ENOCH HENRY BENNETT, A CIVIL WAR VETERN OF 3RD GA. CALVARY AND 4TH GA CALVARY
Contributed by Dan Todd, Screven
1. Enoch Henry Bennett was born 27 Feb 1838, the son of Braxton Bennett and Martha Hopps, the grandson of Revolutionary War veteran Richard Bennett, who had moved to Georgia from North Carolina in the late 1700's. Enoch married 16-year old Alice Ophelia Street of Gardi on Feb. 20, 1859, and became a father for the first time when his first son, Albert Edwin, was born in January of 1860, followed by a daughter, Alice Camilla, in May 1861. On August 7, 1861, at the age of 24, Enoch left his farm near Screven, his wife, and two children and traveled 24 miles to Waynesville, GA with his friend, R. B. Hopps, to enlist for a period of 12 months as privates in Captain T. S. Hopkins's Independent Company of Cavalry originally known as the Wayne Rangers, later known as Co. C, 3rd Cav. Battalion.
2. The 3rd Cavalry Battalion was formed during the winter of 1861-62 with six companies. It served on the Georgia coast, scouting and patrolling, until January, 1863, when it merged into the 4th (Clinch's) Georgia Cavalry Regiment. Lieutenant Duncan L. Clinch and Major John L. Harris were in command.
3. Company records show Enoch was paid $190.00 for providing his own horse and $35.00 for providing his own horse equipment upon enlistment. Enoch was paid again on October 31, 1861, by paymaster S. J. Smith, including $33.62 for horse hire; on December 31, 1861 by H. M. Davenport, receiving only $24.00 for horse hire; then again from Mr. Davenport, he was paid on Feb. 28, 1862, receiving $24.00 for horse hire; then on Sept. 1, 1862 by a Captain N. B. Brown. The last recorded payment Enoch received for his services during this first tenure in the army was on Nov. 1, 1862.
4. The company muster roll for May 12, 1862, shows the company commander as Captain Wiggins, a Waynesville attorney and co-founder of the Bank of Brunswick in 1825. It also shows that E. H. had by this time enlisted for the duration of the war. In April 1862, the Confederate Congress passed a conscription law; however, anyone who could afford the fee could hire a substitute to take their place in the army. Apparently Enoch Henry hired a Peter Arnett to take his place as of Dec. 14, 1862. Enoch was then effectively out of the war for one year. During this year, another child, Francis Louella, was born, 19 Nov 1863.
5. In 1863, Congress repealed the conscription law. Company muster rolls show that Enoch re-entered Confederate service in Co. A, 4th Regiment Georgia Cavalry. He is shown present from Dec. 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864. He was officially enlisted March 1, 1864, at Sansaville by Alex Lang for the duration of the war. He received pay for service from Capt. H. R. Fort on January 1, 1864.
6. The 4th (Clinch's) Cavalry Regiment had been formed in January, 1863, using the 3rd Georgia Cavalry Battalion as its nucleus. Its commanders were Colonel Duncan L. Clinch, Lieutenant Colonel John L. Harris, and Major Jesse C. McDonald. Many of the men were from Wayne, Glynn, and Camden counties. Most of the service of the regiment was spent defending the area between Wayne County and the coast of GA.
7. In Feb. 1864, the 4th GA Cavalry participated in the Battle of Olustee (or Ocean Pond) near Lake City, FL. Sometime during the summer of 1864, it was assigned to M. W. Hannon's command. Members of the 4th GA also participated in the Battle of Doctortown in Wayne County during Dec. of 1864. It reportedly skirmished in Northern Georgia and Alabama, took part in the defense of Savannah, and was active in the campaign of the Carolinas. A report stated that the unit contained 200 officers and men in March, 1865, and was included in the surrender of the Army of Tennessee.
8. The last muster roll on which Enoch appears is dated May-June 1864. Enoch H. Bennett then appears on a Register of patients in Ocmulgee Hospital, Macon, GA., having been admitted on July 15, 1864. He is listed as "transferred" on July 23, 1864. The disease listed on the report reads "Feb. Remit." His residence is listed as Wayne County.
9. Enoch then appears on an undated Roll of Prisoners of War. Documentation shows that Enoch Henry was included in forces "surrendered by Maj. Gen. Sam Jones, commanding Confederate Forces in Florida, to Brig Gen. E. M. McCook, U. S. V., in compliance with the terms a Military Convention made on April 26, 1865, at Bennett'sHouse, near Durham's Station, N. C., between General J. E. Johnston, of the Confederate Armies, and Major General W. T. Sherman, U. S. A., and approved by Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant, U. S. A."
10. Another list of those surrendered is dated May 10, 1865. Enoch was paroled May 23, 1865 at Thomasville, GA. Enoch returned to his family in Wayne County after the war and took up farming again. A fourth child, Enoch Braxton Bennett, my great-grandfather and the father of Granny Griffin, was born 21 Jan 1866. Enoch and Alice Ophelia would eventually have nine children, the last, Beatrice Elmira, being born 2 May 1883.
11. On 12 Dec 1881, Enoch was ordained into the Gospel ministry at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, then located at Dale Mill Crossing near Screven, the church which eventually would move to town and become First Baptist Church of Screven.
12. On June 8, 1905, at age 67, Enoch applied for an indigent pension from the State of GA. Witness for the application was Enoch's war buddy, R. B. Hopps. The application was denied because Enoch owned property valued over $500, even though the doctors who examined Enoch, Dr. G. W. Drawdy and Dr. J. Tuten, had declared him to have lumbago and general disability.
13. Enoch applied for a pension again under the 1919 revision of the pension law. This time the petition was granted. Enoch appears on the pension roles of Wayne County as having received $124.00 in 1924.
14. In 1921, Enoch Bennett received the Southern Cross of Honor (from the Jesup 551 Chapter), having been endorsed by his old companion-in-arms, R. B. Hopps and Joseph Rogers.
15. Enoch Henry died on 12 Mar 1925, 13 days after his 87th birthday. His youngest daughter, Beatrice, known to most as Aunt Beat, then 42 years old, applied to the Pension Board of the state for the balance of pension due Enoch and enough additional money to cover funeral expenses. She received a pension payment of $145.00 to pay for medical bills accrued during her father's final illness and for the cost of his funeral, handled by Funeral Director T. L. Stewart. His casket cost $100, the suit in which he was buried cost $25, and rental on the hearse was $20. Aunt Beat was buried between her father and mother upon her death in 1978 at the age of 94.
CREDIT: This story was provided to this web page by, Dan Todd, of Screven, Georgia
