Profile written and provided courtesy Nowell Briscoe ( [email protected] )

CAPTAIN MATTHEW TALBOT NUNNALLY

MONROE NATIVE, GETTYSBURG CASUALTY

MARCH 18, 1839 – JULY 2, 1863

        One of the most visible markers in Rest Haven is not really a grave marker at all but a monument; a testimony by the family to a courageous, dedicated Monroe citizen who led an exemplary life in the service of his country during the battle of Gettysburg.

        Captain Matthew Talbot Nunnally is not buried in Rest Haven but is buried somewhere on the grounds where the battle of Gettysburg was fought.  High on a pedestal in the oldest part of the cemetery, stands the life sized marble likeness of Confederate Captain Matthew Talbot Nunnally, standing at attention, facing southward.  His sword is sheathed, and symbolically, though probably through an accident, it is also broken.

        The life of this young captain, aged 24, came to an end on the second day of Gettysburg, on July 2, 1863 and almost one hundred and fifty years later his story is still inspiring.

        It is this monument, this testimony to Captain Nunnally’s life, which is so remarkable, so unique, and tells in its own way, the story of a Monroe lad who gave his life in a battle he felt sure his company had a chance of helping to win.

The four sides of the monument’s shaft provide much background data.  The south surface tells of his birth to Walton citizens William Branch and Mary Hale Talbot Nunnally on March 18, 1839, his days as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his resignation and return home when secession came, being chosen a leader of the county’s second company of volunteers, the Walton Infantry.

        The east side of the shaft we find the words of Major Henry D. McDaniel, who witnessed his death. Part of the narrative says: “A young man of fine presence and talents, of high purpose and courage, of genial nature and devotion to his profession, his years of training at West Point fitted him to become a model soldier.  He was rigid but kindly in discipline, unremitting in attention to duty and mindful of the safety and comfort of his command, always cheerful, sharing hardships and dangers.  He was lamented by all who knew him and by none so much as the men of his company who had learned to respect, admire and love him.”

        The north face of the monument reads, “A tribute of loving remembrance from Mary Nunnally Sandidge to the memory of her brother whose young career was brief, brave and glorious.” Wanting to perpetuate her brother’s memory in unique fashion, Mrs. Sandidge sent a photo of her brother to Italy where the marble figure was authentically fashioned and placed on the monument also carved by the craftsmen of the time.

        The fourth side of the monument’s shaft, lighted by the setting sun, features a Confederate flag along with these words: “Its fame on brightest pages, penned by poets and by sages, shall go sounding down the ages, furl its folds though now we must.”

        Another Walton County native, Eugenius C. Arnold, whose son’s grave we have just visited, stepped into the role of captain when Matt Nunnally died and was followed by James W. Morrow.

        One of the last letters Captain Nunnally sent to his sister and her husband, six months before losing his life in the battle, reads as a long heart to heart talk. It offers his candid opinions and conclusions and describes in detail his and the Walton Infantry’s participation in some of the war’s most historic battles. Mention of Captain Nunnally’s life and military career are related in Anita Butts Sam’s book, With Unabated Trust: Major Henry McDaniel’s Love Letters from Confederate Battlefields as Treasured in Hester McDaniel’s Bonnet Box.

        Monroe owes a great debt to Mary Nunnally Sandidge in honoring her brother and his courageous actions in such a way that continues to garner respect and admiration long after the last rounds of shots were fired on the grounds of Gettysburg almost150 years ago.