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GENEALOGICAL
NOTES AND ANECDOTES
.
MAJOR DAVID M.
WHALEY:
FIFTH TEXAS
REGIMENT, HOOD'S BRIGADE
Photo: courtesy of
Paul Whaley
In Centerville, Leon County, Texas, for enlistment in
the "Leon Hunters" which became company
"C" of the Fifth Texas Regiment, Hood's
Brigade, John Calhoun Cox
was recruited on 11 July 1861 by David M. Whaley. Whaley,
whose middle name is believed to have been
"Moreland," was a native of Pennsylvania and
was a pharmacist by trade. After Whaley was killed in
action, at Freeman's Ford, on 22 August 1862, company
"C" persevered throughout the War and was
present at Appomattox. Below is the article about Whaley
which, in 1980, was written by Donald H. Foelsch and
which was published in the Leon County, Texas History
Book (1986).
Mjr. David M.
Whaley
by Donald H. Foelsch,
Member of the Leon County Genealogical Society
David M. Whaley was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania,
sometime between 1822 and 1825, one of the four children
of James Whaley and his wife Jane. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
[6] [7] [8] [9]
Dark haired and handsome, he must have been attractive
to the ladies, but somehow never married. A friend that
knew his father as "the soul of honor," vouched
that the son, too, was a "chip off the old
block." [10]
We know little about his early years except his
interest in the military. He followed an old Whaley
tradition in this regard. Family tales of the death of a
king, and a Whaley’s flight for life to the American
colonies must have stirred his youthful imagination. His
father had helped defend Fort Meigs from the British in
the War of 1812. His grandfather, Benjamin, was an old
Indian fighter, and an officer of the Revolution. Small
wonder that by age 35 he commanded his own regiment of
volunteer infantry in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. [12]
[13]
He was schooled in medicine, but enjoyed the
druggist’s trade more, and operated a business in
Connellsville, Pennsylvania, for Samuel Y. Campbell known
as "D. M. Whaley and Co." [14] [15] [16] [17]
[18]
In the early 1850s, he left Pennsylvania for the
South. After a short stop in Nashville, Tennessee, he
moved on to Texas. [19]
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"In the year 1853 or 1854, a
citizen of Leon County, Texas, purchased a stock
of drugs in Pennsylvania, and removed the same to
Centreville, the county seat of Leon County. With
this stock of drugs came Whaley, as
druggist." [20] |
He liked Texas and stayed on.
In 1855, Whaley paid his first taxes in Leon County.
Also, he developed a taste for politics. He supported the
platform of Sam Houston. In 1856, he attended the
National Convention in Philadelphia. In 1859, he was the
only representative of Texas at the Southern Commercial
Convention in Vicksburg. The same year he was elected
state senator, and represented Texas’s 21st
senatorial district. [21] [22] [23]
His business prospered. By 1859, he owned 954 acres of
land and several town lots in Centerville. A year later,
the census reported his wealth as $10,000, a handsome sum
in those innocent years. [24] [25]
As the dark clouds of the Civil War gathered, Leon
County and the South seethed.
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"There were men in the
county possessed of large slave properties, many
of them refugees from the older southern states,
who had sensed the impending storm. Slave
property in its bulk was considerably more
valuable than any other class of property in the
county. The sentiment of Leon County was in favor
of secession." [26] |
A few souls, including Houston and Whaley, favored
moderation, but were scorned for their views. [27] [28]
[29] [30]
After the secession in February 1861, Houston refused
to join with the cause of the Confederacy. He was removed
from the governor’s post in March. Whaley’s
loyalty, however, was greater to the South than to
Houston. When hostilities broke out in Charleston in
April, he supported the Stars and Bars wholeheartedly, by
raising a company of men in Centerville. The "Leon
Hunters" were organized in July with Whaley as
captain, mustered into state service on the 19th, and on
their way to Houston by the 23rd. August 2, they were
sworn into Confederate service for three years or the
war. A few days later they were ordered to Richmond, and
arrived in September. The unit became Company
"C" of the Texas 5th Division. Later they were
attached to Hood’s Texas Brigade. Of the 800 men who
marched off to war from Leon County, only Whaley’s
penetrated farther than the Mississippi. [31] [32] [33]
[34] [35] [36] [37]
Company "C" trained and drilled during
September and October 1861 near Richmond. Late in
october, they moved to winter quarters on the Potomac
River near Dumfries, Virginia, as part of the right flank
of General Joseph E. Johnston’s army. Sickness was
common. Whaley himself was ill much of the time. His
knowledge of medicine and drugs helped treat the measles,
pneumonia, and diarrhea ever present in the camp. [38]
[39] [40]
Early in the spring of 1862, federal forces under
General McClellan were preparing to attack Richmond via
the peninsula between the York and James rivers.
Confederate defenders of the city under General Johnston
were aligned across the peninsula, and anchored at
Yorktown near the mouth of the York River. Hood’s
unit was ordered to that city to aid in its defense. They
arrived in mid-April. McClellan, with 100,000 Federal
troops, was preparing to attack when they arrived. [41]
[42] [43]
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"The 3rd of May, 'on
information that the Federal batteries would be
ready for service in a day or two,’ the
Commanding General ordered the Army to retreat.
Accordingly, I (General Hood) marched my brigade,
which formed part of Major General G. W.
Smith’s Division, upon the Yorktown road, in
the direction of Williamsburg. At daybreak of the
5th, the retreat was continued from Williamsburg
towards Richmond, through deep mud, and in a
heavy rain . . . . General Whiting informed me
that a large body of enemy had disembarked at
Eltham’s Landing . . . and instructed me to
move my brigade in that direction, and drive the
enemy back if he attempted to advance from under
cover of his gunboats." [44] |
A fight began when Franklin’s Federal division
landed at Eltham’s on the 7th of May. Hood himself
was nearly killed in the action.
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"Pursuant to imperative
orders, the men had not been allowed to march
with loaded arms during the retreat. On the 7th,
at the head of my command, I [General Hood]
proceeded in the direction of Eltham’s, with
the intention to halt and load the muskets upon
our arrival at the cavalry outpost . . . . I did
not discover the Federals till we were almost
close enough to shake hands. I leaped from my
horse, ran to the head of my column, the about
fifteen paces in rear, gave the command, forward
into line, and ordered the men to load. The
Federals immediately opened fire . . . .
Meanwhile, a corporal of the enemy drew down his
musket upon me as I stood in front of my line.
John Deal, a private in Company "A,"
Fourth Texas Regiment, . . . had fortunately, in
this instance, but, contrary to orders, charged
his rifle before leaving camp; he instantly
killed the corporal who fell within a few feet of
me." [45] |
Hood’s losses at Eltham’s Landing were
slight. Eight were killed and 28 wounded. [46] Hood
continues -
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"This affair, which brought
the brigade so suddenly, and unexpectedly, under
fire for the first time served as a happy
introduction to the enemy." [47] |
After their baptism of fire at Eltham’s Landing,
Hood’s brigade played a minor role in the battle of
Seven Pines (Fair Oaks) on May 31st. Seven Pines was a
railroad station located about six miles to the east of
Richmond. On that fateful day, General Johnston was badly
wounded. The next day, General Robert E. Lee assumed
command. Because General Longstreet led the Confederate
attack badly, Lee withdrew his troops to the defenses of
Richmond to regroup. [48] [49] [50]
At the end of June, 1862, Lee was ready for battle
again, and counterattacked in the Seven Days battles near
Richmond. The Seven Days opened with the battle of
Mechanicsville (Beaver Dam Creek) on the 26th, followed
by Gaines’ Mills on the 27th, [51] and ended at
Malvern Hill on July 1. [52] The next day, the Federals
withdrew to Harrison’s Landing on the James River
ending McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign to capture
Richmond. Two years were to pass before another such
attempt would be made. [53] [54]
By July, 1862, the Federals under General John Pope
were threatening Gordonsville, a key railroad junction
between Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley. Jackson was
sent to protect the town. About the same time, Lee
learned McClellan was reinforcing the Federal forces at
Fredericksburg, the highest navigable point on the
Rappahannock River. On the 9th, Jackson engaged the lead
of Pope’s army at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
(Cedar Run) and defeated them. The same day, Hood was
sent to assist Jackson. Lee left for Gordonsville on the
15th to assume personal command of the operations in
middle Virginia. [55] [56]
When Lee arrived, Pope had halted between the Rapidan
and Rappahannock Rivers, with his force increased by the
arrival of fresh troops from Fredericksburg. Lee tried to
attack at once, but was delayed by heavy rain until
August 20th. Meanwhile, the enemy retreated across the
Rappahannock. [57]
On August 22nd, the day of David Waley’s death,
Jackson crossed the Hazel River at Welford’s Mill,
and proceeded up the Rappahannock in pursuit of Pope.
Trimble’s brigade was left near Freeman’s Ford
to protect Jackson’s train. In the afternoon,
Longstreet sent Hood and Whiting’s brigade to
relieve Trimble. Hood had just arrived when they were
attacked by Federals that had recrossed at Freeman’s
Ford. [58]
Accounts of the skirmish vary, but all agree a fierce
battle was fought. The Federals were forced back across
the river with heavy loss. [59]
Hood reported the death of one of his majors in the
fight, probably Whaley. [60]
Another moment of the same battle was viewed by the
enlisted man J. B. Polley; and he mentions Whaley by
name.
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"At Freeman’s Ford,
[61] on the following day (the 21st of August by
Polley’s reckoning, but really the 22nd) . .
. having crossed the Hazel River, the Texas
Brigade formed in line just inside of a field of
corn in good roasting ear. On the other side of
the field and on the south side of the
Rappahannock, yet lingered a Federal brigade. The
Confederates were hungry, the Federals in the
same fix, and roasting ears in sight, each wanted
a share of them. Each in position to watch the
other from its main line, neither of the opposing
brigades had out a skirmish or picket line. "Two
soldiers, the one a Dutchman belonging to the
Union army, the other a Prussian serving in the
Confederate, happened to be in the field at the
same time, gathering corn, and fastidious as to
quality, each wandered toward the center of it,
and just when each had an armful of roasting
ears, they came face to face.
"Neither uttered a word, but dropping the
corn, each rushed at the other and began to pound
him with fists. That proving slow work, they
clinched, and finally falling, began a mighty
wrestle for supremacy that was punctuated by
vigorous kicks and thrusts at each other . . . .
The Federals were the first to move to the
rescue, but the Texans were not far behind them
in starting — the lines of battle meeting
about the center of the field — and for a
few minutes there was a hot fight, the First and
Fifth Texas bearing the brunt of it and each
losing men.
"The Fifth, however, might have escaped
any loss, had it not carried the Lone Star Flag
on an unusually long staff. Floating high above
the corn, this flag caught the eye of an expert
Federal artillerist, and the shell he fired at it
exploding just in front of it, Major Whaley
and another man were killed outright, and four
men were wounded. Although under fire, the Fourth
Texas, Eighteenth Georgia, and Hampton’s
Legion suffered no loss." [62]
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As is the ancient custom of warriors, he was buried
near the place where he fell.
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". . . his thigh was
shattered by the fragment of a shell, and he died
from the wound that night. He was buried on the
field, near a stone fence, near where the field
hospital stood. The same shell that killed Major
Whaley wounded his orderly, John H. Hailey, and
incapacitated him for service during the
remainder of the war." [63] |
A long flowery poem, in the style of its day, is borne
by a marker near the spot where he fell:
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Then in tribute now, and
sorrow, too, we can
But trust in realms of light and glory far above
Our own, thy spirit dwells, with thy comrades
dear
Who freely gave their all, for rights they could
not
Live without or trust with those they fought
against. [64] |
His company, poor tired Company "C" fought
on to Appomattox. They suffered by far the heaviest of
any that left Leon County for the war. Twenty men and one
officer returned to Texas. [65]
ENDNOTES
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[1] James Whaley - Born 20
March 1788/89, Tyrone Township, Fayette County,
Pennsylvania. Married 2 December 1813 to Jane P.
MORELAND. Died May 1869 in Uniontown,
Pennsylvania. Veteran of the War of 1812, held
rank of captain. His wife, Jane, born 1794,
Uniontown, Pennsylvania; and died 24 December
1871. Children: Ann, William M., Jane Vance, and
David M. [Sources: (1) Death Certificate: Jane
Vance Gray, Greensburg, Westmoreland County,
Pennsylvania, File No. 26234, died on 20 March
1908. (2) The Pennsylvania Archives,
Series 3, vol. 22, pp. 394, 578, 608, and 719;
vol. 23, p. 479; Series 6, vol. 7, pp. 943, 945;
vol. 8, pp. 250, 252-253; vol. 9, pp. 356, 366,
372, 402, 405, 499, 502, 597, 600, 624; vol. 11,
p. 196. (3) Veterans Records, The National
Archives, Washington, D. C., 20408. File titles:
(a) James Whaley, Old War of Independence File
3547 Blwt 2062-80-95 (Pension and Bounty Land),
(b) James Whaley (Capt.), 2nd Regiment
(Patterson), Pennsylvania Militia, 1812
(Military). (4) The 1955 Yearbook of the
Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution, Floyd G. Hoenstine, 1956, p. 492.
(5) Membership Papers, Daughters of the American
Revolution, Sallie Grey, Nat. no. 173899, 20
December 1921. (6) History of Fayette County,
Pennsylvania, Jordon and Hadden,
"Whaley," vol. 3, pp. 833-835. (7)
Membership Papers, DAR, Margaret Russell, Nat.
no. 93813, 5 June 1912. (8) Membership Papers,
DAR, Emma McClelland Mosby, Nat. no. 8877, 2 May
1895. (8) Federal Census - 1860, Union Borough,
Fayette County, Pennsylvania: J. W. Whaley,
gentleman, and wife Jane, 643/643, page 896, line
2, 28 June 1860. (9) History of Fayette
County, Pennsylvania, Franklin Ellis, 1882,
pp. 89-90, and 784. (10) The Monongahela of Old,
James Veech, 1892, pp. 126-129. (11) A History
of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, James Hadden,
Unigraphics, Inc., Evansville, Indiana, 1978
(original printing, 1913), p. 65. (12) The
Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature, 1860: A
Texas Enterprise, William DeRyee et al.,
Miner, Lambert, and Perry, Austin, Texas, 1860,
"D. M Whaley" (includes a fine
photograph).]
[2] Officers and Men Raised in Leon County,
Texas, W. D. Wood, 1899, pp. 11-12.
[3] The 1955 Yearbook of the Pennsylvania
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution,
Floyd G. Hoenstine, 1956, p. 492.
[4] Membership Papers, DAR, Sallie Grey, Nat.
no. 173899, 20 December 1921.
[5] Membership Papers, DAR, Margaret Russell,
Nat. no. 93813, 5 June 1912.
[6] Membership Papers, DAR, Emma McClelland
Mosby, Nat. no. 8877, 2 May 1895.
[7] Federal Census - 1850, (1) David M.
Whaley, "druggest." [He is enumerated
twice, reason unknown.]: (1) Family of Mary Page,
24 July 1850, 23/23, line 11, (2) Family of
Joseph Johnson, 25 July 1850, 59/59. line 20.
[8] Federal Census - 1860, Centerville, Leon
County, Texas, p. 37, line 28, Dwelling Family
262, 29 August 1860, D. M. Whaley,
"Druggest," enumerated in the family of
James H. Johnston.
[9] The Texas Album of the Eighth
Legislature, 1860.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Benjamin Whaley - Born 1759/60, Loudon
County, Virginia. Married 1788 to Jane VANCE in
Tyrone Township, Pennsylvania. Died 7 September
1833, Bourbon County, Kentucky. Veteran of the
Revolution, commissioned captain on 23 April
1781. Children: Benjamin, Washington, Henry,
John, James W., Presley, Barbara, Mary, Margaret,
and Jane. [Veterans Records, The National
Archives, Washington, D. C. 20408. File title:
Benjamin Whaley S31472, Pension and Military
Record; The 1955 Yearbook of the Pennsylvania
SAR; History of Fayette County,
Pennsylvania. Jordon and Hadden,
"Whaley," Vol. 3, pp. 833-35;
Membership Papers, DAR Nat. no. 93813, Margaret
Russell, 5 June 1912; History of Uniontown,
Pennsylvania. James Hadden, Unigraphics,
Inc.; Federal Census - 1840, Dunbar Township,
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Benjamin Whaley, p.
414, line 3; Deeds, Fayette County, Pennsylvania,
to Benjamin Whaley from Commnwealth of
Pennsylvania, patent to 409+ acres in Tyrone
Township dated 17 July 1890, recorded 4 October
1890, Book 97, page 409. (Note - Land surveyed 4
September 1890. Copied in Harrisburg 4 September
1890, name of property "Prosperity."
See Book "P," Vol. 26, p. 173,
Department of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania.); The Horn Papers, W. F.
Horn, 1945, Vol. 3, Benjamin Whaley, Map no. 22,
Land Grant Maps; Newspaper article, Observer-Recorder,
Paris, Kentucky - ?, 11 September 1833, page - ?,
Column 2, Obituary of Benjamin Whaley,
"Another Revolutionary Officer Gone!"]
[13] The Texas Album of the Eighth
Legislature, 1860.
[14] Wood, Officers and Men Raised in Leon
County, Texas.
[15] 1850 Federal Census, Fayette County,
Pennsylvania. loc. cit.
[16] Hadden, A History of Uniontown,
Pennsylvania.
[17] 1860 Federal Census, Centerville, Leon
County, Texas.
[18] The Texas Album of the Eighth
Legislature, 1860.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Wood, loc. cit.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Sam Houston: The Great Designer,
Llerena Friend, University of Texas Press, 1954,
p. 294.
[23] The Texas Album of the Eighth
Legislature, 1860.
[24] Tax Lists, Leon County, Texas, D. M.
Whaley years: 1855, 1858, 1859, 1860.
[25] 1860 Federal Census, Centerville, Leon
County, Texas.
[26] "A History of Leon County"
(Texas), J. Y. Gates et al., Leon County News,
Centerville, Texas, 28 May 1936, pp. 12-13.
[27] East Texas: Its History and Its Makers,
T. C. Richardson, Lewis Historical Publishing
Company, New York, pp. 1082-1085, Vol. III.
[28] Gates et al., loc. cit.
[29] The Texas Album of the Eighth
Legislature, 1860.
[30] A Memorial and Biographical History of
Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone,
Freestone, and Leon Counties, Texas, author
unknown, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago,
1893, pp. 458-460.
[31] D. M. Whaley Civil War Veterans Records.
[32] Biographical Index, Texas State Library,
Austin, Texas 78711, "D. M. Whaley, Capt.,
Infantry Company, Leon County, Texas, C. S.
A."
[33] Wood, loc. cit.
[34] Richardson, loc. cit.
[35] Gates, loc. cit.
[36] Texas in the War: 1861-1865,
Marcus J. Wright, The Hill Junior College Press,
1955, pp. 18-19, 212-213.
[37] A Memorial and Biographical History of
Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone,
Freestone, and Leon Counties, Texas.
[38] D. M. Whaley Civil War Veterans Records.
[39] Wood, loc. cit.
[40] Advance and Retreat, J. B. Hood,
Indiana University Press, 1959, pp. 18-30
(facsimile reprint, orginal printed 1879).
[41] D. M. Whaley Civil War Veterans Records.
[42] Hood’s Texas Brigade, J. B.
Polley, Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, Ohio 1976,
pp. 71-75 (This is a facsimile reprint, orginal
printed in New York in 1910.)
[43] Hood, loc. cit.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Ibid.
[46] Ibid.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Wood, loc. cit.
[49] Hood, loc.c. cit.
[50] Columbia Encyclopedia, p. 625.
[51] One source reports that Captain Whaley
was the hero of the famous charge at
Gaines’s Mill on the 27th of June (Wood, Officers
and Men Raised in Leon County).
[52] Another source reports his death at
Malvern Hill on 1 July 1862 (DAR Nat no. 8877,
Emma McClelland Mosby, 2 May 1895). His military
record indicates he was promoted to Major on 10
July and later killed on the 22nd of August at
Freeman’s Ford. [D. M. Whaley Civil War
Veterans Records; Wood, loc. cit.; DAT
Nat. no. 8877, Emma McClelland Mosby, 2 May
1895.]
[53] Wood, loc. cit.
[54] Columbia Encyclopedia, p. 933.
[55] The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee,
Clifford Dowdey (State of Virginia), Bramhall
House, New York, 1961, pp. 275-278.
[56] Op. cit., p. 296.
[57] loc. cit.
[58] Ibid.
[59] Ibid., Lee’s Lieutenants,
Douglas S. Freeman, Charles Scribner’s &
Sons, 1943, Vol. II, pp. 76-80.
[60] Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants.
The source quoted in this book is War of the
Rebellion. Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies, Series 1, 12, part 2, p.
605.
[61] See The Official Atlas of the Civil
War, Thomas Yoseloff, New York, 1958, Map
58-3, "Freeman’s Ford" for good
map of battle area.
[62] Hood, loc. cit.
[63] Wood, loc. cit.
[64] Monument inscription, "Tribute to
the memory of Major D. M. Whaley of the 5th Texas
Regiment," copy supplied by William S. Gray
of Port Charlotte, Florida, 13 September 1973.
[65] Gates et al., loc. cit.
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ERRATA: On 14 January 2003, Mr.
Donald H. Foelsch wrote to emend his saying "His
company, poor tired Company 'C' fought on to Appomattox .
. ." to "His company, poor tired Company 'C'
fought on to the end of the war . . . ." Mr. Foelsch
also reports that no marker for Maj. David M. Whaley can
now be located in the battlefield where he fell. It is
possible that Maj. Whaley is buried in the Oak Cemetery
in Richmond, Virginia; but this has yet to be proven.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Valuable contribution was made to this web page by
Donald H. Foelsch and Paul Whaley II.
Persons contributing to this web page are not
responsible for the use which its author has made of
their information or points of view. All such errors as
may be found herein are entirely the fault of the author
of this web page.
RETURN: John Calhoun Cox
(2 January 1836 - 19 February 1917) Fifth Texas Regiment,
Hood's Brigade (1)
RETURN: John Calhoun
Cox (2 January 1836 - 19 February 1917) Fifth Texas
Regiment, Hood's Brigade (2)
RETURN: John
Calhoun Cox: Battle Flag of the Fifth Texas Regiment,
Hood's Brigade
RETURN: John
Calhoun Cox: Texas Star
RETURN: John
Calhoun Cox: Fifth Texas Regiment, Hood's Brigade:
Service Record
RETURN: John
Calhoun Cox: Southern Cross of Honor
RETURN: Antecedents and
Descendants of John Cox (1 November 1727 - ABT 1804/05)
RETURN: John Dennis
Stell: The Texas Secession Convention
RETURN: John Dennis
Stell: Texas Ordinance of Secession
RETURN: John Dennis
Stell: Address to the People of Texas
GENEALOGICAL NOTES AND
ANECDOTES: TABLE OF CONTENTS
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