Civil War Veterans Buried In Washington State - Joseph aka Thomas Jackson

2^nd TEXAS BATTALION VOLUNTEER CAVALRY
Organized: March, 1865 Brazos Santiago, TX
Mustered In: 3/1/65 Brazos Santiago, TX
Mustered Out: 11/10/65

BATTALION HISTORY:
 

ED. NOTE: During the American Civil most Union and Confederate infantry and cavalry units were regiments. An infantry regiment was initially composed of ten, 100 man companies. A cavalry regiment was either ten or twelve 100 man companies. Each regiment had a command staff.
 

During The War a battalion was smaller than a regiment. Battalions were generally three or more companies with a command staff. In both the North and South battalions were, at times, created a new units. Most often, however, they were the result of a decimated, undermanned regiment being "consolidated' into a more compact, cohesive unit.
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 The 2^nd Battalion Texas Cavalry   was organized during the waning days of four bloody years of American Civil War. It saw duty at Brownsville, Brazos, Santiago and other points in Texas.
 

The unit also took part in a 5/11 - 14 expedition from Santiago. With Rebel forces in Texas having not yet learned of the surrender of Confederate forces under Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Ct. House, VA (4/9/65) and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at Bennet Place, NC (4/26/65, during that brief expedition it saw action at Palmito Ranch (5/12 - 13) and White's Ranch (5/13). Palmito Ranch, a Confederate victory, was the last ACW battle in which Union and Confederate soldiers were killed. 

Final muster for the 2^nd occurred in November, 1865. 

BATTALION LOSSES: 

No Loss Information Available.

SOLDIER:
Residence: Inf. Not Avail.   Age: 22.7
Enlisted/Enrolled: 3/1/65   Rank: Cprl.
Mustered In: 3/1/65
Mustered Out: Inf. Not Avail.
Highest Rank: Cprl.
Rank At Discharge: Inf. Not Avail.

PERSONAL/FAMILY HISTORY:

NOTE: The birth - to - death biological profile which follows was created during the July, 2020 Covid 19 medical pandemic. For two reasons it contains fewer details than many of the biographies found within this website. Firstly, the veteran was a Confederate soldier. In general there is far less documental information on Confederates than their Union counterparts.  Secondly, what veteran - related military, pension and other files which may exist in the National Archives located in Washington, D.C. are presently not accessible. Hopefully, at a later date these resources will be obtained and the data contained therein added to this narrative. 

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 Joseph W. Jackson was born 7/26/42 in Palmetto, GA. His parents were James Monroe (b. 1819 NC - d. 1891 Mendenhall Simpson, MS) and Elizabeth Jane (nee Taylor/Tylor b. 9/32 GA - d. 1905 Mendenhall, MS) Jackson. During the U.S. Census of 1850 James Jackson noted his occupation as construction carpenter.
 

It appears Joseph was the eldest of ten Jackson children. His younger sibling were: James W. (b. 1845 GA - d. 5/30/62 Chicago Cook Co., IL **), Sarah Elizabeth (b. 1847)John H. (b. 1849), William Riley (b. 3/31/51 GA), Martha Ann Rebecca (b. 4/28/53 MS), Daniel Josiah (b. 1/56 MS), George W. (b. 11/4/58 MS), Nancy Caroline Callie (b. 1/17/63 Mendenhall Simpson Co., MS) and James Lewis (b. 2/27/67 Mendenhall, MS).
 

Interestingly, the only pre-war U.S. Census in which Joseph's name appears is that in 1850 from District 68 of Pike County, GA. At that time he was eight years old.
 

As noted by the birth states of Joseph's younger brothers and sisters, at some point between March, 1851 and April, 1853 the Jacksons departed Pike County, Georgia and resettled in Mississippi. Where in Mississippi they may have initially settled is not known, but by 1860 - on the eve of the outbreak of the American Civil War - they were residing in District 3 of Scott County. From January, 1863 onward their noted community of residence was Mendenhall Simpson County, MS.
 

The next appearance of Joseph is in March, 1865 when he enlists as a corporal in The Confederate States Of America's 2^nd Texas Cavalry Battalion. Even then, we learn little about him as his enlistment is under the fictional name of Thomas. Why was that? Entering the military at the rank of corporal had he earlier seen service under a different name? We will likely never know.
 

Without access to any military service records which may exist pertaining to Cprl. Jackson all we know about his military experience is that he survived and returned to civilian life.
 

Post-War Joseph completely dropped out of site until the end of 1881. On 12/4 of that year, in Benton AR he married. His bride was Cynthia R. Brooks (b .April, 1854 AL).
 

The union of Joseph and Cynthia would produce four children. They were: Hettie L. (b. 2/83 MO), Robert C. (b. 4/85 MO), James Otis (b. 1/88 MO) and Anna (b. 8/90 WA).
 

After their marriage in Arkansas it is not known where Joseph and Cynthia set up their home. By 1883, however, they were somewhere in Missouri. They would remain there until sometime following the birth of James Otis in January, 1888.
 

By 1890 the Jackson family had found its way to Arlington Snohomish Co., WA. What had drawn them to this wilderness area of Washington State and exactly when they had arrived is not known. In Arlington Joseph and family took up farming.
 

Farmer Jackson lived out his life in Arlington. It appears he may have never mentioned his brief involvement with the Confederate States Of America.
 

Joseph died on 5/3/21 of valvular heart disease and a uremic coma. He was aged 78 yrs., 9 mos. and 7 days. Burial was/is in Arlington's Harwood (Municipal) Cemetery.
 

After Joseph's passing Cynthia remained in Arlington. She passed away there on 3/29/27. She was/is buried beside Joseph. 

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 * July, 2020. Special thanks to researcher Denise Otteson for discovering the pension pay card which tied Joseph W. Jackson to Thomas W. Jackson and his role in the American Civil War. 

** Although it cannot be documented with complete certainty, James – without doubt -   died as a Confederate prisoner of war while imprisoned at Camp Douglas in Cook County, IL. . The 1892 Register of Confederate Soldiers who died in Camp Douglas 1862 – 65 and Lie Buried in Oakwood Cemetery (Cohen & Co. Cincinnati OH 1891 pg. 45) notes that one James Jackson of the 10^th Texas Infantry Co. “F” died at the camp. Unfortunately, a regimental personnel roster for the 10^th has not been located within available research sources. 

Camp Douglas, located on the prairie just south of the City of Chicago.  It was created in 1861 as a training camp for Union recruits. With Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s capture of forts Henry and Donelson in February, 1862 the North suddenly had 12,000 to 15,000 prisoners to house. Colonel Joseph H. Tucker, who had been in charge of the construction of Camp Douglas notified  Grant’s superior, Major General Henry W. Halleck that the camp could accommodate 8,000 to 9, 000 prisoners which was about the same number of recruits as it was built to handle. What was not recognized at the time was that there were differences between construction requirements for a recruit rendezvous and a prison.

While being used as a prison camp some 4,275 Confederate prisoners died because of the facility’s poor sanitary conditions. With a death rate of 17% or possibly higher, Camp Douglas came to be sometimes described as “The North’s Andersonville.” After The War those buried at Camp Douglas were removed from the camp cemetery and reburied in a mass grave at nearby Oak Woods Cemetery.

Buried at Harwood Cemetery Arlington