24th Virginia Infantry, UCV, Confederate Southern Cross of Honor Document

Description

William H. Carr
,
24
th
Virginia Infantry
, UCV, Confederate Southern Cross of Honor
This Southern Cross of Honor is one of a collection of 15 Southern Cross United Confederate Veterans Applications that I am parting out on EBay from UCV Camp 1446 of Giles County, Virginia.
This application is for Private William Howard Carr. Private Carr enlisted on April 25, 1861 into the 24
th
VA Infantry. He was discharged after being wounded at the Battle of Manassas on August 30, 1862, and retired August 22, 1864. This application is dated March 20, 1908. Private Carr was born on
July 17, 1842 in Walkers Creek, Giles County, Virginia
and died on
March 14, 1914
in
Giles County, Virginia
.
After the War Between the States, there was no official recognition of the service of Confederate Veterans, as the U.S. War Department did not, until much later, recognize these men as Veterans. Furthermore, metal was scarce, so none were awarded by the Confederate Government during the War. Around the turn of the twentieth century, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) created a medal appropriate for the defenders in grey; one which would show their appreciation to their Confederate ancestors and honor their heritage. The medal was called the Southern Cross of Honor. Thousands of these medals were awarded. Winnie Davis, daughter of Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, traveled around the South bestowing these medals to these aging Confederate Veterans.
These applications were required to be filled out to confirm military service and receive a Southern Cross medal. The 15 applications I acquired came from a paper dealer in Maryland. This was the largest cache that I have seen coming from a defunct UDC chapter. This document originated from United Confederate Veterans Camp 1446 in
Pearisburg,
Giles County, Virginia, and all the signatures are of Confederate Veterans.
Camp 1446 operated from 1903 until the 1920’s and closed their doors after the veterans had passed away.
24th Regiment, Virginia Infantry
Overview:
24th Infantry Regiment was assembled in June, 1861, with men from Floyd, Franklin, Carroll, Giles, Pulaski, Mercer, and Henry Counties. It served under Early at
First Manassas
, then was assigned to Early's, Kemper's, and W.R. Terry's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. The 24th participated in the campaigns of the army from
Williamsburg
to
Gettysburg
except when it was detached to
Suffolk
with Longstreet. Later it was involved in the engagements at
Plymouth
and
Drewry's Bluff
, the
Petersburg
siege north of the James River, and the Appomattox operations. The regiment contained 740 men in April, 1862, and reported 189 casualties at
Williamsburg
and 107 at
Seven Pines
. It lost 4 killed, 61 wounded, and 14 missing at Frayser's Farm, had 8 wounded at
Fredericksburg
, and had about forty percent of the 395 engaged at
Gettysburg
disabled. Many were lost at
Sayler's Creek
with no officers and 22 men surrendered on April 9, 1865. The field officers were Colonels Jubal A. Early and William A. Terry; Lieutenant Colonels Peter Hairston, Jr. and Richard L. Maury; and Majors William W. Bentley, Joseph A. Hambrick, and J.P. Hammet.
Thanks for looking and good luck bidding.