Carlos Alexander and his second wife, Elizabeth Jane Jarrell.

They were married 21 August 1889 so the picture dates from

sometime later. Photo courtesy Helen Clunie

Carlos F. Alexander:

 Born 1842, died 1920 in Poplarville, Mississippi, Buried Juniper Grove Cemetery, Poplarville



Father: Francis (Francisco) Alexander
Mother: Anna Rester
Married 1st: Mary Elizabeth Cooper, 26 May 1864
Children:

• Lemuel
• Jane
• Turner
• Louisa Elizabeth
• Mazaline
• George Rayburn
• James

Married 2nd: Elizabeth Jarrell 21 August 1889 (1900 census shows they had been married 11 years)

Civil War Record:

   Enlisted in Gainesville Volunteers at Shieldsboro in October 1861. Present on muster roll for July/August 1862; present October/November 1862; present January/February1863; absent without leave since May 17 1863 on July/August 1863 return.
   May 17th is the day after the Battle of Champion Hill (Baker's Creek).  Carlos may have been one of the 72 members of The Third Mississippi Infantry inside Vicksburg during the siege.  However, there is no record of his being paroled following the surrender of Vicksburg.  Family tradition holds that Carlos was wounded and came home to recover.  I have been unable to find any record that Carlos ever returned to his unit.

Raymond Battlefield, Part 3

Brig. Gen. Gregg  began to realize in the afternoon that his forces were greatly outnumbered and ordered the troops to pull back toward Jackson.  The citizens of Raymond offered assistance to the wounded of  both sides.  Those who had died were buried in the fields around Fourteen Mile Creek.
   The Union dead were later moved to the National Cemetery in Vicksburg and the Confederate dead were moved to Raymond where a Confederate Cemetery was established.  Most of the confederates were from the Seventh Texas and Third Tennessee.

The remains of several of the soldiers were never identified and they are buried with a marker that reads: "Unknown Confederate Soldier."

Also buried in this cemetery is Serg. Joseph Fairchild, Co. K, 3rd Miss Infantry.  The Third did not fight at Raymond.  The date of death on the marker is April 20, 1862, a full year before the Battle of Raymond.

Pictured above is the Confederate monument and its inscription.  The monument is located on the grounds of the Raymond Courthouse.











Raymond Battlefield, Part 2

   The focal point of the Battle of Raymond was the bridge and a short section of Fourteen Mile Creek.  The banks of the creek were steep and one soldier reported that retreat was out of the question because the Confederataes would shoot them down as they tried to climb the steep bank.  The banks of the creek were made even more slippery by the retreat of the wounded.  Another soldier reported how the creek ran red with the blood of the combatants.

View from the bridge in the morning hours of April 28, 2012.  Note how the banks still appear much as they did on the day of the battle.

A sketch of the two forces shooting at each other across the creek.  I am unaware of the source of the sketch.  It was photographed from the interpretive sign along Fourteen Mile Creek.

   A slight ridge, south of Fourteen Mile Creek has become known as McPherson's Ridge or Artillery Ridge.  McPherson deployed his main battery along this ridge in support of the troops advancing toward the creek across a freshly plowed field.

The preservation group has obtained a number of rebuilt carriages and replica cannons.  These are deployed along the ridge line facing Fourteen Mile Creek.  The power lines in the distance are along Mississippi Highway 18, south of Raymond.

Deployment of the Union and Confederate forces at the Battle of Raymond.  Notice how the 7th Texas and 3rd Tennessee led the way. (Photo taken from interpretive sign at Raymond Military Park.)