Zachariah DeHay was a poor farmer in the wrong place in the wrong time. He didn’t enlist, wasn’t for secession or slavery. But he was caught up in the first American conscription act.
The 11th Mississippi was attached to Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The unit was involved in most of the big battles, including Pickett’s desperate advance at Gettysburg. The 11th made it to the stone wall, but in so doing:
Combatants – 393
Killed in action/died of wounds – 110
Wounded/wounded captured – 193
Captured unwounded – 37
Non-casualty – 53
My g-g-grandfather was one of the lucky 53, only to come down with smallpox, and he survived that as well. He made an attempt to “skedaddle” while recovering, but was caught and returned to his unit (by this time, the South was short on manpower, so he dodged the usual deserter’s fate). He was finally captured on April 2, 1865, and imprisoned for awhile before taking a loyalty oath and released. Back in Mississippi, he and his wife packed up what little they had and migrated to West Texas.
The ancestor who connects me was his daughter born in Texas *after* the war. I’m only here because of Zach’s extraordinary luck. Based upon what I’ve gleaned over time, Old Zach, sick to death (almost literally) and dispossessed by the Southern Confederacy, would likely be among the first to tear down that obscenity of a flag.
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