Key Facts

Snapshot:	Confederate; POW; died of war-related disease
Parents:	224Silas Brown 225Jean Omond
Born:	probably circa 1833 (although there is one confounding record) probably North Carolina (although there is one confounding record)
Died:	11 May 1865 Jackson Hospital, Richmond, Virginia
Buried:	Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia Coordinates: N37.54084 W77.45535

112Hiram Brown was most likely born circa 18331 (or circa 18352) in North Carolina.1,2 (Strangely, a Civil War muster roll indicates that he was born circa 1824 in Georgia.3 Despite the glaring discrepancy, later records—particularly records pertaining to a war pension his widow would later receive4—make clear that both records do indeed describe the same person. I suspect that the muster roll is simply wrong.) His parents are 224Silas Brown and 225Jean Omond, as proven chiefly by the 1850 census:*

1850: 112Hiram's family in Cobb County, Georgia. Full page.1

He married 113S. Ellen Groover.5 † The 1860 census shows them living together still in Cobb County, Georgia next door to 112Hiram's parents.2 Although they're listed alone, I very strongly suspect that they actually had two sons, since the 1870 census shows 113Ellen with two boys over age 10.6 Why the boys aren't listed in 1860, I don't know. 112Hiram and 113Ellen are the last two names on the page, so perhaps the enumerator became distracted or disorganized as he switched to the next page.

112Hiram and his wife in Cobb County, Georgia in 1860. Full page.2

The American Civil War began the following year. 112Hiram enlisted on 29 March 1863—well into the war, and several months after Confederate conscription laws had come into effect. Therefore, one suspects that 112Hiram was not a particularly enthusiastic supporter of the Confederacy. Neverthless he enlisted in company I, 48th Alabama Infantry. The company's muster roll indicates that 112Hiram resided in Abernathy, Alabama. The battle flag used by the 48th Alabama still exists and is stored at the Alabama Archives in Montgomery; you can see a photo here.7

112Hiram listed on the muster roll of the company that 112Hiram joined. Full document: 1, 2.3

Below is a short summary of battles and other significant events that 112Hiram participated in.3

	3 May 1863: Siege of Suffolk — in Law's Brigade, Hood's Division — Longstreet wanted to take his Confederate soldiers to join up with General Lee, but Federal forces wanted to slow them down. The 4th Rhode Island, boosted by some New York reinforcements and a howitzer, attacked Law's brigade and forced them into the woods.8
	19-20 September 1863: Chickamauga — in Law's Brigade, Hood's Division, Longstreet's Corps — On the 19th, the brigade found itself inadvertently separated from the rest of the Confederate army. Under both rifle and artillery fire, the brigade fell into disorder when their commander gave orders to guide them back to re-join their comrades.9 On the 20th, the brigade was part of the central attack column; two relevant markers are on the master map.
	28 October 1863: Wauhatchie / Lookout Mountain — in Law's Brigade, Hood's Division, Longstreet's Corps — One of the few night battles of the war. Law's Brigade was positioned on a hilltop (marked on the master map), but lost its advantage because of erroneous reconnaissance during the battle.
	4 November 1863: Campbell Station — Law was supposed to attack before Federal reinforcements could arrive, but he lost crucial time while waiting for final approval to attack.10
	25 November 1863: "Knoxville" (probably the Battle of Armstrong's Hill) — The muster roll marks 112Hiram as present for "Knoxville" on 25 November 1863. Knoxville was a widespread campaign, not one specific battle, but Law's Brigade did fight a short battle on November 25th at Armstrong's Hill. The Confederates tried to overrun Union positions on the hill, but after two hours of fighting were repulsed when Union reinforcements arrived.
	late November and early December 1863: Severe winter weather — A member of Longstreet's staff wrote, "It was bitter winter weather, the ground hard and sharp with ice, and not less than 2,000 of our little army were without shoes. Their bleeding feet lefts marks at every step." The army also suffered from severe shortages of food and clothing.11
	14 December 1863: Bean's Station

Leonore Jeanne 'Elly' Walzer Groover's 1994 book The Groover Family Tree on pages 103-104 briefly summarizes a supposed letter that 112Hiram wrote to his wife and children in August 1863,‡ but unfortunately she didn't bother to cite a source. Ancestry.com user tiad530911 uploaded what seems to be a photocopy of the letter, but again the letter's provenance is only just barely alluded to. Although I can't be certain that the letter isn't an outright forgery, nevertheless a copy is below,12 accompanied by a transcription.

112Hiram was captured by the enemy on 22 January 1864 and spent some time in various prisons and hospitals:

Date	Event	Source Citation
22 Jan. 1864	Captured at Mossy Creek, Tennessee	13
4 Feb. 1864	Left Knoxville en route to Camp Chase, Ohio	14
11 Feb. 1864	Arrived at Louisville Military Prison, Kentucky	15
15 Feb. 1864	Left Louisville, Kentucky en route to Rock Island, Illinois	15
18 Feb. 1864	Arrived at Rock Island Barracks, Illinois	16
2 March 1865	Admitted to General Hospital No. 9, Richmond, Virginia	17
3 April 1865	In an unspecified hospital in Richmond on the day the Union army invaded and occupied Richmond	18
10 April 1865	Admitted to Jackson Hospital, Richmond, Virginia	19

The original record of 112Hiram's transfer to a military prison in Kentucky. Full page.20

An original record of his confinement at Rock Island Barracks, Illinois. Full page.21

While a patient/prisoner at Jackson Hospital, 112Hiram, suffering from chronic diarrhea, died on 11 May 186521—just one day after Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured. The location of Jackson Hospital is marked on the master map.

112Hiram is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, not far from where he died, and in the same cemetery where Jefferson Davis and many others are buried. He's buried by a tree about 15 yards east of the Confederate memorial pyramid at coordinates N37.54084 W77.45535.23

His death was reported in Alabama a few months later.24

His widow later applied for pension benefits based on her husband's service,4 and he is memorialized at her (possible) gravesite.25 However, the memorial marker looks to be fairly modern, and therefore shouldn't be referenced as a primary source.

Footnote:

*	224Silas Brown married 225Jean Omond in 1816,26 and they were still married in 1850,1 so 225Jean must be 112Hiram's mother.
†	Unfortunately, I have not found their marriage certificate. I suspect that it was destroyed during the Civil War. The marriage is known from court testimony3 and pension records23 made decades later.
‡	Leonore's description of the letter reads, "In a letter to his wife and children, which he wrote in August 1863 from Camp New Fredericksburg in Virginia, he talks about how much he misses their letters. He had written three times, but had not received an answer. He says that Captain Wigginton, his commander, thinks the war will be over by Christmas. He further reports on the welfare of his brothers-in-law, saying that William Kirby Groover is doing well, that Phillip Henry Groover had been quite sick, but is doing better now."

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Randall's district, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 194 (typed) or 387 (handwritten), dwelling 1359, family 1359, Silas Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 66. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-65XC-B9?i=2>, accessed 25 February 2024.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Merritt's district, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 426, dwelling 1468, family 1429, H. Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 117. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBP-Y1P?i=1&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZMK-JYH>, accessed 13 December 2020. Also available on the Internet Archive.

3: Civil War muster roll for company I, 48th Alabama Infantry. Entry #95 (Hiram Brown). Ancestry.com ("Alabama, U.S., Civil War Muster Rolls, 1861-1865"). You can see the scanned images here: 1, 2. Although I used Ancestry.com, they obtained their images from Alabama Archives collection SG025058-11, roll 527.

4: Folder of pension documents for veteran H. Brown [further identified as Hiram Brown in internal documents] and pensioner S. E. Brown, on the microfilm reel for veterans A. C. Brown through John Louis Brown, Alabama Confederate pension applications, Alabama Dept. of Archives & History. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3S7-B986-F?i=694&cc=3029256>, accessed 14 December 2020.

5: Cleburne County, Alabama. Estate case files, case #256 for Phillip Groover. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C91H-W59D?i=1303&cat=1346039> et seq., accessed 17 January 2021. The most important image is #1315, which names the decedent's children.

6: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 693, Coweta County, Georgia. Dwelling 724, family 712, Ellen Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 145. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCWF-S5?i=34&cc=1438024&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMCSR-PRM>, accessed 15 December 2020.

7: Flag of the 48th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Alabama Dept. of Archives and History, file name Q432, catalog number 86.3946.1, <https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/cw_flags/id/67/rec/20>, accessed 13 December 2020.

8: J. Gary Laine and Morris Penny, Law's Alabama Brigade in the War Between the Union and the Confederacy (White Mane Publishing Company, 1997), page 64.

9: ibid., pages 148-149.

10: ibid., pages 205-206.

11: ibid., page 214.

12: An image titled "1863 War Letter to Wife Susan" on Ancestry.com (<https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/18860875/person/728007857/media/e51eaab4-63eb-4c97-9c3b-01654ac5670a?_phsrc=ocC335&usePUBJs=true&galleryindex=20&albums=pg&showGalleryAlbums=true&tab=0&pid=728007857&sort=-created>), uploaded by user tiad530911 on 30 January 2013, accessed 21 February 2024. The image shown above has been cropped and resized; you can see a copy of the "original" image (unedited from how tiad530911 uploaded it) here.

13: Compiled Confederate service record of Private Hiram Brown of Company I, 48th Alabama Infantry, page 9. NARA microfilm publication M311, roll 432. Copied from microfilm (Download the images here.), but also available on Fold3.com (<http://www.fold3.com/document/12913408/>).

14: ibid., page 7.

15: ibid., page 12.

16: ibid., page 14.

17: ibid., page 20.

18: ibid., page 16.

19: ibid., page 22.

20: Department of the Cumberland, Nashville, Tennessee / Volume 105 (original volume 2) = Register of Prisoners for 1863-1864, page 29, line 1781. NARA microfilm publication M598, roll 39. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-95MK-LWN?i=32&wc=M8VF-BNL%3A203214601%2C203221101&cc=1916234>, accessed 22 February 2024.

21: Rock Island Barracks, Illinois, Military Prison / Volume 394 = Register of Prisoners for 1862-1865, page 35b, line 768. NARA microfilm publication M598, roll 131. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G535-SNBW?i=129&wc=M8VN-QWL%3A203216301%2C203236801&cc=1916234>, accessed 22 February 2024.

22: Confederate service record, op. cit., page 17.

23: Tombstone of Pvt. Hiram Brown (1833-1865) of Company I, 48th Alabama Infantry, CSA at coordinates N37.54084 W77.45535, Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia. Photograph taken by 1Bryant Knight in July 2012.

24: "Alabama Dead at the Richmond Hospital," Mobile Advertiser and Register (Mobile, Alabama), 27 August 1865, page 2, column 3, about ⅔ of the way down the page. Alabama Dept. of Archives and History, <https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/cwnp/id/947/rec/52>, accessed 13 December 2020.

25: Memorial marker for Hiram Brown (1833-1865) and Susan Elmira Groover Brown (1834-1891), who were married 7 December 1854, at Antioch Methodist Church Cemetery, Cleburne County, Alabama, coordinates N33.6400 W85.3973. Photograph taken by Bryant J. Knight on 7 February 2021.

26: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Marriage bonds, volume B (1783-1868), bond for Silas Brown and Jean Omond dated 19 March 1816. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-67XS-KNK?i=966&cc=1726957>.