Some of you may have noticed the new media slideshow that’s been added to the Renegade South website, www.renegadesouth.com One of the images you’ll see on it is the handwritten roster of the Knight band that Newt Knight submitted to Congress in 1870. That was the year that Newt began petitioning Congress to compensate him and his men for having fought on behalf of the Union Army. He included the names of 54 men that he described as having remained “true” to the band and to the Union.
Understand that this is not the original roster that Newt kept hidden in the woods during the war. Family members retain that original, which is quite brittle and fragile. Rather, this roster was created after the war and presented as evidence to support Newt’s petition. Some of you will no doubt enjoy looking for familiar names! In case you can’t read them–the document “slides” by pretty fast–I’m listing all the names here, with original spellings and in original order.
I hope you enjoy the search, and if you’d like more information about what is written on the roster about a particular man, just ask! Officers are followed by privates:
Captain Newton Knight
1st Lt. J. M. Valentine
2nd Lt. Simeon Collins
1st. Sgt. J.J. Collins
2nd Sgt. W. P. Turnbow
1st Corp. Alphus Knight
2nd Corp. S.G. Owens
Tapley Bynum
P.M. Bynum
Montgomery Blackwell
J.M. Blackwell
J.M. Collins
B.F. Collins
M.C. Collins
M.M. Coats
S.C. Coleman
B.F. Cawley
R.J. Collins
James Ewlen
J.M. Gunter
Tucker Gregg
R.H. Hinton
John Hogan
J.M. Hathhorn
G.M. Hathhorn
W.B. Jones
M.W. Kurven
S.W. Kurven
J.M. Knight
G.F. Knight
H.C. Knight
B.F. Knight
Lazrous Mathews
Ausberry McDaniel
C.F. Prine
Daniel Redock
W.W. Sumrall
John Ira Vallentine
Paterick Vallentine
M.B. [probably W., not M., for William] Vallentine
R.H. Vallentine
Eliga Wilborn
T.L. Welch
R.J. Welch
W.M. Welch
H.R. Welch
Younger Welborn
W.T. Welborn
N.V. Whitehead
T.J. Whitehead
D.W. Whitehead
James Yates
Thomas Yates
Joseph Youghn
Moses Richerson
Be sure to have a look at the original; it truly makes the past come alive!
