3LT Philemon J. Kelley
(1840 - 1863)

Hubbard's Company of Alabama Rangers,  1861

Company K, 1st Confederate Cavalry Regiment, 1861-1862

Company K, 4th Alabama Cavalry (Roddey's) Regiment, 1862-1863

       Philemon J. Kelley, or "Buck" as he was often called, was born in 1840 at Traveller's Rest, Coosa County, Alabama. He was the fifth child and the fourth son of John and Martha Ann Kelley. He and his family moved to Eldridge, Walker County, Alabama, in the early 1850's where he spent his young adulthood helping in the family run tannery, legal distillery, mercantile, and family farm.
       When the War Between the States erupted in 1861, young Philemon and his brothers Esom, James, John, and Benjamin, were invited to join an independent cavalry company that was being formed of men who could furnish their own mounts and tack. Of their own free will, the brothers enlisted in "Hubbard's Company of Alabama Rangers" in September of 1861, and after brief, but intense training, were sent into western and middle Tennessee where they helped Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman in the defense of Fort Henry. The company avoided capture as Fort Henry fell in early 1862, which enabled it to participate in many more skirmishes and battles throughout western Tennessee. Along about this time the company left its independent roots and was made part of the 1st Confederate Cavalry Regiment, being designated Company "K". Company K participated in many engagements during this time and also participated in the Battle of Shiloh in April of 1862. The unit suffered many casualties leading up to and including Shiloh, which caused it to be detailed to go to North Alabama with other independent cavalry companies, to form a new unit known as the 4th Alabama Cavalry (Roddey's) Regiment, C.S.A., under the command of Colonel Philip Dale Roddey. The unit retained its alpha designation of Company "K", but was now under the command of Captain Esom D. Kelley, Philemon's older brother, and Philemon himself being appointed 3rd Lieutenant. Company K served the remainder of the war detailed to North Alabama to defend it against union cavalry raids that had started to become more numerous as union armies began to drive southward.
          During this period Philemon was captured in September of 1863 in Jasper County, Alabama, and sent to the military prison at Alton, Illinois. The prison systems on both sides were notorious for maltreatment of POW's and the exchange system had been halted by this time so the only chance for freedom was through escape. Disease run rampant throughout the prison camps and Philemon quickly became ill with smallpox. In order to control the spread of disease, Philemon was moved out of the general population to the hospital on a island in middle of the Mississippi River that was appropriately named "Smallpox Island". Here Philemon died on December 26, 1863, and was buried in the makeshift cemetery in an unmarked grave, which ultimately would hold over 1300 confederate soldiers. He was the first of two sons that John and Martha Ann Kelley would lose to the war.
        In 1907, Wilson Kelley, son of Captain Esom D. Kelley, wrote letters to the War Department in Washington, D.C., and the Mayor's Office in Alton, Illinois, to see if Philemon's body could be located and returned home for burial. Correspondence informed the Kelley family that "Smallpox Island" had been washed away by the Mississippi River, so there was no body to claim. The federal government did however erect a monument to mark the graves of the confederate cemetery near the prison and on Smallpox Island. The name Philemon J. Kelley (mispelled "Kelly") appears on the monument along with the over 1300 other names honoring those that died. Photographs of this monument follow this narrative.
        In 1991, a ceremony was organized by then Second Lieutenant Richard B. Davis, USAR, Philemon's Great-Great Nephew, and the re-enactment group Company B, 4th Alabama Cavalry (Roddey's) Regiment, C.S.A., to place a "In Memory Of" military tombstone in Philemon's honor next to his brother, 1LT James M. Kelley, in the Old Kelley/Tucker Cemetery located at Eldridge, Alabama, since he had no tombstone to mark his death. The marker was unveiled and an overdue military funeral held at a public ceremony prior to the 52nd Annual Kelley Reunion that was held on August 10, 1991. The 5th Regiment, Washington Artillery, C.S.A. from southern Louisiana also came and fired period artillery pieces in conjunction with the military salute.

Confederate Monument at Alton Military Prison, Alton, Illinois

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Copyright ©1998, 1999 by Richard B. Davis. All rights reserved.