Captain David Williams
Dublin Core
Title
Captain David Williams
Subject
Company K (the “Holly Shelter Volunteers”), 3rd Regiment N.C. State Troops
Description
David Williams (born January 6, 1821) farmed with his wife and five small children in the Washington (South) District of New Hanover County in the Holly Shelter community (present-day Pender County). He was appointed captain of a local company, the “Holly Shelter Volunteers, (subsequently Company K, 3rd Regiment N.C. State Troops) that organized at Dogwood Grove on June 1, 1861.
At the Battle of Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862, the left wing of the 3rd North Carolina “engaged the enemy, making several charges upon him, led by Captain David Williams, of Company K, and causing the battery in front to move back. To Captain Williams and his men great praise should be accorded for their gallantry.”
Williams, who was known to his men as “Pap,” survived the astonishing carnage inflicted upon the 3rd North Carolina during the early part of the Battle of Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862 (303 casualties, including 114 men killed or mortally wounded in action). Later in the day, however, as he saw to the resupply of ammunition to his company, a bolt from an enemy rifled cannon struck and disemboweled him. He was buried in the front yard of a house in the village of Sharpsburg.
Upon hearing of the death of her husband, Sara H. Williams took to her bed and died of grief of October 25, 1862. Five children were orphaned.
At the Battle of Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862, the left wing of the 3rd North Carolina “engaged the enemy, making several charges upon him, led by Captain David Williams, of Company K, and causing the battery in front to move back. To Captain Williams and his men great praise should be accorded for their gallantry.”
Williams, who was known to his men as “Pap,” survived the astonishing carnage inflicted upon the 3rd North Carolina during the early part of the Battle of Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862 (303 casualties, including 114 men killed or mortally wounded in action). Later in the day, however, as he saw to the resupply of ammunition to his company, a bolt from an enemy rifled cannon struck and disemboweled him. He was buried in the front yard of a house in the village of Sharpsburg.
Upon hearing of the death of her husband, Sara H. Williams took to her bed and died of grief of October 25, 1862. Five children were orphaned.
Source
1860 U. S. Census, Washington (South) District, New Hanover County, North Carolina, population schedule, page 158, dwelling 1309, family 1309, David Williams household; John Cowan and James I. Metts, “Third Regiment,” and William L. DeRosset, “Additional Sketch Third Regiment,” in Clark, Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina, 1:182, 228; Manarin et. al., North Carolina Troops 3:589; Mast, “North Carolina Casualties”; service record files of John W. Bright, 28th Regiment N.C. Troops, Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers from the State of North Carolina (M270), RG109, NA; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=133770741&ref=acom
Contributor
Greg Mast Collection
Format
Copy print
Files
Citation
“Captain David Williams,” Tar Heel Faces, accessed May 18, 2024, https://tarheelfaces.omeka.net/items/show/12.
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