Sgt, John Bay ABNEY1
M, b. 1845, d. 30 June 1866
- Relationship
- 3rd cousin 3 times removed of John Kennedy BROWN Jr.
Sgt, John Bay ABNEY, son of Dr. Mathew Wills ABNEY and Caroline Seabrook Blocker, was born in 1845 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.1
John entered the service of the Confederate States on 7 December 1861 in Edgefield Courthouse, Edgefield County, South Carolina, when he enlisted at age 16 in Company A 22nd South Carolina Infantry commanded by his uncle, Col. Joseph Abney, and then 30 Jun 1862 in company B 6th regiment South Carolina Cavalry, also known as Aiken's Partisan Rangers, commanded by Col. Aiken, and was discharged from each due to age or disability.
He enlisted 15 Apr 1863 in company A 2nd battalion of South Carolina Sharpshooters commanded by the now Maj. Joseph Abney. Also in the company was his brother-in-law, Pickens Butler Watts. John served as a hospital steward until 30 Sep 1863 when the battalion united with another to form the 27th South Carolina Infantry, part of Johnson Hagood's brigade of Robert Hoke's Division.
He was appointed sargeant of Company E and participated in the action at Walthall Junction in May 1864. At one period of the battle, being much exposed, his company faltered when ordered to advance, and he, the youngest of its members, moved forward to the onset, and by his example re-established the courage and confidence of his comrades. For this brilliant conduct on his first field, he was recommended for promotion, whilst his brother-in-law Watts was alike commended for equally conspicious behavior.
On the 24th of June, at Petersburg when Hagood's South Carolina Brigade carried as skirmishers, the rifle pits of the enemy, Sergeants Abney and Watts, in the absence of commanding officers, were each appointed by General Hagood, Lieutenants, pro tempore, in compliment to their skill and gallantry, and assigned to the command of companies. Sergeant Watts, in an almost hand to hand conflict with the foe, fell like a hero on their bristling ramparts. Sergeant Abney, more fortunate for the time, carried with his company, and the company on his right or left, which had lost its commander, the extreme right of the enemy's lines resting on the Appomattox, and after holding it for some time, actually carried off 25-30 prisoners. The demeanor of our troops, on this part of the line, elicited from General Robert E. Lee, who was a beholder from the other side of the river, the warmest praise.
But the next engagement of Gen. Hagood's brigade ended in disaster. Acting on inaccurate information, instead of striking the flank and rear of the Union position on the Weldon Railroad, their division's assault hit the Federals head-on, with predictable results. Some 60 percent of Hagood's men fell under a withering fire. John Abney, along with many others, was captured 21 Aug 1864 and carried as a prisoner to Point Lookout, Maryland. There the kidney disease that he had been suffering for years became aggravated by privation and exposure, and upon his release 30 Oct 1964 he returned home only to linger and die.2,3
Sgt, John Bay ABNEY died on 30 June 1866 in Edgefield, Edgefield County, South Carolina.1,2 He was buried in Edgefield Village Cemetery.
His obituary appeared an unknown date in the Edgefield Advertiser, published in Edgefield, South Carolina. Departed this life, at the residence of his parents, in the village of Edgefield, on the 30th of June, 1866, and in the 21st year of his age, John Bay Abney, the last son of Dr. M. W and Caroline Seabrook Abney... But in his death, he has left us the same example of heroic endurance, of Christian fortitude, and Christian hope, that illustrated the higher portion of his youthful existence. Amid his long protracted sufferings, he never repined-never complained at the dispensations of Providence. His whole life was marked by filial devotion, and was free from guile, and as he had lived without reproach, he died without fear. This family has been truly afflicted by the scourge of war. Their oldest son, Joseph Abney, who was a pattern of every virtue, after passing through all the earlier battles and campaigns, with little injury to his person, and after winning a name for courage and intrepidity, that would have done honor to the proudest soldier in the army of Virginia, perished, in the front ranks of his company, on the bloody field of Sharpsburg. Then the chivalrous high-souled Watts followed in his track of glory; and John B. Abney, the last, the only son, and because the last, the best beloved, is now summoned to heaven to join his immortal brothers, "Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."4
John entered the service of the Confederate States on 7 December 1861 in Edgefield Courthouse, Edgefield County, South Carolina, when he enlisted at age 16 in Company A 22nd South Carolina Infantry commanded by his uncle, Col. Joseph Abney, and then 30 Jun 1862 in company B 6th regiment South Carolina Cavalry, also known as Aiken's Partisan Rangers, commanded by Col. Aiken, and was discharged from each due to age or disability.
He enlisted 15 Apr 1863 in company A 2nd battalion of South Carolina Sharpshooters commanded by the now Maj. Joseph Abney. Also in the company was his brother-in-law, Pickens Butler Watts. John served as a hospital steward until 30 Sep 1863 when the battalion united with another to form the 27th South Carolina Infantry, part of Johnson Hagood's brigade of Robert Hoke's Division.
He was appointed sargeant of Company E and participated in the action at Walthall Junction in May 1864. At one period of the battle, being much exposed, his company faltered when ordered to advance, and he, the youngest of its members, moved forward to the onset, and by his example re-established the courage and confidence of his comrades. For this brilliant conduct on his first field, he was recommended for promotion, whilst his brother-in-law Watts was alike commended for equally conspicious behavior.
On the 24th of June, at Petersburg when Hagood's South Carolina Brigade carried as skirmishers, the rifle pits of the enemy, Sergeants Abney and Watts, in the absence of commanding officers, were each appointed by General Hagood, Lieutenants, pro tempore, in compliment to their skill and gallantry, and assigned to the command of companies. Sergeant Watts, in an almost hand to hand conflict with the foe, fell like a hero on their bristling ramparts. Sergeant Abney, more fortunate for the time, carried with his company, and the company on his right or left, which had lost its commander, the extreme right of the enemy's lines resting on the Appomattox, and after holding it for some time, actually carried off 25-30 prisoners. The demeanor of our troops, on this part of the line, elicited from General Robert E. Lee, who was a beholder from the other side of the river, the warmest praise.
But the next engagement of Gen. Hagood's brigade ended in disaster. Acting on inaccurate information, instead of striking the flank and rear of the Union position on the Weldon Railroad, their division's assault hit the Federals head-on, with predictable results. Some 60 percent of Hagood's men fell under a withering fire. John Abney, along with many others, was captured 21 Aug 1864 and carried as a prisoner to Point Lookout, Maryland. There the kidney disease that he had been suffering for years became aggravated by privation and exposure, and upon his release 30 Oct 1964 he returned home only to linger and die.2,3
Sgt, John Bay ABNEY died on 30 June 1866 in Edgefield, Edgefield County, South Carolina.1,2 He was buried in Edgefield Village Cemetery.
His obituary appeared an unknown date in the Edgefield Advertiser, published in Edgefield, South Carolina. Departed this life, at the residence of his parents, in the village of Edgefield, on the 30th of June, 1866, and in the 21st year of his age, John Bay Abney, the last son of Dr. M. W and Caroline Seabrook Abney... But in his death, he has left us the same example of heroic endurance, of Christian fortitude, and Christian hope, that illustrated the higher portion of his youthful existence. Amid his long protracted sufferings, he never repined-never complained at the dispensations of Providence. His whole life was marked by filial devotion, and was free from guile, and as he had lived without reproach, he died without fear. This family has been truly afflicted by the scourge of war. Their oldest son, Joseph Abney, who was a pattern of every virtue, after passing through all the earlier battles and campaigns, with little injury to his person, and after winning a name for courage and intrepidity, that would have done honor to the proudest soldier in the army of Virginia, perished, in the front ranks of his company, on the bloody field of Sharpsburg. Then the chivalrous high-souled Watts followed in his track of glory; and John B. Abney, the last, the only son, and because the last, the best beloved, is now summoned to heaven to join his immortal brothers, "Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."4
Last Edited=16 Jun 2020
Citations
- [S797] South Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Recollections and Reminiscences, 1861-1865, Vol. 6, pg. 70.
- [S144] John Abney Chapman, History of Edgefield County, pg. 275-6.
- [S984] Wayne Phillips, "Dr. John Bay Abney," e-mail to John K. Brown, 27 Jan 2017 - Confederate service records of Sgt. John B. Abney from Fold 3.
- [S144] John Abney Chapman, History of Edgefield County, pg. 275-276.
Information on this site has been gathered over many years from many sources. Although great care has been taken, inaccuracies may exist. Please contact [email protected] with corrections or questions..