3LT
Philemon J. Kelley
(1840 -
1863)
Hubbard's
Company of Alabama Rangers, 1861
Company
K, 1st Confederate Cavalry Regiment, 1861-1862
Company
K, 4th Alabama Cavalry (Roddey's) Regiment, 1862-1863
Philemon J. Kelley, or "Buck" as he was often called, was born in 1840
at Traveller's Rest, Coosa County, Alabama. He was the fifth child and
the fourth son of John and Martha Ann Kelley. He and his family moved to
Eldridge, Walker County, Alabama, in the early 1850's where he spent his
young adulthood helping in the family run tannery, legal distillery, mercantile,
and family farm.
When the War Between the States erupted in 1861, young Philemon and his
brothers Esom, James, John, and Benjamin, were invited to join an independent
cavalry company that was being formed of men
who could furnish their own mounts and tack. Of their own free will, the brothers enlisted
in "Hubbard's Company of Alabama Rangers" in September of 1861, and after
brief, but intense training, were sent into western and middle Tennessee
where they helped Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman in the defense of Fort
Henry. The company avoided capture as Fort Henry fell in early 1862, which
enabled it to participate in many more skirmishes and battles throughout western Tennessee.
Along about this time the company left its independent roots and was made
part of the 1st Confederate Cavalry Regiment, being designated Company
"K". Company
K participated in many engagements during this time and also participated
in the Battle of Shiloh in April of 1862. The unit suffered many casualties
leading up to and including Shiloh, which caused it to be detailed to go
to North Alabama with other independent cavalry companies, to form a
new unit known as the 4th Alabama Cavalry (Roddey's) Regiment, C.S.A., under the command of Colonel Philip Dale Roddey. The
unit retained its alpha designation of Company "K", but was now under
the command of Captain Esom D. Kelley, Philemon's older brother, and Philemon himself being appointed 3rd Lieutenant. Company
K served the remainder of the war detailed to North Alabama to defend it
against union cavalry raids that had started to become more numerous as
union armies began to drive southward.
During this period Philemon was captured in September of 1863 in Jasper
County, Alabama, and sent to the military prison at Alton, Illinois. The
prison systems on both sides were notorious for maltreatment of POW's and
the exchange system had been halted by this time so the only chance for
freedom was through escape. Disease run rampant throughout the prison camps
and Philemon quickly became ill with smallpox. In order to control the
spread of disease, Philemon was moved out of the general population to
the hospital on a island in middle of the Mississippi River that was appropriately
named "Smallpox Island". Here Philemon died on December 26, 1863, and was
buried in the makeshift cemetery in an unmarked grave, which ultimately would hold over 1300 confederate soldiers. He was the first
of two sons that John and Martha Ann Kelley would lose to the war.
In 1907, Wilson Kelley, son of Captain Esom D. Kelley, wrote letters to
the War Department in Washington, D.C., and the Mayor's Office in Alton,
Illinois, to see if Philemon's body could be located and returned home
for burial. Correspondence informed the Kelley family that "Smallpox Island"
had been washed away by the Mississippi River, so there was no body to
claim. The federal government did however erect a monument to mark the graves of
the confederate cemetery near the prison and on Smallpox Island. The name
Philemon J. Kelley (mispelled "Kelly") appears on the monument along with the
over 1300 other names honoring those that died. Photographs of this monument
follow this narrative.
In 1991, a ceremony was organized by then Second Lieutenant Richard B.
Davis, USAR, Philemon's Great-Great Nephew, and the re-enactment group
Company B, 4th Alabama Cavalry (Roddey's) Regiment, C.S.A., to place a
"In Memory Of" military tombstone in Philemon's honor next to his brother,
1LT James M. Kelley, in the Old Kelley/Tucker Cemetery located at Eldridge,
Alabama, since he had no tombstone to mark his death. The marker was unveiled and an overdue military funeral held at a public ceremony prior to the 52nd
Annual Kelley Reunion that was held on August 10, 1991. The 5th Regiment,
Washington Artillery, C.S.A. from southern Louisiana also came and fired
period artillery pieces in conjunction with the military salute.
Confederate Monument at Alton Military
Prison, Alton, Illinois
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