49th Georgia Infantry Regiment Soldier's Notes

49th Georgia Infantry Regiment

Descendants Association

Soldier's Notes

Based on sketchy family research, Jonathan Iverson Johnson was born on June 23, 1842 and lived with his family near present-day Carrollton, Georgia. Although a company of infantry was being formed in his own county, he traveled to Butler, Georgia as a bonus of $100 was being offered for a 3-year enlistment in the Taylor County Volunteers. On March 4, 1862, Private J. I. Johnson enlisted in the Confederate States army as a member of Company E (Taylor County Volunteers) of the 45th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Private Johnson was wounded during Thomas’ counterattack at Fredericksburg. Shot in the lower abdomen, he spent several weeks at an aid station near the battlefield and was eventually evacuated to a hospital in Richmond, where he spent the next six months recovering from his wounds. Sometime during the winter of 1863/1864, Pvt. Johnson was transferred to a hospital in Richmond as company muster rolls show him “absent sick” from January 1864 until January 1865, but “present” for the February 1865 regimental return. The family history seems to indicate that Jonathan spent the better part of a year with typhoid; although archival proof cannot be found to substantiate the exact cause of his hospitalization. He was discharged on February 28, 1865. Having survived the war, Jonathan returned to Georgia where he married Mary Louisa Joiner on January 28, 1869. He died on April 18, 1924 (age 81) in Leoma, Tennessee.

Private Jonathan Iverson Johnson

The Holmes family of Washington County sent four sons into Company C of the 49th Georgia. Only one would return. Private Green Hamilton Holmes was wounded a couple of times, captured and sent to Point Lookout as a Prisoner of War. He returned home safely, but his three brothers (Jordan, James and John) were not so fortunate, all of them dying in the war.

Private Hardy Poole, Company I, the Hancock County company, was one of five brothers who served in the 49th and 59th Georgia regiments. Hardy served in both regiments and was one of the one hundred eleven soldiers of the 49th Georgia who surrendered at Apamattox. Three of the five brothers were present at the surrender with the 49th. Of the other two, one was killed after Gettysburg, and another was severely wounded and sent home. Hardy himself was wounded, but returned to service until the end of the war.

Private Alexander Bowen, Company B (Telfair Volunteers), enlisted in 1862. He was captured near Petersburg, Virginia and sent to Point Lookout, Maryland in 1865.

Private George W. Bowen, Company B (Telfair Volunteers), enlised in 1864 and was present for the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, Virginia. He served in the same company with his father, Private Alexander Bowen.

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