Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/1030

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964
CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.

Floyd. He served with his command in the Kanawha Valley campaign of 1861, and then joining the western army of Albert Sidney Johnston, participated in the four days' fight at Fort Donelson. Returning to Virginia in the spring of 1862 he was attached to Pickett's brigade and participated in the Seven Days' campaign before Richmond under General Lee. Subsequently he was detached for recruiting duty in Mecklenburg county and vicinity for some time, and on his return to Richmond, was assigned to duty by General Winder as commandant of Libby prison. After three months' service in this capacity he was appointed provost-marshal at Lynchburg, under the command of Maj.-Gen. G. W. Smith. Six months later he resigned his commission and took up the occupation of farming, until after the close of hostilities. Captain Jeffress was born in Charlotte county, in 1840, the son of Jennings M. Jeffress, and was educated at Columbian university, Washington, D. C., where he received the degree of Ph. D. in 1858. After the close of the Confederate struggle he engaged for a few years in mercantile pursuits, and then for some time edited the Clarksville "Virginian." Finally taking up the study of law, he was admitted to the bar in 1876, a profession which has since claimed his energies, and in which he has been quite successful. He has also been a liberal contributor to the periodical press. He was married in 1862 to Alice, daughter of Robert J. Overby, and they have five children living, Fleming J., principal of Blacksburg institute, S. C.; Robert O., Clarence A., Alice F., wife of Henry F. Boswell, of Chicago, and Corinne.

Tipton Davis Jennings, cashier of the National Exchange Bank of Lynchburg, was born at that city in 1841, and was there reared and educated. He was one of the members of the Lynchburg Home Guard which left Lynchburg April 23, 1861, by order of the governor of Virginia, and were mustered into the service of the State April 24, 1861, becoming Company G of the Eleventh Virginia infantry. He served as a private until the last year of the war, when he was made sergeant major. At the time of the surrender he was at Lynchburg, acting as adjutant under Col. Kirkwood Otey, in command of the home troops. In the gallant record of his command he participated throughout with honor, and was twice wounded, on August 31, 1862, at the second battle of Manassas, and on September 14, l862, at the battle of Boonsboro, or South Mountain, Md. He surrendered and was paroled at Greensboro, N. C., and subsequently resided at Richmond for a year. Moving from there to Memphis, Tenn., he finally returned to Lynchburg, where he has since made his home. During the first administration of President Cleveland he held the office of postmaster at Lynchburg.

William B. Johnson, of Portsmouth, a worthy soldier of the Sixth Virginia regiment of infantry, was born at Richmond, Va., in 1841, the son of Mosby and Frances (Chiles) Johnson. His father, a business man of Richmond, was the son of Shadrach Johnson, of Virginia birth and English descent. His mother, daughter of Elliott Chiles, of Chesterfield county, was the granddaughter of Rev. Andrew Broadus, noted in the earlier annals of the State as a pioneer minister of the Baptist church. At the time of the secession of Virginia, Mr. Johnson, who had been