Notes for Meredith D. Holland: The 59th Regiment of Virginia Militia was called into service by order of Brig. Gen. Blanchard dated 18 Feb 1862. The number of men who reported for duty appears to have been sufficient to form only three or four companies. The folloeing day the company began a march of approx. 57 miles to a bivowac area near Petersburg, Va.
The Regiment appears to have been disbanded in May 1862, and the men who were subject to conscription assigned to other organizations. According to the Muster Rolls for May & June 1862, Meredith is shown as Absent. Under Remarks we have the following: "Sent to hospital in Petersburg, never been heard from since. Then on the July & Aug. 1862 Muster rolls for Co. A 14th VA Infantry, under remarks we find: In Hospital, Richmond; gin, the Muster Rolls, for Sep. & Oct 1862, Remarks section reads: In Hospital, Richmond. A Hospital Muster Roll, Huguenot Springs, Va. for August 31st 1862 dated 1 Oct 1862, under the remarks section we find: PRESENT. Has received neither his pay or Bounty. Signed A. W. Parks . We have Roll of Prisoners of War, not dated, which states that Meredith was captured at "Blackwater, Va. on October 26, 1862, sent to Ft. McHenry, MD (POW camp), paroled on Oct. 28th 1862 and sent to Aiken's Landing, VA where he was exchanged on 10 November 1862.
While confined to the hospital his lower right leg had been amputated. We are informed that John Barrett, a slave who accompanied Meredith into war remained with him the entire time, even going to the POW Camp. When Meredith and John began the long walk home, Barrett lost his entire left leg during shelling around Richmond. Being a slave (non combatant), he was not given medical treatment in the Confederate facilities. My G-Grandfather, recently released from Federal POW facility, surrendered both himself and John in order that John might receive the medical attention he required. During John's period of hospitalization Meredith took the Oath never to again raise arms against the United States. Upon returning to Nansemond County he was shunned by former friends and the label "galvanized yankee" attached to him for as long as he lived. The Barrett family continued to serve their former masters through the mid-1920s. Loyalty goes both ways....
In October 1910 Meredith attended a rendevous of Confederate veterans in Norfolk, Va. The photograph we have of him was taken at that meeting.
More About Meredith D. Holland: Burial: June 19, 1912, Nansemond Co., Va., Holland Municipal Cemetery.129, 130 Military service: February 19, 1862, Enlisted, Suffolk, Va., as a Pvt. Co. H 59th Reg't. VA Militia. (Capt. Roberson Arnold's Co), enrolled by Cpl. W. L. Riddick, 6 months Service.. Note 1: 1861, When Meredith went off to war he was accompanied by a slave nmed John Barrett. John stayed with Meredith and returned to Nansemond Co., Va. where he continued to serve his master until his death in 1910. He is buried near Holland, Va.. Note 2: Meredith and his wife Virginia were 3rd cousins twice removed.. Occupation: Farmer. Fought in the War of Northern Aggression.131 Religion: 1900, Holland Christian Church, Holland, Nansemond Co., Va.. Residence: 1912, Home on Kingsale Rd., adjacent the Stephen Butler Farm, across from Carr Lane, Nansemond Co., VA.
More About Meredith D. Holland and Mary Virginia Holland: Marriage: April 08, 1858, Isle of Wight Co., Va..
Children of Meredith D. Holland and Mary Virginia Holland are:
+James Meredith Holland, b. May 26, 1865, Isle Of Wight Co., Va, d. March 30, 1926, Holland, Nansemond Co, VA.
Meredith D. Holland (b. April 19, 1834, d. June 18, 1912)
Notes for Meredith D. Holland: