Holtzclaw Civil War Veterans
Holtzclaw, James Franklin - son of Ethel Holtzclaw and Minerva Edwards, born 6 October 1844 in Greenville County, South Carolina, and presumed to have died 22 July 1864 near Decatur, Georgia, during the Battle of Atlanta. The location of his burial place is unknown. He enlisted as a private at Camp Perry on 1 February 1863 in the 16th Infantry Regiment South Carolina Volunteers. He was "wounded 22 July 1864 and in hands of the enemy." At the time of his capture he had just been promoted to corporal. Sources: CSR and Family Bible
Holtzclaw, George William - son of Ethel Holtzclaw and Minerva Edwards, born 20 September 1840 in Greenville County, South Carolina, and died 5 November 1920 in Greenville County, South Carolina. He is buried at Brushy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Greenville County, South Carolina. George enlisted in the 16th Infantry Regiment South Carolina Volunteers on 30 December 1861 at Camp Moore. He was elected 2nd Lieutenant 28 April 1862, 1st Lieutenant 29 April 1862 and Captain 27 April 1863 of Company F, 16th Regiment SCV.
Writing from near Faburne [Fairburn], Georgia, on 28 September 1864 to his cousin, Lt. W. I. Kendrick, Capt. Holtzclaw stated, "I hear that Gen'l. Bouregard [Beauregard] is on his way here to take command of this Army. I truly hope the report is true, for we have no confidence in Hood." He requested in this same letter that his cousin, Lt. Kendrick, suppress the lies circulating about the men of the 16th Regiment as deserters. He ends his request with the statement, "I shall hold the perpetrator of this unmitigated falsehood accountable for it. I am determined that such brave and patriotic men whom I have the honor to command, shall not be disgraced in that kind of style." [At the time this letter was written, George W. Holtzclaw was a young man only 24 years old.]
Captain Holtzclaw continued to serve as Captain of Company F until the surrender. He was listed on a parole list dated 28 April 1865 near High Point, North Carolina. The parole was actually issued at Greensboro, North Carolina, 1 May 1865. Sources: CSR, Family Bible and Sixteenth South Carolina Regiment CSA from Greenville County, S.C. by John S. Taylor. The quotes from the letter were taken from a transcription of the letter published in Mr. Taylor's book.
Holtzclaw, Thomas A. - eldest son of Ethel Holtzclaw and Minerva Edwards, born 27 March 1837 in Greenville County, South Carolina, and murdered 1 May 1870 in Greenville County, South Carolina. He is buried in Brushy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Greenville County, South Carolina. Thomas was enlisted 27 August 1861 at Greenville Court House, South Carolina, by Captain William H. Campbell. Captain Campbell's Regiment became part of the 1st Regiment South Carolina Volunteers 3 September 1861 at Lightwood Knot Springs near Columbia, South Carolina. Briefly, Thomas served as a 1st Lieutenant with the Furman Guards, but moved on to become 1st Lieutenant of Company A, Palmetto Battalion, Light Artillery [hereafter referred to as PBLA].
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Macon Weekly Telegraph (Georgia) May 13, 1870, p. 6
Family tradition states that his wife arranged his murder because of her interest in another man. She was excommunicated from the church for adultery two years after his death. The story reported in the newspaper was one of a dispute over the price of a bale of cotton which resulted in Captain Holtzclaw's murder. Andrew Hill, the man accused and convicted of murder, was hung in November of 1870. |
Thomas A. Holtzclaw was appointed Captain of Company H PBLA on 29 May 1862. Early in 1863, he was on detached duty by order of the general; it isn't stated in the records the reason for the detached duty. In a special requisition dated 22 August 1863, he requested seventy shirts and seventy-three pairs of shoes, stating "that the men are barefooted and need clothing." By October 1863 Captain Holtzclaw was stationed on James Island at Battery Haskell. In December, 1863, Captain Holtzclaw requested three wall tents for the use of the officers and thirty army tents for the use of Co. H, PBLA, enlisted men. He again mentioned the dire situation of his men and stated "that the company is entirely destitute of tents the old ones having been long since condemned."
Early in 1864 it was determined that Captain Holtzclaw's Company had been illegally formed because the men had not enlisted for the duration of the war. He requested leave to go home to retrieve some necessary papers in order to challenge this decision. Five days' leave was reluctantly granted by General W. B. Taliaferro. Despite Captain Holtzclaw's efforts, Company H, PBLA, was disbanded in April, 1864. Many of the men of Company H subsequently enlisted in the 16th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers. It is not known if Captain Thomas Holtzclaw served in the Confederate Army in another capacity after April, 1864.
