Landon Story Update
If you read the August 30 post about Q.M. Sgt. James Landon, you may be interested to read this update.
Early last week, I visited the National Archives and reviewed the military service and pension files of Landon W. Silcott and John S. Lemmon, the two men Landon states were captured with him along the Chattahoochee River near Newnan in early August 1864.
Both of these soldiers had prisoner of war documents (a government form printed on a thin piece of paper measuring about 3.5 x 11 inches that gives basic details of the soldier's capture and interment) in their military service files. Neither mentioned Andersonville, but the fact that these papers were in this files is significant, for it establishes that they were indeed captured. Further, the dates and places of capture conform with Landon's story. It is particularly interesting in the case of Silcott, as his is the only name that appears on the official Andersonville rolls.
The pension file for Silcott, filed by his widow (who gave birth to his son, Landon Wilson Silcott Jr. while he was in prison) makes no mention of Andersonville. It is focused on her needs as a widow.
Lemmon's pension file contains one reference to his having been in Andersonville. On a side note, I found this single mention on the next to last page of his file, which easily contained more than one hundred mostly handwritten pages. The pages were organized in reverse order, that is, the most recent papers on the top of the pile. I found the Andersonville reference on his original application for a disability pension.
Late last week, I contacted Kim Humber, the lead park ranger at the Andersonville National Historic site, and offered to send copies of the files for review. Kim accepted, and copies will soon be on their way to Georgia.
If a review determines that Lemmon and Landon did indeed spend time as prisoners of war at Andersonville, their names will join Silcott's on the official Andersonville list.
Early last week, I visited the National Archives and reviewed the military service and pension files of Landon W. Silcott and John S. Lemmon, the two men Landon states were captured with him along the Chattahoochee River near Newnan in early August 1864.
Both of these soldiers had prisoner of war documents (a government form printed on a thin piece of paper measuring about 3.5 x 11 inches that gives basic details of the soldier's capture and interment) in their military service files. Neither mentioned Andersonville, but the fact that these papers were in this files is significant, for it establishes that they were indeed captured. Further, the dates and places of capture conform with Landon's story. It is particularly interesting in the case of Silcott, as his is the only name that appears on the official Andersonville rolls.
The pension file for Silcott, filed by his widow (who gave birth to his son, Landon Wilson Silcott Jr. while he was in prison) makes no mention of Andersonville. It is focused on her needs as a widow.
Lemmon's pension file contains one reference to his having been in Andersonville. On a side note, I found this single mention on the next to last page of his file, which easily contained more than one hundred mostly handwritten pages. The pages were organized in reverse order, that is, the most recent papers on the top of the pile. I found the Andersonville reference on his original application for a disability pension.
Late last week, I contacted Kim Humber, the lead park ranger at the Andersonville National Historic site, and offered to send copies of the files for review. Kim accepted, and copies will soon be on their way to Georgia.
If a review determines that Lemmon and Landon did indeed spend time as prisoners of war at Andersonville, their names will join Silcott's on the official Andersonville list.
posted by Ron Coddington at 9:53 AM
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