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William Speer, Sr.¹ had at least 8 grandsons and 15 great-grandsons who served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. These men are identified by CAPITALIZED BOLD TYPE in the direct descendant list on the next page.

Notice that there are several sets of brother and father/son combinations in the list. Men who died from war-related causes are underlined.

Undoubtedly the list is incomplete and the service of several men listed here is questionable or unconfirmed. In addition, unrelated Speer-Spear-Spier-etc men from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee also served in the Confederate States Army and often it is difficult for a researcher to separate them from our family members. This Chapter is a "work-in-progress" and anyone with corrections or additions is urged to contact me (see INTRODUCTION).

A grand monument to South Carolina’s Confederate soldiers stands on the lawn of the State Capitol in Columbia (Figures 19-1 and 19-2).

William Speer, Sr.¹

John Speer²

William Alexander Speer³

William Speer, Jr.²

John Alexander Speer³

Alexander Speer²

Agernon Sidney Speer³

Eustace Willhouby Speer³

Margaret Houston Speer Rucker²

The following section gives some details on the military units, battles, and experiences of each individual in the same order as listed above.

1) JOHN ANDREW SPEER⁴ (1833-1879), Captain, 6oth Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Army of Trans-Mississippi. John Andrew joined the LaGrange Light Guards of Troup County, Georgia on April 26, 1861; this unit was later mustered into the Confederate States Army as part of the 60th Regiment. He served the entire war and was paroled at Alexandria, Louisiana on June 4, 1865. See CHAPTER 9 for John Andrew’s family.

2) DANIEL NORWOOD SPEER⁴ (1836-1893), Major, Quartermaster, 60th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Army of Trans-Mississippi. Daniel made Captain and Quartermaster on October 25, 1861 and was promoted to Major on November 28, 1862. He served throughout the war and was paroled June 4, 1865 at Alexandria, Louisiana. See CHAPTER 10 for Daniel Norwood’s family.

3) WILLIAM JAMES SPEER⁴ (1846-1931), Captain. No additional information is available. See CHAPTER 8 for William James’ family.

4) JOHN CALDWELL SPEER³ (c1817-1879), Private, Company D, 48th Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, Army of Trans-Mississippi. See CHAPTER 4 for John Caldwell’s family.

5) WILLIAM HOUSTON SPEER³ (1812-1878), Lieutenant Colonel, 28th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia. William Houston’s service is based on the Compiled Service Records for a "W. H. A. Speer" who may actually have been an unrelated Speer man from North Carolina. William Houston’s age and family stories suggests that he served in the Mexican War (1846-1848); but his service in the Civil War remains undocumented. See CHAPTER 5 for William Houston’s family. Three of his sons served during the Civil War (see below).

6) WILLIAM STARLING SPEER⁴ (c1839-dec), Private, Company D, 17th Regiment (Cochran’s Greys), Alabama Infantry, Army of Tennessee. William Starling enlisted during the winter of 1863 and was captured near Marietta, Georgia on July 4, 1864. He was released from prison at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois at the end of the war on June 16, 1865. See CHAPTER 5 for more about William Starling.

7) JOHN H. SPEER⁴ (c1840-1863), Sergeant, Company C, 13th Regiment (Alabama Borderers), Alabama Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia. John H. joined on July 13, 1861 at Wetumpka, Alabama. The 13th Alabama opened the battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863 and was the only Alabama regiment in the unsuccessful Pickett’s Charge two days later. Sergeant John H. Speer was killed during that famous charge.

8) JAMES A. SPEER⁴ (c1846-1865), Private, Company D, 17th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, Army of Tennessee. James A. joined during the winter of 1863 and was captured during the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee on December 17, 1864. He died while a POW at Camp Chase, Ohio on May 29, 1865.

9) JAMES TAYLOR SPEER⁴ (1846-1927), Private, Company C, 53rd Regiment, Alabama Cavalry, Army of Tennessee. James Taylor enlisted on May 16, 1864 at Rome, Floyd County, Georgia. He was wounded at the Battle of Atlanta about August 1864. He was paroled on April 3, 1865 at Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia. See Chapter 11 for James Taylor’s family.

10) JAMES MILTON SPEER³ (1819-1890), Major, 68th Regiment, 7th Division, Alabama Infantry, Army of Trans-Mississippi. See CHAPTER 5 for James Milton’s family.

11) JAMES MILTON SPEER, JR.⁴, Sergeant, Company H, 55th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Army of Trans-Mississippi. Nothing else is known about James Milton, Jr.

12) ELIJAH HUNT SPEER³ (1828-1908), Private, Company D, 7th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia. Elijah Hunt enlisted in July 1861 and re-enlisted on July 18, 1862. He accidentally shot himself in the foot on December 12, 1862. On July 2, 1863 he was wounded and captured during the famous Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On July 6, 1863 he was received as a POW at Fort McHenry, Maryland and the next day was transferred to the prison at Fort Delaware, Delaware. Elijah Hunt spent the next two years in prison and was released on June 10, 1865. See CHAPTER 12 for his family history and his signature as it appeared on his Oath of Allegiance upon release from Fort Delaware.

13) ANDREW JACKSON SPEER³ (1833-1918), Captain & Assistant Staff Surgeon, 3rd Battalion (Moore’s Battalion), North Carolina Light Artillery. Andrew Jackson was paroled on May 1, 1865 at Greensboro, North Carolina. See CHAPTER 13 for Andrew Jackson’s family.

14) GEORGE WASHINGTON SPEER³ (1835-1915), Private, Company B, 1st Regiment (Orr’s Rifles), McGowan’s Brigade, South Carolina Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia. George Washington enlisted on June 20, 1861 at Camp Pickens, Anderson County, South Carolina. He was paroled at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865. See CHAPTER 14 for George Washington’s family.

15) ARTHUR ALEXANDER SPEER⁴ (1835-1889), Private, Bullock’s Company of the Florida Mounted Volunteers during the Seminole War in 1856 and 1857 at the age of 17. In October 1861, he joined the Confederate States Army under Florida’s 1st Infantry, which was later reorganized into Company E, 10th Regiment. He was promoted to Second Sergeant on March 1, 1862. On February 20, 1864, Arthur Alexander was severely wounded during the Battle of Olustee (Ocean Pond), which was the only Civil War battle fought in Florida. He was wounded in the leg or thigh and was unable to serve for the remainder of the war.

Arthur Alexander survived his injury at the Battle of Olustee, which was fought just east of Lake City, Florida. However his name appears along with 28 others on a monument in Lake City that was erected to honor the Confederates killed during the battle and the 150 soldiers buried in unnamed graves in the city cemetery. The confusion has not been resolved; his name may be on the monument because he was an officer at the time of the battle.

16) ALGERNON SIDNEY SPEER, JR.⁴ (1845-1917). Algernon Sidney, Jr’s service is unknown, however his tombstone contains the Confederate States military symbol, insinuating that he served during the war.

17) ALEXANDER MIDDLETON SPEER³ (1820-1897), Major, 46th Regiment (Gist’s Brigade), Georgia Infantry, Army of Tennessee. Alexander Middleton joined the Macon Volunteers as Private on April 20, 1861, only six days after the firing on Fort Sumter. The Macon Volunteers were mustered into the Confederate States Army as Company D, 2nd Battalion, Georgia Volunteer Infantry. On March 17, 1862 Alexander Middleton was promoted to Major. On May 19, 1863 he resigned to assume his new duties as Georgia State Senator (see CHAPTER 16 for his resignation letter and signature). Several unofficial references insinuate that Alexander Middleton was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel just before ending his military career. See CHAPTER 16 for Alexander Middleton’s family.

18) HENRY A. SPEER⁴ (1841-1864), Surgeon, Company D, 2nd Battalion, Georgia Infantry, Army of Tennessee. Henry A. joined as Private on July 30, 1861 in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia. He was discharged June 7, 1862 at Camp Walker, Virginia with a medical disability (CHAPTER 16).

19) EUGENE P. SPEER⁴ (c1845-c1897), Private, Company I, 46th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Army of Tennessee. Eugene P. enlisted with the Talbot Volunteers as Private in Talbottom, Talbot County, Georgia at the age of 17 on May 30, 1862. He served as Orderly to Colonel Peyton H. Colquit. Eugene P. was wounded at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864. See CHAPTER 16 for Eugene P.’s family.

20) FRANCIS ALBERT SPEER³ (c1842-1863), Private, Company D, 6th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Georgia Infantry. Francis Albert apparently joined at the beginning of the war. He was admitted to a Confederate Army hospital in Richmond, Virginia on February 20, 1863 and died of typhoid fever about a month later on March 17. See CHAPTER 6 for more about Francis Albert Speer.

21) EMORY SPEER⁴ (1848-1918), Private, Company K, 5th Kentucky Mounted Infantry (Orphan Brigade), Army of Tennessee. Emory joined in 1864 during the later days of the war. He was only 15 years old. See CHAPTER 18 for more on Emory’s Civil War service and his family.

22) ALEXANDER RANDOLPH RUCKER³, Lieutenant, Company A, Cobb’s Legion, Army of Northern Virginia. See CHAPTER 7 for Alexander Randolph’s family.

23) ELBERT MARION RUCKER³ (1828-1906), Private, Company K, 3rd Georgia Militia. See CHAPTER 7 for Elbert Marion’s family.