William James

William B. James was a Union soldier who died during the Civil War, according to historian H. Clay Smith. However, there’s no record of his service.

In his Dusty Bits of the Forgotten Past, Smith includes a regimental roster for Co. G of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry, which he cites as being handed down from Campbell County Reed, who himself served in the Union army during the war.

One of the men included in the list is William B. James, who Smith said enlisted at the age of 19 at Goose Creek, Ky. on Sept. 20, 1861. He reportedly died in the West Building in Baltimore, Mary. on May 12, 1864. This is an apparent reference to “West’s Buildings,” which were six warehouses used as a hospital in Baltimore during the Civil War.

Smith’s list also includes a Richard J. James, who he said was a private who enlisted at Camp Dick Robinson, Ky. on Oct. 11, 1861 and deserted at Manchester, Ky. in 1862. The book makes no mention of the two men being related.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Searching for William James

There was a William J. James, born in 1842 in Jones County, Ga., who died at the Elmira Prison Camp in New York on Oct. 1, 1864. However, he was not in the Union army. He served in Co. B, 12th Georgia Infantry, a Confederate regiment. He was also not from Scott County. He was apparently the son of Benjamin James (1813-1861) and Drucilla Lyles (1822-1850).

William James from Georgia was imprisoned along with his brothers, Abel James and Thomas Jefferson James, all of whom served in the same Confederate unit. The trio were captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.

Separately, there is a William B. James who was buried at Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia. According to military records, he was a private in Co. F, 5th Kentucky Cavalry and died on Sept. 4, 1864. No additional information is available.

Conclusion

There were no James who lived in Scott County around the time of the Civil War. If William James served in Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry, he was not from Scott County.

It’s possible that the information provided to Smith confused the death date, location and regiment of William B. James who is buried at Andersonville. However, Co. G of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry — which included many men from Scott County — was overrun at the Battle of Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tenn. on Nov. 6, 1863, and many of the captured men were imprisoned at Belle Isle in Virginia. Of those, some were treated at West’s Buildings in Baltimore after becoming ill. A sugeon A. Chapel, who was in charge of West’s Buildings, testified that he had received 105 paroled prisoners from Richmond and Belle Isle on April 18, 1864. Of the 105, he testified that 42 had died as of June 2, 1864.