daniel Fudge was a Prisoner of War in Petersburg, Virginia, CSA from 25 Mar 1865-12 Jun 1865. This was due to fighting in The Petersburg Campaign just prior to the South's surrender at the Appomatttox Court House.^[5]

Military Service by Jeff Hooper

Private in Company F, 12th Geogia Infantry

James D Fudge enlisted as a private in Company F, 12th Georgia Infantry on May 1, 1862, by Captain William P Brown.^[6] Captain Brown formed the company, known as the “Davis Guards” in June of 1861.^[7] Company F was organized in Drayton, Dooly County, Ga. By the time Fudge joined the 12th Georgia had already seen hard fighting under the command of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and later Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.^[7] From the summer of 1861 the regiment would ultimately fight in every major eastern theater campaign up until its surrender at Appomattox. James received a bounty for his enlistment and was 5’10 tall, of dark complexion, dark hair, and blue eyes.^[6] It would be a difficult war for him. He was wounded and captured three times before finally being able to return home in June of 1865. Using service records microfilmed at the National Archives we can reconstruct some of the major campaigns he participated in.

Dunker Church, Battle of Antietam, Antietam Creek, Washington Co,Maryland, USA, War Between the States, Library of Congresss.

Fudge probably joined the 12th in Virginia during the summer of 1862 and it is likely that he took part in the battles of Malvern Hill (July 1), Cedar Mountain (August 9th), Groveton (August 28th), and Second Manassas (August 29-30). Then came the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862: The single bloodiest day in American history. On that day, the 12th was in the thick of the battle, fighting next to the Dunker church in some of the hardest fighting of the war.^[8] The regiment lost 59 men at Dunker Church, including James. He was wounded during the battle and captured later that day by union troops. He was taken to the Federal hospital in Fredrick, Maryland and paroled on September 27, 1862.^[6] At the early stages of the war, neither side had adequate provisions for handling large number of POWs, and it was common to parole them, especially those who had been wounded.

James was sent home to Dooly County, Georgia to recuperate from the wounds received at Antietam under the care of his wife and family.^[6] By the summer of 1863 desertions were mounting in the Confederate army and many wounded veterans chose to transfer to home guard units. By contrast, Fudge recuperated and chose to jump back into the fray. In the summer of 1863, he had rejoined the 12th in time to participate in the most pivotal battle of the war: Gettysburg. Gettysburg is probably the most famous battle of the Civil War. James was there as a member of the 12th Georgia. Today we remember the iconic episodes of Pickett’s Charge, Little Round Top, Peach Orchard, and Devil’s Den. What is often not remembered about this three-day battle (July 1-3, 1863) is the critical first day when the Confederates under Lee and Federals under Meade stumbled into each other at the crossroads town of Gettysburg and fought a heated action that would shape the battle lines and the ultimate course of the battle. James was there during the vicious fighting of July 1 and was once again wounded and captured, and later taken to Letterman General Hospital, again a POW. On September 25, 1863, he was once again paroled and taken to City Point, Virginia for release.^[6]

James had fought in two of the biggest battles of the American Civil War, had been wounded and captured in both. After Gettysburg, he did not return home but instead joined his unit four days later on September 29, 1863.^[6] The intensity of the war was only about to increase for the 12th Georgia.

In the spring of 1864, Abraham Lincoln named Ulysses S Grant to head the Federal forces. Grant’s predecessors had retreated from defeats and failed to pursue victories. He was a different kind of General: always pushing forward. In May of 1864 Grant moved south and launched what would become known as the Overland Campaign, which included the bloody battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse. Despite taking heavy casualties, Grant kept pressing Robert E Lee’s army. The 12th Georgia was in the thick of these actions, until it was called upon to transfer to the Shenandoah Valley from late summer until December,1864 when it was transferred to support the defense of Petersburg, under siege by Grant’s forces.^[7]

On March 25th, James and the 12th Georgia launched their last major military action of the war: The Battle of Fort Stedman. To quote from the American Battlefield Trust:

“By March of 1865, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's grip on the Confederate lines around Petersburg was having its desired effect. Outnumbered and weakened by disease, desertion and shortage of food and supplies, Gen. Robert E. Lee had few options. After careful study of the Union troops in his sector of the line, Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon suggested to Lee the possibility of a successful offensive strike against Grant. In front of Gordon's men, Union-held Fort Stedman seemed the best target for a Confederate attack. It was relatively close to the Rebel lines, it was lightly fortified, and a Union supply depot was directly behind it. With luck, a large force could penetrate Union defenses there and move on to Grant's supply base and headquarters 10 miles away at City Point. Planned and led by Gordon, the pre-dawn assault on March 25th overpowered the garrisons of Fort Stedman and Batteries 10, 11, and 12. The Confederates were brought under a killing crossfire, and counterattacks led by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke's Ninth Corps contained the breakthrough and captured more than 1,900 of the attackers. Elsewhere, elements of the Second and Sixth Corps southwest of Petersburg assaulted and captured the Confederate picket lines in their respective fronts, which had been weakened to support the assault on Fort Stedman. The loss was a devastating blow for Lee’s army, setting up the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1st and the fall of Petersburg on April 2-3rd."^[9]

Fort Stedman was the last offensive the Confederates launched in Virginia during the Civil War and the last battle for James. He received a wound in his hip from a minnie ball and was, for the third time, captured as prisoner of war.^[6]

This would be his last battle. A few weeks later his regiment surrendered at Appomattox with five officers and sixty enlisted men.^[7] Alas, had James made it to the final surrender he would have begun his trip home immediately. As it was, he took his oath of allegiance to the United States on June 11 and was released from captivity on June 14, 1865.^[10][11]

War Between the States biography of James Daniel Fudge by Jeff Hooper, 9 Apr 2024

Family Life

James Daniel Fudge married Sarah L Brown in Dooly County, Georgia, USA on 18 Nov 1856 and reared children.^[12]

• Anderson P Fudge (1859-1935)^[13]
• William B Fudge (1867 - 1908)^[14]
• Mary L Fudge (1869-1959)^[15]
• Hunter Ransom Fudge (1876-1936)^[16]

Sumter, Georgia

They were in District 29 Anderson, Sumter, GA in 1860. Sarah was 25, James 30, and Anderson was only ten months. They were doing well these two years before the war. The real estate value was $5,000 and personal estate value was $15,000. Incredible.^[17]

Dooly, Georgia

In 1870, they were in Dooly, GA. James Daniel was a 45 yo farmer of a $2,000 property with $1,000 in personal property. She was 37. All family members were born in GA. Anderson P, 10, William F (should be B) 3 were on the farm. ^[18]

Orange, Florida

James' daughter Mary's obituary stated they moved to Florida in 1875 and son Hunter was the only child born born in Florida in 1876. Yet, he stated in his application to the State of Florida for a military pension from the War Between the States that he moved to Florida in 1876.^[11]

In the mid-1870s, James Fudge bought The Lodge from M. Stewart and Mills. He ran a mercantile in the bottom floor now calling it Fudge Hall.^[19]

He became the first Mayor of the Town of Apopka City on 2 Sep 1882. Fudge's building, formerly The Lodge, was used as the organizational meeting place for the new town.^[20]

Homestead and Deed Recordings

On 13 Feb 1884, Fudge got around to filing his homestead in Tallahassee for the property. It was not uncommon for homesteads and deeds to be filed years, decades, and even after the deaths of buyers and sellers.

Over the years, you will see that his property was referred to as Plymouth, Apopka, Grasmere, Tangerine, District # something, or just plain Orange County. This has to do with what Census area the property was assigned to that decade and which post office the family was using at the time of purchase, sale, census, or business transaction.

Accession: FL0490__.187

Name: FUDGE, J D

Date: 2/13/1884

Doc #: 3981

State: FL

Meridian: Tallahassee

Twp-Rng: 021S - 027E

Aliquots: NE¼SE¼

Sec #: 2

County: Orange^[21]

• 1879 Dec 3 (recorded 1882 Dec 03) J. D. Fudge bought from Zelotes H and Christiana Mason 2 acres of land for $45 in the NE1/4 of SE1/4 Sec10 T21 R28.^[22]
• 1880 Jul 23 (recorded Aug 09) J. D. Fudge and Dr. G. L. Jones' bought 1,656 sq ft of property from Narcissa and William A Lovell for $32 in 10-21-28.^[23]
• 1881 Jun 15 (recorded 1882 Feb 21) J. D. Fudge bought a rectangular piece of land 319' by 173 11/12s beside Mary E Alderman for $60 in the NE1/4 of SE1/4 Sec10 T 21 Rng 28 portion from Zelotes and Christiana Mason.^[24]
• 1884 Apr 8 S. L and J. D. Fudge made a significant sale of $1,600 for 40 acres of land to the Tavares, Orlando, and Atlantic Rail Road Company. It was the NE1/4 of the SW1/4 of S2 T21 R27 SE.^[25]
• 1889 Jun 19 (recorded Nov 22) J. D. Fudge bought the Apopka Baptist Church property from the Orange County Sheriff that the Trustees had defaulted on 1877(1) Oct 10. Trustees included John Silings, Dr. G. L. Jones, etal. The Sheriff J. Thomas W Shino referred to the property as being in the Village of Apopka. Described as 1/2 acre square in the NW corner of the SW1/4 SE1/4 Sec 10 TWN 21 S RNG 28E.^[26]
• 1899 Mar 25 J. D. sold three pieces of land to two of his children, William B. and Mary L. Fudge, SW1/4 NW1/4 Sec1 T21 S of Rng 27E 40 acres and E1/2 of the SW1/4 of SE1/4 of SW 1/4 of the S-T-R of 5 acres and N1/2 SE1/4 NE1/4 S2 T21 S of R27E being 20 acres for a sum $150.^[27]
• J.D. Fudge had numerous purchases and sales of property that are recorded in the Comptroller's office that affected the gowth and development of Fern City.

1885

In 1885, they were in District 17, Orange, FL by now. Dad was 51, Mom 48, W. B. 19, Mamie 15, Hunter 9, and a 19 yo niece by the name of Jimmie Fudge was in the house. Hunter was the only one born in Florida. The nieces name is hard to read but her race is distinctly and M for Mulatto. ^[28]

In 1900, the family was in Zellwood, Orange, Florida, previously censused as Plymouth. Mamie was 25. Dad, the former Mayor of Apopka, was 70, Sarah was deceased. They owned the farm free and clear. They had two boarders in the house, Pearl Tealiaferro, 24, of Illinois and her 6 year old son, William E of Florida. There is no indication of a relationship.^[29]

Death and Burial

Former battle injured POW and Apopka Mayor James Daniel Fudge died 15 Feb 1907 at his Plymouth, Orange, Florida homestead.

He is buried with Sarah, son William B., and daughter, Mary L in the Apopka Church Cemtery, Apopka, FL. Their son Anderson P. is in a grave in the adjacent Edgewood-Greenwood Cemetery. Hunter is in a Myanmar government prison grounds.

Sources

1. ↑ The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: District 14 (Upper), Houston, Georgia; Roll: 74; Page: 331a Description Township: District 14 (Upper)
2. ↑ Headstone in graveyard Apopka Church Cemetery person observation Pirkle-96
3. ↑ Military: "U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865"
   National Archives and Records Administration (Nara); Washington, D.c.; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Georgia; Catalog Name: Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations, Compiled 1903 - 1927, Documenting the Period 1861 - 1865; Catalog Number: 586957; Record Group Number: 109; Source Reference Number: 0951.jp2; Series Number: M266; Roll: 270
   Ancestry Record 2322 #38319498 (accessed 6 April 2024)
   Name: James D Fudge; Enlistment Date: 1862; Military Unit: 12th Infantry.
4. ↑ Military: "U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865"
   Original data: National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online <http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/>, acquired 2007
   Ancestry Record 1138 #1798583 (accessed 6 April 2024)
   Name: James D. Fudge; Side: Confederate; Regiment State/Origin: Georgia; Regiment: 12th Regiment, Georgia Infantry; Company: F; Rank In: Private; Rank Out: Private; Film Number: M226 roll 22.
5. ↑ Military:"U.S., Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865"
   National Archives at Washington DC; Washington, DC. USA; War Department Collection of Confederate Records; NARA film publicaton #:: M598; Record Group: War Department Collection of Confederate Records; Record Group Number: 109
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1124 #654304 (accessed 6 April 2024)
   Name: James D Fudge; Rank: Private; Imprisonment Date: 25 Mar 1865; Imprisonment Place: Petersburg, Virginia; Side of War: Confederate; Company: F; Regiment: 12 Ga Inf; Release Date: 12 Jun 1865.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6} National Archives Civil War microfilm collection M226 Roll 22. NARA Catalogue ID 586957.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} 12 Georgia Infantry Reg: "The Civil War in the East"
   Civil War in the East Confederal Regiments and Batteries Georgia
   12th GA Inf Reg Dates of Battles, Companies, Commanders (accessed 10 April 2024)
   Dates and Battles of 12th GA infantry reg.
8. ↑ Battle of Antietam record for 12 Georgia Infantry Reg: "Antietam on the Web"
   Antietam on the Web
   12th GA Inf Reg Battle information, Commander, Map (accessed 10 April 2024)
   Officers, Chain of Cmmd, Maps, Battlefield tablets, KIA.
9. ↑ Fort Stedman Petersburgh, VA March 25, 1865: "Battlefields"
   Battlefields, Civil War, Fort Stedman, Petersburg, VA
   12th GA Inf Reg Battle information (accessed 10 April 2024)
   Description of the battle.
10. ↑ Book: Georgia., Roster of the Confederate soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865 / [compiled by] Lillian Henderson [director] -- v.2
    [Hapeville, Ga. : Longina & Porter, 1959-; page: 210
    HathiTrust (accessed 10 April 2024)
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} James D Fudge Application for WBS Pension: "Fudge, James D"
    Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida
    Pension Application James Daniel Fudge injured and 3x POW in War Between the States (accessed 10 April 2024)
    Application for Pension War Between the States.
12. ↑ Hunting For Bears, comp.. Georgia Marriages, 1699-1944 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Georgia marriage information taken from county courthouse records. Many of these records were extracted from copies of the original records in microfilm, microfiche, or book format, located at the Family History Library.
13. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #43205712
14. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #30468686
15. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #30468685
16. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #173426202
17. ↑ Georgia > Sumter > District 29: "1860 United States Federal Census"
    Georgia > Sumter > District 29
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 6 April 2024)
    Sarah S Fudge.
18. ↑ Georgia > Dooly > Not Stated: "1870 United States Federal Census"
    Georgia > Dooly > Drayton P.O. address
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 6 April 2024)
    Mary Fudge.
19. ↑ History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida, Shofner, J.
20. ↑ History of Apopka
21. ↑ Florida Secretary of State Homestead Records FL0490__.187 FUDGE, J D 2/13/1884 3981 FL Tallahassee 021S - 027E NE¼SE¼ 2 Orange Note: son Anderson homesteaded--FL0780__.135 FUDGE, ANDERSON P 6/17/1889 5420 FL Tallahassee 021S - 027E W½NW¼ 1 Orange 021S - 027E N½SW¼ 1 Orange
22. ↑ Deed of sale Masons to Fudge of 2 acres
23. ↑ OCComptroller Deed
24. ↑ Masons to Fudge Deed
25. ↑ OCComptroller Deed Sale to TOA RR
26. ↑ Deed of sale Sheriff to Fudge of Baptist Church Property
27. ↑ Deed J D Fudge to children W B and Mary
28. ↑ 1885 > Orange > District 17: "Florida, U.S., State Census, 1867-1945"
    1885 > Orange > District 17
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 6 April 2024)
    Mamie Fudge.
29. ↑ 1900 Census: "1900 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1900; Census Place: Zellwood, Orange, Florida; Roll: 175; Page: 10; Enumeration District: 0120
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7602 #461360 (accessed 6 April 2024)
    Mayme L Fudge (25), single daughter, in household of James D Fudge (70) in Zellwood, Orange, Florida. Born in Georgia, USA.

• First Baptist Church of Apopka Old Church Cemetery
• Researcher [Pirkle-96|DrO]