On December 18, 1861, Marcus Fowler enlisted in Captain J. Felix Walker’s Company E, 18th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers at the Davis Old Field in Union District.. From there he went to Camp Hampton and was mustered into service on December 28, 1861. This regiment later became Company F of the 18th Regiment South Carolina Infantry.

Marcus Fowler would have been forty-three years old when he entered into the Confederate army…… if he were indeed the Marcus Fowler born in 1818 and married to Elizabeth Mullinax (1823-after 1880).

The Company Muster Roll of January/February 1862 had “absent at home on sick furlough” for the attendance status of Marcus Fowler. He was “present” for March/April 1862 roll call.

Marcus Fowler’s military records abruptly ended after April 1862. Maybe he was sent home because of his advanced age; or maybe there are records that I have not yet discovered. I am still searching.

My research continues into his paternal origins. The Marcus (or Mark) Fowler who married Elizabeth Mullinax remains in my “to be determined” file.

It is my theory that he was the son of “Little” Mark Fowler (b. 1785), son of John Fowler the Elder (d. 1818). If I am right, his mother would have been the first wife of Little Mark Fowler. Her name was Nancy.

To all of the many people out there who have family trees with this Marcus Fowler married to Elizabeth Mullinax as the son of “Big” Mark Fowler:

You. Are. Incorrect.

If you want to know why, comment on this article and I will send you the reasons why Marcus Fowler is NOT the son of Big Mark Fowler and Elizabeth Moseley.

Marcus Fowler and Elizabeth Mullinax did not have children. Alas, there are no descendants to DNA test. A shame, really.

In the 1880 census for Goudeysville township in Union County (now Cherokee County), twenty-five year old Eliza Millwood and twenty year old Amanda Millwood were counted as “adopted daughters” in the Marcus Fowler household. Ten years before, in 1870, both girls had lived in the household with their parents James Millwood (b. 1834) and Melinda (b. 1832).

I have not found a connection between Marcus and Elizabeth Mullinax Fowler and this Millwood family. The Fowlers and Millwoods married throughout the decades, so there is still work to be done. I feel that the answer could lead to a more definitive Fowler family origin for Marcus Fowler.

Marcus Fowler‘s time in the Confederate army may have been brief, but his life north of the Pacolet River was long indeed.

From the February 24, 1898 edition of The Gaffney Ledger: