“Remember Tillman Millwood and Lamar Peake!” was the battle cry of the Confederate men in gray. And then, the Rebel Yell…….

Who were these men, Tillman Millwood and Lamar Peake? Since Tillman is my kinsman, I will tell his story now and save Lamar for another day.

Tillman Millwood–born circa 1827 — was the son of James Millwood (b. 1798) and Melinda “Milly” Fowler (b. 1800). Milly was the daughter of Ephraim Fowler (1765-18220, son of Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808).

Tillman Millwood was found in the 1850 Union County, South Carolina census in the household of his father James.

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Tillman Millwood married Mary before the 1860 Census. A daughter named Ramoth was born circa 1858.

He had moved out of his father’s household, but he had not gone far. The Tillman Millwood family lived next to his father James.

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A year later, Tillman Millwood joined the Confederate Army. He enlisted on December 10, 1861 in Company D of Holcombe’s Legion Calvary with his older brother Franklin Millwood. They enlisted at Camp Hampton near Columbia, SC, and were mustered into service on the 17th of December.

Below are the military records for the enlistment of Tillman Millwood, evidence of detached service until December 31, 1862, and his extra duty as a cook in June 1862:

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I have not included all of the Company Roll Call documents. Tillman Millwood was “present” in his military unit in Jan/Feb; Mar/Apr; and Sept/Oct 1862. He was a good and faithful soldier.

Tillman Millwood was put on picket duty in November 1862 at the Diascund Bridge in James City County, Virginia. Soldiers on picket duty were strategically placed near enemy lines. Their task was to spy on the enemy and warn their own company of imminent attack.

Civil War Soldiers on Picket Duty

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Tillman Millwood was not alone. Sergeant .W. Kelly Thomas was in command of eight men on the picket line at the bridge. The Union Cavalry swooped in and surrounded the Confederate soldiers.

Private Tillman Millwood and Corporal Lamar Peake were killed. Sergeant Thomas and the remaining men were captured and taken to Fort Monroe.

Fort Monroe is located at Hampton, Virginia on the peninsula overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. The fort remained under Union control throughout the war. (1861–1865). Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned there after his capture when the war ended.

The news of two soldiers killed and the ones captured reached the men back at camp. They wasted little time preparing to avenge the attack.

The Confederates caught up with the Union soldiers at Olive Branch Church near Williamsburg, Virginia in early December. The brick church –founded in 1833 –was used as a shelter for Union soldiers and their horses during the war.

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There is no record of the scrimmage at Olive Branch Church. It was a victory for the Confederate boys as Sergeant W. Kelly Thomas was “furloughed at camp of paroled prisoners Dec 5, 20 days”

There is an abundance of military records for Tillman Millwood. Most of them pertain to his unfortunate death. He died a brave soldier fighting for a cause in which he deeply believed.

Dying a hero does not make it easier for family left without a husband and father. His wife Mary Jane and their daughter Ramoth surely felt his absence. He was never coming home.

The first two documents below confirm the death of Tillman Millwood on November 22, 1862. The one on the far right acknowledges that the soldier had $38 in his possession when he died.

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I have rarely seen excessive documentation on a Confederate soldier’s death. Below are repetitive documents outlining:

• the death of Tillman Millwood
• naming his heir and widow Mary Jane Millwood
• a description of his pocketbook containing $38 in cash, and his clothing.

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In the end, Mary Jane Millwood received $66 for the death of her husband. The documents below concern the accounting involved to arrive at the amount.

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Mary Jane Millwood hired an attorney to obtain her settlement from the Confederate Army. Below are affidavits and other correspondence showing the process:

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I do not have a photograph of Tillman Millwood. If there was one taken of him, it is lost to us –buried as deeply in an ancient trunk in a dusty old attic as the bones of Tillman are buried in the red Virginia clay.

If not a photograph, the document below gives us an “image” of Tillman Millwood. He was thirty-four years old, five feet, six inches tall. He had dark hair, gray eyes, and a fair complexion.

Before the war… before he was a soldier, Tillman Millwood was a farmer.

I close my eyes and I can almost see him.

I see him in the fields working the land. His sweat mixing with the dirt in the hot summer sun, his gray eyes surveying the work yet to do.

I see him astride a magnificent steed, his dark hair the color of the dark horse he rides. It was fitting that he join the cavalry; only the most accomplished riders fought on horseback.

I see him in his uniform, handsome and proud and willing to die. And then…….

…….I see him crumpled on the ground, bleeding from his wounds, the life draining from his limp body.

He will be buried in a hastily dug grave. He will spend eternity far from home.

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Tillman Millwood died in 1862. Eight years later, in 1870, his daughter Ramoth Millwood is found in Cobb County, Georgia. She was thirteen-years-old and in the household of Jackson Fowler. The woman of the home was Mary J. Fowler and there was a daughter –four-year-old Emily.

Did the widow Mary Jane Millwood marry Jackson Fowler and move to Georgia after the war? Sure looks like it.

As I like to say, more research is needed.

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My research allows me to look back in time. If I am lucky, I get a glimpse of my people who lived and died so long ago.

I write to help others with their research journeys. I write to bring the ones who lie in graves back into conscious thought. I write to remember and celebrate their time on earth.

Click on the link below to listen to old Confederate veterans calling out the Rebel Yell. And then, take a moment to “remember Tillman Millwood!”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/history/what-did-the-rebel-yell-sound-like/