Notes for William Anderson Penn: PENN, WILLIAM A Married GREENAWALT, SARAH E SANGAMON 05/06/1852
1860 PENN WILLIAM A. Dallas County TX 385 Cedar Hill P. O. Federal Population Schedule TX 1860 Federal Census Index TX39180783
Penn William A. C 6 Texas Cavalry. Private Private W A Penn Waul's Tex Legion Exchangeil Battn C S A 3230 3230 3230 Confederate
CIVIL WAR RECORD OF WILLIAM A. PENN
William A. Penn served in Company C of the 6th Texas Cavalry Regiment (also called the 2nd Regiment) which was organized with 1,150 men at Dallas, Texas in September, 1861. Men from Dallas, McKinney, Waco, Austin, Lancaster and Bell County formed the regiment. Containing over eight hundred effectives in the spring of 1862, the unit skirmished in the Indian Territory, fought at Elkhorn Tavern, then moved east of the Mississippi River. By the summer of 1862 William Penn transferred to Company H of Waul's Texas Legion. Containing a cavalry battalion and an infantry regiment, the legion did not serve as one command.
Perhaps anxious about his fate, William drafted his last will and testament in February of 1863. In the document he identified himself as a farmer, "being in good health, and of sound and disposing memory". He bequeathed all of his property, "both personal and mixed", to his "beloved wife Sarah Elizabeth Penn". In the event of her death, he stipulated that assets of his estate would be inherited by their children: John Wesley, James William, Robert Gilmore and Nancy Ann.
As a member of C. C. Stone's Texas Cavalry, William was captured at Port Hudson, Louisiana on June 14, 1863, just four months after he had composed his will. He became a prisoner of war. Although the date of his dismissal is not recorded, William did return to combat. He served as a private of Company C, Chisum's Regiment, Lane's Brigade, Texas Cavalry. On October 22, 1864, he was killed in action at Hurricane Creek, near Little Rock, Arkansas.
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The Dallas Weekly Herald recorded his death:
The deceased was born on the 18th day of August, 1829, in the county of St. Clair, State of Illinois, and emigrated to Texas in the year 1858 (sic).
When the tocasin (sic) of war was sounded and his beloved South called its gallant sons to rally to its defense (sic), he promptly responded. He tore himself from his wife and little children and volunteered in the regiment organized by Col. B. Warren Stone.
At the battle of Donaldsonville, La., June 15th, 1863, he was taken prisoner. Exchanged soon after, he served for the army of Virginia until an opportunity offered itself to return to his regiment. He participated in the victories gained last Spring by our gallant army in Louisiana, and distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry. At the battle at Hurricane Creek, when the order to charge was given, he was in the front rank and fell pierced by several bullets.
He was beloved by his comrades, highly esteemed by the officers for his manly virtures, his devotion to his duties, and for his gallant conduct. His memory will forever be cherished by his regiment.
He was buried near the town of Benton, by the ladies from the neighborhood of the battlefield, and many a tear fell on the grave of our lamented friend and comrade, from the eyes of noble women, who although strangers, lamented in him the loss of a noble soldier who sacrificed his life in the defence (sic) of their homes. A stone was erected over his grave, with his name inscribed on the same, to show future generations the last resting place of a gallant defender of the South and its cherished institutions.
William Anderson Penn was captured June 14, 1863, 12 miles from Port Hudson, LA.
Port Hudson - Longest True Siege in American History Walk along the six miles of trails at Port Hudson State Commemorative Area and you'll be back in the turbulent days of the War Between the States. Why Port Hudson? Control of the Mississippi River was important to both sides during the American Civil War. The North wanted to control the river and split the Confederacy in two. The South wanted to maintain control and ensure the flow of supplies back and forth across the river.
When New Orleans fell to the Federals in late April 1862, Confederate control of the Mississippi was in jeopardy. The Confederate army had already fortified the river bluffs at Vicksburg, Mississippi, but it needed another series of river batteries below the mouth of the Red River. The Red River was the primary route for the shipment of supplies from Texas to the heartland of the Confederacy.
The bluffs near the small town of Port Hudson represented a perfect site for the river batteries. These bluffs were the first high ground upstream from Baton Rouge and overlooked a severe bend in the river. This bend presented an additional obstacle for Union warships.
Following their defeat at the Battle of Baton Rouge on August 5, 1862, Confederate soldiers marched to Port Hudson and occupied the area on August 15, 1862. They constructed a series of river batteries along the bluffs and, in the months that followed, erected a 4½-mile line of earthworks to protect the land approach to the river batteries.
48-Day Siege The siege of Port Hudson began on May 23, 1863. Roughly 30,000 Union troops, under the command of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, were pitted against 6,800 Confederates, under the command of Major General Franklin Gardner.
On the morning of May 27, and again on June 14, the Union army launched ferocious assaults against the 4½-mile-long string of earthworks protecting Port Hudson. These actions constituted some of the bloodiest and most severe fighting in the entire Civil War.
As the siege continued, the Confederates nearly exhausted their ammunition and were reduced to eating mules, horses and rats. When word reached Gardner that Vicksburg had surrendered, he realized that his situation was hopeless and nothing could be gained by continuing the defense of Port Hudson. Surrender terms were negotiated, and on July 9, 1863, after 48 days and thousands of casualties, the Union army entered Port Hudson. The siege became the longest in American military history.
Native Guards Prior to the May 27 attack, a bold experiment was decided upon. Two African-American regiments were chosen to participate in the fight. The First and Third Louisiana Native Guards proved their worth by pressing at attack against a well-fortified Confederate position. This action was applauded in northern papers and led to the acceptance of African-American troops into the war effort.
After the siege, the garrison at Port Hudson became a recruiting center for African-American troops. The garrison remained there until the summer of 1866.
WAUL'S TEXAS LEGION. A legion is a military unit composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery components. Waul's Texas Legion, the only true legion of Texas troops in the Confederate States army, was raised in and around Brenham in spring of 1862 by Thomas Neville Waul.qv It originally consisted of twelve companies of infantry, six companies of cavalry, and a six-gun battery of field artillery with a total complement of 2,000 men. The first infantry battalion was originally commanded by Lt. Col. Barnard Timmons and the second by Lt. Col. James Wrigley. The cavalry battalion was first led by Lt. Col. Leonodias Willis and the artillery battery by Capt. William Edgar. The legion was assigned first to Arkansas and Louisiana. There, owing to the difficulty associated with commanding mixed arms, it was stripped of its cavalry and artillery components. In October 1862 the infantry companies were transferred to Mississippi and reorganized into two battalions of six companies each. Attached to Gen. John C. Pemberton's Army of Vicksburg, the legion played a stalwart role in that city's defense. With the exception of a single company, then on detached duty, it was captured with the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. Paroled by mid-July, the members of the legion reorganized in Houston and were assigned to duty protecting the Texas coast in the region of Galveston. With Waul's promotion to brigadier general, Timmons was promoted to colonel and assumed command of the legion, serving in that capacity until the end of the war.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Marcus J. Wright, comp., and Harold B. Simpson, ed., Texas in the War, 1861-1865 (Hillsboro, Texas: Hill Junior College Press, 1965).
More About William Anderson Penn: Burial: October 22, 1864, Benton, Ak.
More About William Anderson Penn and Sarah Elizabath Greenawalt: Marriage: May 06, 1852, Sangamon, Illinois.
Children of William Anderson Penn and Sarah Elizabath Greenawalt are:
+John Wesley Penn, b. July 09, 1853, Cairo, Ill., d. December 09, 1928, Mansfield, TX.
William Anderson Penn (b. August 13, 1828, d. October 22, 1864)
Notes for William Anderson Penn: