William Ashley Gilley - Confederate Soldier

Here's a hallelujah moment . . .

Yesterday I was reading a book about the last battles of the Civil War that took place in April, 1865, in Virginia, just before Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered. One of the battles took place on the road to Farmville, Virginia on the afternoon of April 6.
Gen. George Armstrong Custer led an attack on Confederate troops.

From the book . . . "Of about 3,000 rebels, only 600 escape Custer. But the general is still not satisfied. He orders three Union cavalry divisions to give chase, cutting men down as they run. In a rare act of lenience, those who make it into the woods are allowed to live. Later they will be rounded up as prisoners of war. For now their confinement is the woods itself; those who try to fight their way out are promptly driven back inside. More that 2,600 Confederates are captured."

My great grandfather's brother, William Ashley Gilley, was one of those Confederate soldiers who was captured. I found a record on Ancestry today that confirms that information. (See Prisoners of War record below.) W. A. Gilley lived in Alabama but he joined an infantry unit in Florida.

 The Battle Flag of the 11th Florida Infantry was captured at the Battle of Sayler's Creek by troops under the command of Major General George Custer.  (The Battle of Sayler's Creek took place the same day as the one in Farmville.


The 11th Florida Infantry Regiment has received little attention from those who study the War for Southern Independence. Likewise, little has been written of the Siege of Petersburg through which they endured...the longest siege in US military history. The 11th was born from the 2nd Florida Infantry Battalion and the 4th Florida Infantry Battalion. 

 From Ancestry:  Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865

Also from Ancestry (taken from the List of Soldiers for the 11th Florida Regiment):

Name:	William Gilley
Enlistment Date:	8 May 1863
Enlistment Place:	Boynton Bluff, Florida
Side Served:	Confederacy
State Served:	Florida
Service Record:	Enlisted as a Private on 8 May 1863. Enlisted in Company C, 11th Infantry Regiment Florida on 8 May 1863.
Sources:	87
Height:	5'10 "
Eye Color:	grey
Hair Color:	dark
Complexion:	fair

This information is from the Alabama Civil War Service Database

Last Name: Gilley
First Name: Wm MI: A

Branch: Infantry
Regimental Unit: 11th Florida Regiment
Company Unit: C
Enlistment Date: 1863/05/08
Enlistment Information: Florida, Boynton Bluff,
Private.

Remarks: The records show Wm. A. Gilley, Pvt., Co. C, 11th Regt., Fla. Inf., CSA enlisted at Boynton Bluff, May 8, 1863 by capt. Curry. Roll for Nov. & Dec., '64- last on file- shows him present.

Prisoner of war record shows him captured Apr. 6, 1865 at Farmville, Va.
and took oath of allegiance and was released at Newport News, Va. June 24, 1865.

11th Infantry Regiment Florida
Date of Organization:	8 Jun 1864
Muster Date:	9 Apr 1865
Regiment State:	Florida
Regiment Type:	Infantry
Regiment Number:	11th
Regimental Soldiers and History:	List of Soldiers Regimental History Eleventh Florida Infantry The 11th Florida Regiment was composed of the 4th Florida Battalion, seven companies, the companies of Captains Ochus and Robinson, of the 2nd Battalion, and Cullen's unattached company. There is some confusion in the records that makes the assignment of two of the companies; in this Regiment uncertain. W. J. Robinson was Captain of Co. A; Adams A. Ochus, of Co. D; Charles Beggs, of Co. E; John Tanner, of Co. F; G. W. Bassett, of Co. G; W. E. Anderson, of Co. H; Joe J. Chaires, of Co. I; D. D. McLean, of Co. K. Like the 10th the story of the 11th follows closely that of the 9th until the fateful April 6, when this Regiment with the 5th and 8th, under the command of Colonel Brevard, was sent by Colonel Lang, then in command of the Brigade, Finnegan having been transferred to Florida, by order of General Lee to protect the wagon train. These Regiments were captured by General Custer's Cavalry. This accounts for the Regiment surrendering but 4 officers and 19 men on the morning of April 9 at Appomatox. Source: Soldiers of Florida in the ... Civil War ... page 236 Battles Fought Fought on 15 Aug 1863 at Green Cove Springs, FL. Fought on 15 Jan 1864. Fought on 8 Feb 1864 at Boynton's Bluff, FL. Fought on 8 Feb 1864 at Boynton Bluff, FL. Fought on 8 Feb 1864 at Boyington's Bluff, FL. Fought on 3 Apr 1864 at Richmond, VA. Fought on 4 Apr 1864 at Burkeville, VA. Fought on 1 Jun 1864 at Cold Harbor, VA. Fought on 4 Jun 1864 at Cold Harbor, VA. Fought on 6 Jun 1864 at Cold Harbor, VA. Fought on 10 Jun 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 13 Jun 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 15 Jun 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 22 Jun 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 23 Jun 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 24 Jun 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 27 Jun 1864 at Reams' Station, VA. Fought on 27 Jun 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 29 Jun 1864 at Reams' Station, VA. Fought on 1 Jul 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 2 Jul 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 9 Jul 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 30 Jul 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 10 Aug 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 21 Aug 1864 at Weldon Railroad, VA. Fought on 21 Aug 1864 at White House Station, VA. Fought on 21 Aug 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 21 Aug 1864 at Reams' Station, VA. Fought on 22 Aug 1864 at Weldon Railroad, VA. Fought on 22 Aug 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 24 Aug 1864 at Reams' Station, VA. Fought on 10 Sep 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 11 Sep 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 14 Sep 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 15 Sep 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 20 Sep 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 24 Sep 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 27 Sep 1864 at Marianna, FL. Fought on 4 Oct 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 23 Oct 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 26 Oct 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 2 Nov 1864 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 10 Dec 1864 at Weldon Railroad, VA. Fought on 1 Feb 1865 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 9 Feb 1865 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 20 Feb 1865 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 2 Apr 1865 at Petersburg, VA. Fought on 2 Apr 1865 at Hatcher's Run, VA. Fought on 3 Apr 1865 at Richmond, VA. Fought on 3 Apr 1865 at Howard's Grove Hospital, Richmond, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Harper's Farm, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Farmville, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Sailor's Creek, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Newport News, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Archer's Farm, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Amelia Court House, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Danville, VA. Fought on 6 Apr 1865 at Burkeville, VA. Fought on 7 Apr 1865 at Burkeville, VA. Fought on 7 Apr 1865 at Amelia Court House, VA. Fought on 10 Apr 1865 at Macon, GA.

Mama's Side of the Family

When a person researches his/her family, there are (hopefully) many "hallelujah" moments. Moments when you're so excited because you've found something of great value concerning your family. I've had many of those in the past few years. One came when Mama, Frances Langdale Jowers, showed me copies of her mother's birth certificate, her father's birth certificate, her father's death certificate, and her parents' marriage certificate. Her brother, Charlie, who lives in England, sent them. I don't remember why Mama said he sent them. I just remember being so excited the first time she showed them to me.

Ten or so years ago I asked Mama about her family, her grandparents and any others she remembered. She told me she didn't know her grandparents. She didn't even know their names. Sometime later she gave me a paper where she had written down what she knew about her family. Her family lived in England. On the Langdale side, she mentioned an Uncle Charles, Aunt Maggie, Aunt Pat, and Uncle Fred. She mentioned a cousin, Harriet and 3 sons of Aunt Maggie and another girl. On the Kirkpatrick side, she mentioned Uncle Sydney (aka Sidney), his wife Bertha, one unnamed daughter, and a granddaughter, Wendy. At the top of the page she wrote "Unknown before 1892."

The certificates listed in the first paragraph changed everything! The birth certificates (certified copies) told us the names, addresses, and occupations of Mama's grandparents and the maiden names of her grandmothers. The marriage certificate gave her parents ages, addresses, occupations, fathers' names, and the date they got married and where. I now had something to go on.

I didn't start researching the families until about 2009. Using the Murphy, NC Library internet access to the Library Edition to Ancestry.com, I had access to records in England, mainly censuses and parish records. Since then, I've traced my direct line of Langdales to my third greatgrandfather (1700's, birth year unknown) and to my fourth greatgrandfather (1700's, birth year unknown) on the Kirkpatrick side. All have been sourced.

I've often wondered what Mama would have said to what I've found out about her family, and I've discovered a lot. I wish she knew. I plan to share some of my finds as time permits.

These are my grandparents, Thomas Henry Langdale and Maud Kirkpatrick Langdale. The photo was taken at the wedding of Margaret Maud Langdale and Henry (Harry) Norris in 1942. My grandfather was 45 and my grandmother 49 when the photo was taken. My grandfather looks tall in the photo but he's standing on a step. He was actually 5 ft. 1 1/2 inches tall and my grandmother stood under 5 ft.