William "Manny" Harrell

William "Manny" Harrell, 1834 to 1863. Manny was the son of Samuel & Mary Harrell. He was born in 1834 in Twiggs County GA, the fifth child born of a total of nine (known children). He fought for the Confederacy during the War of Northern Aggression as a Private in the 57th GA Infantry, Co. F. If you find him in Lillian Henderson's roster books, it will state that he died in 1863 at Vicksburg. While he was definitely with his unit at the Battle of Vicksburg, he did not die there. A story passed down by his children confirms that as does his tombstone at Old Bethel. My gg-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Harrell, was his second child and she related the story to her children & grandchildren who in turn have passed it down. After the Battle of Vicksburg, Manny Harrell, sick & diseased, traveled back home to Crawford County GA, after seeing many comrades killed & captured. He rode his old mule until the mule keeled over. Then he walked until he reached his home. His wife saw him coming across a field and told the children their father was coming. The children ran to greet their father, but he halted them several feet before they reached his side. He instructed them to go back to the house and get soap and clean clothes for him & then meet him at the creek. Manny Harrell bathed in the creek and put on the clean clothes, afterwards burning those he had been wearing when he arrived home. He then hugged his children & wife & explained that the clothes he wore home were full of disease & filth and he wanted to protect his family from anything they might contract from coming into contact with them. Manny Harrell lived only a short time before he finally succumbed to the ravages of war himself. His wife, Julia E. Dickson, remarried in 1864 to Joseph E. Reese, but was once again a widow by 1870.

A big thanks goes out to Cheryl Aultman ← for submitting this information!

This page was last updated Tuesday, November 08, 2005 04:02 PM

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