Andrew Jackson McCurry and wife Mary Margaret Adams McCurry, circa 1880?

Monday, September 5, 2011

Frank McCurry and World War II

Frank During WW2
These photographs were scanned by my brother Mark from family photographs our father Hyluard had.  My brother wrote about these three images, "3 Military pictures of Frank McCurry, on back one says "where is the fire?", also says "PVT McCurry"..Private McCurry. Mom says he was in Army in Europe during WWII."

[My husband says the big gun in the photos is a 30 (or perhaps 50) millimeter water cooled machine gun, an anti tank weapon. It is a single shot fired recoil-less rifle.  He says it looks like Frank is standing on a big piece of concrete with a large piece of iron added on top.

He also says it looks like he is carrying a Thompson machine gun which was fairly rare until late in the war and usually officers carried those.  My husband says this might have been taken in boot camp using display weapons.  By 1943 you didn't see the water cooled machine guns any more as they were not reliable, they overheated quickly and you couldn't run a lot of ammo through them.  They were replaced by belt fed machine guns.]

I only saw Frank once in Michigan that I remember.  He and my father Hyluard looked enough alike at that point to be twins, right down to the same coloring (olive skin and black hair and brown eyes) and pattern baldness.  Dad told me once that Frank was never the same after World War II.  It looks to me as if these notes in Dad's distinctive handwriting were taken from Frank's letters home while he was abroad. I suspect he planned to use them to trace Frank's military service but as far as I know he never did so.  I found the notes in the big chest I inherited when my mother moved into an assisted living apartment  in the spring of 2011.  The chest my dad always said belonged to his family and there are many McCurry artifacts in it.

The notes read:
**********************
S/N 34022678
FRANK EUGINE McCURRY
April 10, 1941 Frank wrote that he was in the Army at Fort Oglethorpe (Troop F Cavalry)
Nov 4, 1941 Still at Fort Oglethorpe, was leaving for N.C. for [no place]

[Pearl Harbor is Dec. 7, 1941, so Frank joined before the U.S. entered the war.]

Feb. 11, 1942 - Fort Oglethorpe, home last week
Feb. 19, 1942 - Camp Blanding, Fla. Left F. Oglethorpe, Monday arrive here Wed. - (Pvt Troop F, 6th Cavalry)
June 1942 - on leave. Visited McVeigh, Ky
June 29, 42 - Parade 4th July - Orlando, Fla.
July 21, 42 - Dilworth, N.C. - on training exercise
Aug. 11, 42 - still in N.C., near Charlotte
Aug. 21, 42 - Back at Camp Blanding, Fla
Sept - now a Clp [corporal?] - Troop G, 6th Calv
Oct 14, 42 - Had been to Detroit while on furlough
Nov. 5, 42 - Moved to Ft. Jackson, S.C. near Columbia, S.C.
Dec. 17, 42 - Frank wrote that he would be leaving S.C. soon
Jan 4, 43 - Still in S.C.
Mar. 23, 43 - Still in S.C.
April  26, 43 - On Move   Murfreesboro, Tenn
Nov 29, 43 - some place in northern Ireland
Jan 25 1944 - still in northern Ireland, still haven't heard from Hyluard
March 12, 1944 - still in N. Ireland
May 29, 1944, Stationed in England - all ok
June 9, 1944, Had moved, but could not say where.

[D-Day was June 6, 1944.]

July 20, 1944, Hoped to be home by Xmas

[If he was with 4th Armored Division which is mentioned later (6th Cavalry was reorganized into Patton's Third Army as the 6th Armored Infantry and was part of the First Armored, 15th Corps), he was on Utah Beach, or right off Utah Beach where they relieved the 82nd Airborne, according to my husband. (Did you see Saving Private Ryan at the movies? The 82nd Airborne was scattered everywhere, that is why they had to hunt and hunt to find Private Ryan.)  Then he was with the light tanks most of the rest of the way. They fought a lot of elite German Panzer armored forces in the hedgerows with the 82nd Airforne, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and relieved the 101st Armored Division in Bastogne.  For more information see the links.  The Presidential Unit Citation was given to his 6th Cavalry unit.  This is a very big deal as awards go.  Not many Presidential Unit Citations are given.  The latest I know of is my husband's MACVSOG unit.]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Armored_Division_(United_States)

http://6thcavalry.tripod.com/6thcav/id1.html

http://www.6thcav.net/history.htm

Aug. 22, 1944, Wrote that he had been in France for a long time.  Had just returned from the Front.  Was in a rest camp.
Oct 9, 1944 - Bad weather, had a cold for some time, but O.K.
March 23, 1945 - location was cut out of letter, was in rest camp, asked that the folks visit a friend (Arlean Cook) who was about 10 yard from him when he got hurt.
April 7, 1945 - Had been moving fast.  War should be over soon.
April 26, 1945 - Think war will be over soon.  O.K.
With the 4th Armored Div. inclosed a letter by James Cannon in ref to Lt. Col. Harold Cohen.
Aug 28, 1945 Was in Berlin, waiting to be sent home, has 95 points, and should be home in Sept. or October.

[Another oddity as this was probably Russian-held territory.  He may have been in the area, but not Berlin proper.  The Americans stopped about 100 miles from Berlin and let Russia take the city.]

Was mailing Luda and Margie a German parachute.  Should be home last month, but order were changed.
*********************

The original photos are in my brother Mark's possession but he digitized these for me.  If you would like copies of the above photos, please email me at mccurrymail@gmail.com.  I am happy to share. Information in brackets is from my husband.

Bottom line:  Frank's unit was in very important battles in WW2 and received one of the most prestigious military awards given.

signed, Jane McCurry Wood

Frank E. McCurry (son of Daniel Boone McCurry)

Daniel Boone and Lelia McCurry and Family
With Danny McCurry asking about his grandfather Frank's high school football days on our Facebook page, I thought I would post the information my father Hyluard had on Frank, who was his brother.  First of all, above is a photograph of Daniel Boone McCurry and his family.  The information on the back reads "Boone & Lelia, Luda (tallest girl), Jasper (tall boy), Rhoda (small girl), Hyluard (small boy between parents),and Frank (baby).....Geneva not born yet. The photograph is undated but since Hyluard was born in 1910, this was taken a few years after that.  Let's say circa 1912.


Dad also had this photo of Frank Eugine McCurry as a young man. It is also undated and has no information on the back side.  Apparently Frank was quite a football player in high school.  His knickname was Bulldog McCurry.  Here's a bit about his play at Jellico (TN) High School, seventh paragraph from the bottom.
http://www.jellico.com/mayor/030123.html


I have three photos of Frank taken during World War II but I am going to post those separately.  The final photo of Frank I have is this one with his sister my Aunt Luda and his mother, my grandmother Leila Thursa Bowman McCurry.  It is undated but I would guess dates from the 1940s judging from the clothing.  Can anyone identify the location or date?

I know Frank had several boys--Bobby, Leon, Tracy and Jerry--but I don't have his or their birth and death dates, whom he married and when, or any complete list of Frank's grandchildren although I know Danny is Bobby's son and that Danny has a daughter of his own named Rileigh.  Feel free to add any information you have to the Comments under this article and to send me photos to add to this article.  My email address is mccurrymail@gmail.com.  If you want digital copies of any of these photos (my brother Mark has the originals and digitized them for me), please just email me and I'll gladly share.  Thanks!

signed, Jane McCurry Wood

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Hyluard's Photo Album

These photographs were scanned by my brother Mark for me from photos Dad saved as important.  The caption numbers (which you will see if you put your cursor on the middle of a photo) refer to a typed list describing the photos.  I think my father created the typed list, but I am not sure.  I'll post that below the photo album so you can look up information on various photos.  As I have time, I'll rework the photos to make them as legible as possible and add others I find in an article that puts them in context.  Right now all are .gifs.  If you want a digital copy of any of these, please email me at mccurrymail@gmail.com and I'll forward one to you.  If you need a format other than gifs (such as tifs, jpgs, etc.) please let me know when you request the photo.


Listing of scanned  pictures
1. ajm & mmam Andrew Jackson McCurry & his wife Mary Margaret Adams McCurry
2. big dbleluda Boone & Lelia McCurry & Luda, picture made in 1901
3. dble & 3 kids left to right, Geneva (died of cancer, buried in Fla), Daniel Boone, Lelia (Dutch),Blanch (died of cancer,buried in Ohio), Frank (buried in Trenton, Mich)…taken Lafollette 1931
4.dble & 5 kids   Daniel Boone, Thursa Lelia, Luda Moneyhun (tallest girl), Jasper McCurry (tallest boy),Rhoda McCurry Marcum (small girl), Hyluard H (small boy between parents), Frank (baby).Geneva Mitchell not bornyet
5. dbm & his mom Boone McCurry and his mother Mary Margaret McCurry (made at her 
house in Jellico)
6. dbm & le older Daniel Boone and wife (Dutch) Thursie Lelia Bowman McCurry
7.grandma&pa Bowman tin type of Grandma & grandpa Bowman, David Franklin Bowan, 
lawyer?, McCurry kin whose kids now run Bowman's Jewelry store
8.hh & blanch Hyluard & Blanch, picture made in 1931, Blanch getting over fever,
hair had came out and is growing back in.
9. hh very young Hyluard, picture taken at old McCurry's farm, Speedwell,TN in Claborne County
10. hh with bike Hyluard at Fonda,KY…mom has reprint of this without the border, story is when this bike was new Mac kept getting up from bed to go check on it & finally his mom said just bring it in from porch into bedroom so all could get sleep. They lived in a place near Pat Deleon's current home is, in a place called Mingo Valley. Another story on this bike is that Mac had a bad wreck on it, got hit by a car, after getting hit driver yelled "watch out", Mac yells back "why are you coming back again?", he got scar on back from the wreck.
11. hh young Hyluard McCurry wearing hat
12. loda savage Loda Savage, picture say "How das this suit you" on back. Must be a cousin, Grandma's sister married a Savage.
13. small dbleluda small original version of #2, hand written "Mr DB McCurry Mrs TL 
McCurry" on back and then "and Luda" written in later by Mac, mailed to Mac by Luda.
14. letter Imojean typed version of a  letter of William Bowman to wife Susan Bowman 3/16/1863 while POW in Civil war, died soon after writing this letter…mom's notes on her handwritten version says " He was sent to Richmond VA and was very ill, & this Dr. ? took him to his home & he passed away soon after he wrote this letter, in 1863." Mom says jewelry store Bowman's have the original of this with more details. 
15. tin type print ajm mmm original print from tin type, Andrew Jackson McCurry & 
Mary Margaret Adams McCurry
16.  tin type young dbm tin type of  young Daniel Boone McCurry
17.  tin typeyoung ajm mmm tin type of  AJ & MMAdams McCurry, same as #16
18.  wlm mcc & fmly William McCurry & family, Boone McCurry's oldest brother
19.  luda landonadams Luda M Moneyhun, at Landon Adams grave in Va, who is brother of 
grandmother McCurry.  Edna McConnell knew about Landon who had kin going back to Pres. John Q. Adams. Dated Nov. 1968.
20.  susan crutchfield wlm bowman  grave marker of Susan Crutchfield wife of William McClain &
William Bowman died 1969. McClain are kin to Childress & Bowman are kin to McCurry's.  Dated Oct. 1964.
21. vance elliott Vance Elliott grave, cousin of Mac's grandmother McCurry, Marty &                      Mark at stone - dated Feb. 1968
22. 3  of Frank McC 3 Military pictures of Frank McCurry,on back one says "where is the    
fire?", also says "PVT McCurry"..Private McCurry. Mom says he was in Army in Europe during WWII.
23. grandma McCurry bro&sis grandma McCurry center standing, brothers & sisters, Susie Ellison on            back row right side (she had twins which now owns the Ellison Cleaning Supply in LaF), Howard Bowman, seated 2ndon left, Ellie?, 

Sadie front left side, Jim Hawk Bowman seated 2nd from the right, and Ella Bowman Whitehead on back row 1st from left (lived in Lenoir City)..2 of these girls married guys with same last name. See #39.
24.  Stallard cemetery 10/8/67, Stallard Cemetery in Va., Geo Adams, 1st wife, 2 girls & oldest son were buried in the front section of this cemetery. Imojean 
pictured with unknown man.
25. Mac young May 1945, Hyluard McCurry
26. Charley McCurry back of picture said "Charley McCurry, This is where the AJ McCurry
and Mary Mar"…ends like that. Picture taken around Jonesboro, Va at old McCurry house, mom has 2 doorknobs and wooden shingles from this house in her basement now. See #37.
27. hh luda bullards jane Alford Bullard, Hyluard, Alf mother or wife,Luda Moneyhun, Jane
McCurry in back. Bullards are not kin but close friends. Speedwell, Tn. Dated Oct. 1964
28.frank luda lelia Frank McCurry, Luda Moneyhun, Lelia (Dutch) McCurry at Lelia's house East Main Street in Jellico.
29. young Frank young Frank McCurry
30.aj McCurry stone Andrew Jackson McCurry's grave stone, Blue Spring Hollow, near
Speedwell, Tn..through Flat Hollow near Wells Springs, AJM & wife buried there, ask Ruth Carroll Bailey for exact locations.  See #31
31.mm McCurry stone Mary Margaret Adams McCurry grave stone, wife of AJ McCurry
born Sept 10, 1851 died May 28, 1932 at noon (letter from Blanch about this) She & AJM were married 6/11/1866.  See #30.
32.emanuel mccurry wife & luda Emanuel McCurry and wife in center, Luda McCurry Moneyhum 
on left. A cousin somehow, maybe son of William McCurry, taken near Dungannon, Va.
33.hh & cousin Ada H Ross Hyluard McCurry and cousin Ada Harber Ross, 1946, lives near cementery, dad really liked her, cousin on Bowman side.
34. Va McCurry home McCurry's home in VA, looking toward Stickley Store, near Stickleyville (not far from Gate City Va)
35.  mac & car Hyluard McCurry beside car, date on back 1946. This car was a Dodge bought after his wedding at Brown's in LaF….all others bought at Terry's in Rogersville. (Ford Deluxe Super Coupe was before marriage) Mac bought a car while working at Fontana (before this one in picture) and traded it in on this one…dealers story was some soldier boy had it in storage the entire war.... Mom's brother's picked at Mac over this.
36. blanch funeral Hyluard's mother and all brothers & sisters. Picture taken when Blanch
was buried. Washington Court House, Ohio.  Luda, Jasper, Rhoda
Margaret (Margie) Hyluard, Frank, Geneva.
37. Va mccurry home chimney McCurry old home in Lee County Va, near Jonesboro, Va (2 pictures) See # 26, taken at same place/time.  Dated Oct. 1964?
38. luda Luda McCurry Moneyhum, drug store Pikeville, KY
39. david f bowman David Franklin Family, think he was a lawyer & his wife had died , on front right Sadie Turner, Howard back row on far right (has a daughter in Alcoa area now),2nd from right back row Lelia Bowman McCurry, back row left Susan (Susie) Ellison, front row left Ella Bowman Whited, James Hawkins (Hawk) Bowman back row 3rd from right, he was jewler in Lafallotte, think 1 girl named Ella (Lumpkins family). See #23 also.


submitted by Jane McCurry Wood

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Hyluard "H" McCurry's Family Tree

My father, Hyluard "H" (Mac) McCurry loved researching his family history.  This three page document, dated 1989, summarizes what Daddy knew and suspected about our family at that date.  The handwritten notes were corrections and additional information added by my mother, Imojean Childress McCurry Morris.  Clicking on the small photos should open much larger ones for you to read.

Page One
Page One

Page Two
I remember my dad telling me about his Great Uncle Lewis who Dad said was a very short man, and must have been quite tough to be sheriff for so long.  I remember that Dad said he died at a great age when he fell out of a cherry tree but my brother Mark remembers it as being a chestnut tree.  That is what is recorded here.

Page Three

If you have trouble reading any section, please leave a Comment here and I'll transcribe that section from the jpeg my brother Mark sent me.

Jane McCurry Wood

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Andrew Jackson McCurry Documents


Among the photographs and xeroxes of court document my father (H. H. McCurry) collected are the marriage certificate for Andrew Jackson McCurry and Mary Margaret Adams, and ...



the document certifying AJM's Civil War service for the Union.  The handwritten note at the bottom of the marriage certificate is in my father's distinctive handwriting.

Click on any photos I post here and you should get a larger version I've enhanced to be as good as possible. Feel free to download these to share among your branch of the McCurry family.  Dad would want us to share his research. The photographs were taken by my brother Mark Hyluard McCurry of Dad's research notes which are in Mark's possession.

Jane McCurry Wood

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Andrew Jackson McCurry: Yankee

AJM's Gravestone
To pick up the timeline of AJM's life,  on November 18, 1862 the 39th Kentucky Mounted Infantry (Union) was organized at Peach Orchard, Kentucky and mustered in on February 16, 1863.  (AJM deserted the Confederate 37th Virginia Infantry November 24, 1862.)

April 2, 1863 AJM enrolled in the Union KY Volunteers, 39th Infantry, Company F.

June 11, 1863, he was mustered in for a three-year term as private in this unit.

September 15, 1865 AJM mustered out, still a private, at Louisville, KY.

Here is a bit about the 39th Infantry, Company F, including a photo of some of the members of Company F.  The photo is not good enough to say whether AJM is present or not although he certainly would have been quite tall compared to the other soldiers as he was 6 feet tall.  What the article doesn't say is that AJM's Union unit was involved in guerilla skirmishes of the nastiest kind with various Confederate units and sympathizers in the Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina border area.  So AJM fought with Stonewall Jackson as a Confederate in some bloody battles (although not the most bloody that Jackson commanded) and when he became a Yankee he fought bands of armed men and cavalry troops commanded by General John Hunt Morgan (Confederate).  He saw a lot of action in the Civil War.
http://www.bluegrayhistoricalgroup.org/39thktymtdinfhis.htm

On January 11, 1866 AJM married Mary Margaret Adams (age 14) in Scott County, VA.  My father said he understood AJM was a schoolteacher after the Civil War and married one of his students.  (Note that the marriage certificate my father found for the couple shows AJM's profession to be farmer.)  AJM would have been 27 at the time of their marriage, around twice her age. Five children were born-- no date, 1868, 1869, 1872 and 1874;  the last child was Daniel Boone McCurry, my paternal grandfather.

October 14, 1890 AJM's "History of Claim" states AJM filed for a military pension as a member of the 39th KY Mounted Infantry based on "alleged affliction of liver and head [heart?]...alleged rheumatism" and received $8 a month due to "rheumatism neuralgia and disease of liver."

August 10, 1896 a "Declaration for Invalid Pension"  form states AJM appeared before a justice of the peace in Union County, Tennessee to declare he was a member of the 39th KY Mounted Infantry and gives his date of service.  The application  further states AJM lived in Phebe, TN at the time of application and was 56 years old.  It says he is "partially unable to earn [a?] support by reason of Flesh [poison?] and hart trouble."  Please note the signature of A. J. McCurry X his mark.  I am not sure how a schoolteacher isn't able to sign his own name but perhaps this was related to his disability.  This form had to be filed for him to be on the pension rolls of the United States under the provision of the Act of June 27, 1890.  "Increase" is hand written at the top of the form which makes me think this was filed to increase the $8/month pension payment.

June 26, 2897 "Declaration for an Original Invalid Pension" was filed in Union County, Tennessee.  As always, this states AJM's membership in the 39th KY Mounted Infantry and his dates of service.  The personal description on the form is very interesting.  It says AJM is 57 years old, is 6 feet tall (very tall for the era), had a fair complextion, light hair and blue eyes, and was a farmer.  It goes on to give information about why the pension is claimed:  "I was nearly down for sum days before I was discharged I did not git down till [the 5?] day after I was mustard out  I got to Louisa KY, I cold not go any further for three months the doctor call the disease I had Typhoid fever".  The form notes that AJM was treated in a "private house".  I suppose this part was dictated as the handwriting is the same throughout the form.  The signature on this form is partly cut off in the photograph but it looks like it was signed Andrew J McCurry X his mark again.

The State of Kentucky's "Origin of Disability" form seems to be an affidavit from a Kentuckian who says he was First Duty Sergeant in the 39th KY Mounted Infantry in  support of AJM's disability claim.  This is very difficult to read but it appears to be filed in Floyd County, KY by James [Dingus?] age 64 who lived in [Alpharetta?], KY.  It states "Said Andrew J. McCurry came to his house a short time after he was mustered out of the service in the fall of 1865  He staid at my house about ten or fifteen days before he was able to [illegible] his jaws [illegible] and was [illegible] he could not open them he told me the fever had settled in his jaws"

Here is the muster roll for Company F of the 39th KY Mounted Infantry.  There is no First Duty Sergeant with a name similar to that on the form.  Private James Dingus seems to match.  Also note Private Hiram Morgan on the muster roll of Company F.
http://www.bluegrayhistoricalgroup.org/39thcofroster.htm

July 9, 1898 Hiram Morgan, aged 58, a resident of Bull Creek, Floyd County, KY who used the post office in Prestonsburg, KY also wrote a supporting affidavit for AJM's disability claim.  Morgan wrote: "while we were encamped at Louisa Kentucky that the claimant Andrew Mc.Curry complained of being sick and laid around in the barracks and was not able to stir about any much, and after we went to Louisville to be discharged he was still complaining, and had not improved in health, and remained in that condition up until the time was discharged.  After our discharge I have not seen him since that day."

November 3, 1901 a Department of the Interior Bureau of Pensions form asks for further details and James Dingus responded thusly:  "we were mustard out at Lousiville i returned home he staid with me 3 or 4 weeks he had a serious boil or [illegible] near the lock of his jaw he returned to Scott County VA where we both were raised saw him no more until about [4?] years ago when i made a statement in his case he left my house very weak"

February 16, 1903 - AJM dies at age 62 at his home in Union County, TN at Powell's River Ridges, and is buried in Braden Cemetery in Speedwell, Tennessee with 39th KY Mtd. Infantry, Company F information on the gravestone.  Mary Margaret dies in 1934 and is buried in the same place.

June? 11, 1902? - Mary Margaret applies for a widow's pension based on 39th KY Mtd. Infantry Union services - filed in Tennessee - date illegible.  There is more information on both AJM's and Mary Margaret's pension applications on the Facebook page for Our McCurry Family.

The photo above shows AJM's gravestone.  A Civil War amateur historian who specializes in the 37th Virginia Infantry thinks this is an official veteran's gravestone put up on veterans' graves by the U.S. Government after the Civil War.  He has seen many of them, so I expect he's right.  The stone is granite.  I know because when the above photo was taken, Dad chipped the corner of the stone very near the ground trying to chop weeds away.  I picked up the chip and have it still.  I remember Mom remarking his grandmother would have a fit if she knew he'd damaged the stone, but it was not very noticeable.

Mary Margaret Adams McCurry's gravestone

The boy in the background of the photo of AJ McCurry's grave is my dead brother Marty Boone McCurry.  He appears to be around 8-9 years old, which would date the photograph to around 1963-64.

It amazes me how accurate the story Dad got from his grandmother was and how much more I discovered when I started digging.  I am becoming skeptical as to his being a schoolteacher after the Civil War, though.  I think any schoolteacher, even of a one room school, would be able to sign unless he was disabled.




Anyone else have family stories about AJM to tell?
signed, Jane McCurry Wood

Andrew Jackson McCurry: Rebel

AJ and MM McCurry in two separate photos rephotographed together.
The best way to lay out what I found about Andrew Jackson McCurry, based on Census, courthouse, Civil War muster rolls and other records is to put it in a timeline.  So here is AJM and his life summarized by important dates.

James A. McCurry and Delilah Gilliam marry in Scott County, Virginia on June 25, 1838.  AJM is born in Greene County, Tennessee in 1839.  (I remember Dad talking about some ancestor who had a mill in Greene County, but James A. McCurry doesn't seem to be that ancestor.)  On October 8, 1856, AJM's father sold the Greene County, TN property and moves the family back to Scott County, VA, probably to a small settlement near Gate City, VA.

The 1860 Virginia Census describes the McCurry family as including James A., 53 years, blacksmith; Delilah, 40 years, housewife; William J., 21, farmhand; AJM, 19, farmhand; two younger girls and a younger boy.

On May 20, 1861, AJM and his brother William J. both joined the 37th Virginia Infantry (Confederate), Company D as privates at Estillville, VA (now Gate City, VA), enlisting for one year.  The 37th Virginia Infantry was probably organized in May 1861 in Estillville by prominent businessman Henry Clinton Wood who becomes captain of the unit and is reelected to that position in 1862.  So far, the story as my dad told it holds up except for the detail of AJM and his younger brother joining up together.  Instead, it was AJM and his older brother who joined Company D, also called the Davis Guards.  (I haven't found out why it was named that yet).

Here is a brief history of the 37th Virginia Infantry (Confederate) from a findings document at Virginia Tech:

"The 37th Virginia Infantry was organized primarily in Lee, Russell, Scott and Washington counties in the spring and summer of 1861. The regiment trained in Richmond, then spent the autumn of 1861 in the Shenandoah Valley area. In 1862, it participated in Jackson's Valley Campaign, then in the Seven Days' battles on the Virginia peninsula. At the Battle of Cedar Mountain, the regiment suffered heavy casualties. Later that fall, the regiment saw action at Antietam and was present at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The regiment also fought at both Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In 1864, the 37th was only briefly engaged in the Battle of the Wilderness but was nearly decimated just days later at Spotsylvania Court House. The remainder of the regiment fought in several more major battles before being ordered to the defense of Petersburg in late 1864. At the time of surrender in April 1865, only 39 members of the regiment remained with the regiment."
http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/vt/viblbv00392.document

January 13, 1862 - the Bath/Romney Campaign

On February 18, 1862 both AJM and William J. re-enlist at Camp Mason and each is paid a $50 bounty.  I am not certain if Company D of the 37th Virginia Infantry participated in these battles in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign that happened just before and after the re-enlistment.  I will have to research this further by looking into each battle carefully.

March 23, 1862 - First Battle of Kernstown
http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/battles_trans.htm

AJM "on furlough (no date); present 3-4/1862" which I think means March and April, 1862

May 5, 1862 - William J. dies of disease at Staunton, Virginia. Staunton is about 2 hours south of where I live now.

AJM "At home on furlough, 15 days from 5/5/1862, AWOL, published as deserter"
Present 9-10/62 (September-October 1982?)
Deserted November 24, 1862


May 8, 1862 - Sitlington’s Hill


May 23, 1862 - Cedarville
http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/battles_trans.htm

May 25, 1862 - First Battle Winchester
http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/battles_trans.htm

In reading Civil War history, I learned that Stonewall Jackson was hated by his men as he took little thought for their health and well being.  This fits the story that AJM blamed his commander for his brother's death.  I understand that furloughs were rare under Jackson so I am not quite sure how AJM was able to leave under furlough at the start of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.  From the records, it looks like he returned to 37th Virginia Infantry in September and October, 1862 but deserted in November of that year.  The records are not clear but it seems he was AWOL between May 20, 1862 and September, 1862 and then returned to his unit, finally deserting for good two months later.  The records are sparse and I need to find more data before I can say for certain.

But the bulk of the story my dad told me he heard from his grandmother about his grandfather holds up.

Next entry I will continue the Timeline with AJM's service as a Yankee.  I wanted to mention that the photograph above is a photo of a tintype that my brother, Mark H. McCurry, gave me.  I don't know where the original is or how Mark got ahold of it to make a copy to share. This is probably the image from which the oil painting of AJM and his wife was made.  I believe that Mark may have that oil painting. I'll ask him about the photograph and the painting.  Our father was greatly interested in family history and collected many things, most of which Mark was given by our mother in recent years.

signed, Jane McCurry Wood

Andrew Jackson McCurry: Tales Told

Painting of MM and AJ McCurry
All my life I've heard a story told by my father Hyluard McCurry about his grandfather, Andrew Jackson McCurry, in the Civil War.  Dad said his grandmother (Mary Margaret Adams McCurry) told him when he was a little boy that Andrew Jackson McCurry (AJM) and his younger brother went off to fight the Civil War for the Confederacy and the brother died.  AJM blamed his commanding officer for the death, took his brother home for burial, then deserted and joined the Yankees.

But how much of this was true? I know Mary Margaret Adams McCurry died in 1934 when my father (born June 13, 1910) was in his early twenties.  Just how much would a small boy remember of tales from so long ago?  How much was legend and how much was truth?  How accurately do I remember what Dad told me when I was in grade school?  Luckily I live in northern Virginia, a state still obsessed with the Civil War because of all the battles fought here.  Winchester, the largest town in my immediate area, changed hands at least seventy times during the battles of 1860-65.  With that much fighting, the locals remember the Civil War far more than people living in Wyoming, for example.  There are several good local museums with large local history collections, so I made time to visit Balch Library in Leesburg, VA and started researching.

The trail led me many places, both online and in local libraries.


The photograph of the oil painting above was taken by my brother Mark Hyluard McCurry.  I believe the oil painting was done from the old tintype photo we have.   The painting is in my brother's possession.  I think my mother (Imojean Childress McCurry Morris) refinished the frame.  I remember the frame as being very dark when I saw this as a child at George Washington (G.W.) McCurry's house.  But this may be a different painting than the one G.W. had.

signed, Jane McCurry Wood