Dublin Station
May 6, 1862
My dearest Wife,
I hope you arrived home safe. My dear little wife was very much missed by her dear old Huz, I and have felt great anxiety about your safe arrival home. My dear I am sorry to tell you our Col. has been displaced from the command of this district. Say nothing until I write you again. We are in no danger here. The Yankees are not nearer than Princeton. My dear if I stay at this point, I want you and Jennie to come up and stay with me. The cars are coming. Good Bye.
Your Affectionate Huz,
M. A. Brown
Morris A Brown was born in 1831 in Albemarle County, VA, most likely, in North Garden, VA, as that is where his parents, Anderson Brown and Susanna Woodson, owned land and lived. Not much is known about the early life of Morris A. Brown. He most likely grew up on his parent’s farm in North Garden and evidently knew how to ride a horse well enough to be in the Virginia Calvary during the Civil War. He must have had a decent education for that time, as he worked as a merchant as a young man and was commission a 2nd Lieutenant in the Virginia Calvary.
Here is a summary of the short 30-year life of Morris A Brown. In 1850 the US Census indicated that Morris A. Brown, age 19, was living with his older brother, Joel Y. Brown, sister-in-law, Ella S. (Eldridge) Brown and Ella’s parents and siblings in Buckingham County, VA. Ella’s father Rolfe Eldridge is shown as a Clerk and brothers, Joel and Morris Brown, are listed as merchants most likely working in Rolfe Eldridge’s store. Although the type of store is not listed in the 1850 US Census. On the 12th of September, 1854, Morris married Sarah “Sallie” Francina Rhodes in Nelson Co, VA. And, on the 2nd of October, 1855, their daughter, Virginia "Jennie" Lee Brown was born there. In 1860, Morris was living with his wife and daughter, Sallie and Virginia, and is listed in the US Census as a farmer This young family was living in the quiet and beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Nelson County, VA. In two short years their lives would be turned upside down.
On the 22nd of June, 1861, Morris A Brown was mustered in as a 2nd Lieutenant in Virginia’s 8th Calvary, Company B, at Wytheville, VA. He was granted a furlough on the 31st of December 1861, possibly to attend to issues at home. On the 6th of May, 1862, he wrote his wife this letter transcribed above and a copy of the original is attached as a picture to this post. A mere ten days later he died at Dublin, VA, on the 16th of May 1862. He most likely died during the Battle of Pigeon Roost, by defending the Dublin Depot in Dublin, VA. According to his military record he was mustered out on the 16th of May 1862, in Dublin, VA, and the cause is listed as “died”.
On the 22nd of October 1863, Morris’s older brother, James Johnson Brown, and sister-in-law, Jane Lewis (nee: Martin) Brown, named their new baby son, Morris Howard Brown, possibly in memory of Morris A. Brown. See his Find a Grave Memorial for more information on this Brown Family originally from North Garden, Albemarle County, VA.
WV Public Broadcasting presented a this short summary of the Battle of Pigeon Roost.
The Civil War Battle of Pigeon Roost occurred at Princeton in Mercer County on May 17, 1862. The battle ended a month-long series of engagements in which Union forces under General Jacob Cox aimed to destroy a strategic railroad at Dublin, Virginia, which was defended by Confederates under General Humphrey Marshall. Under Cox’s command were two officers who’d later become presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley.
Several weeks before the battle, a Union advance guard had been attacked near Camp Creek. The Confederates then retreated south and burned Princeton on May 1. Federal troops moved through the ruins of Princeton; advanced to Pearisburg, Virginia; but then fell back to Princeton, where they skirmished with pursuing Confederates on May 16.
As evening fell, the Confederates spread out on a ridge overlooking Princeton known as Pigeon Roost. On the morning of May 17, Union troops were approaching Princeton quite noisily, unaware that Confederates were lying in ambush. The attack left an estimated 18 Union troops killed and 38 wounded. That evening, the Yankees pulled north, ending their campaign to destroy the railroad at Dublin.
Sarah "Sallie" Francina Rodes (1833-1912) married Morris A. Brown (1831-1862) on September 12, 1854, in Nelson County, VA. This picture of her is from 1898.
After the death of Morris she married Elisha G. Thurmond, on November 17, 1863, in Nelson County, VA, was widowed and then married Hudson Martin on September 5, 1901, in Harrison, WV. She died in 1912, Hudson died in 1917.
See her Find a Grave Memorial for more information.
Seated is "Jennie" Virginia Lee Brown (1855-1955), only child and daughter of Morris A Brown and Sarah "Sallie" Francina Rhodes (1833-1912). Jennie was the wife of Thomas Walker Martin (1841-1933). Standing with her are her two children Maurice Walker Martin (1879-1951) husband of Daisy Thurmond (1884-1966) and Mabel Lee Martin (1876-1974) wife of Emmet Rodes Coleman (1873-1936).
When Thomas Walker Martin was born on February 5, 1841, in Greenfield, Nelson, County, Virginia, his father, Nicholas, was 49 and his mother, Elizabeth (nee: Dickinson), was 32. He married Virginia "Jennie" Lee Brown on July 9, 1875, in Nelson County, VA. They had two children during their marriage, Mabel and Maurice. He died on May 14, 1933, in Schuyler, Virginia, at the age of 92, and was buried in the Martin Family Cemetery in Greenfield, Nelson County, VA.
Mabel Lee Martin was born on October 17, 1876, in Faber, Virginia, when her father, Thomas, was 35, and her mother, Jennie, was 21. She married Emmett Rodes Coleman on October 17, 1876, in Rockfish, Nelson County, Virginia. They had ten children in 21 years. She died on January 7, 1974, in Nelson, Virginia, at the age of 97, and was buried in the Martin Family Cemetery, Greenfield, Nelson County, Virginia.
When Maurice Walker Martin was born on April 13, 1879, in Nelson County, Virginia, his father, Thomas, was 38 and his mother, Jennie, was 23. He married Daisy Thurmond on October 5, 1909, in Nelson County, Virginia. He died on May 18, 1951, in Waynesboro, Virginia, at the age of 72, and was buried in the Rock Spring Cemetery in Faber, Virginia.
Note from the Author: Morris A. Brown was the uncle to my great grandfather, Morris Howard Brown (1863-1917) and brother to my 2nd great grandfather, James Johnson Brown (1819-1883). Thomas Walker Martin was the brother-in-law to James Johnson Brown and brother to James's wife, Jane Lewis (nee: Martin) Brown, my 2nd great grandmother.
Records supporting this geneological information may be found on my public family tree on Ancestry called James Howard Harris Brown (1906-1942) Family Tree.
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