Today I received an
unexpected holiday due to a sleet and snowstorm that moved through northeastern
Oklahoma yesterday. What a great time to do a blog posting!
While visiting the
Fayetteville National Cemetery recently, I came across this imposing memorial
marking the gravesite of William Jesse Patton.
This morning, I located
William Jesse Patton’s compiled service record on Fold3.com. Typically, these
service records consist of only a few pages, but Captain Patton’s was certainly
an exception. He initially served in the 1st Arkansas Cavalry
(Union) and that service record accounts for seventy-three pages. The records
for his time in the 4th Arkansas Cavalry totaled only a few pages due
to his short time in that regiment. Admittedly, I did not read through every
page of his service record, but what I did read revealed some interesting facts
about Soldier Patton.
He enlisted as a private
soldier at age twenty-two on May 18, 1862 in Cassville, Missouri. Standing five
feet nine inches tall, he had gray eyes, light hair, and a fair complexion. A
farmer by occupation, he was born in Washington County, Arkansas, and managed to
spend most of his military career in that county in the Fayetteville area. He was promoted
within a few months to 2nd Lieutenant and eventually received a commission
as Captain of Company K of the 4th Arkansas Cavalry in the spring of
1865. Here are two pages from his compiled service record outlining his
activities:
However, Patton was not
only a soldier. According to his service records, he was also a member of the
Arkansas State Legislature and received leave to attend legislative sessions. This
is the first time that I’ve encountered a service record for a soldier
legislator during the war. Here is his letter asking permission for a leave of
absence to attend a legislative session:
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