J. A. Kendrick
Veteran of the Civil War
J. A. Kendrick is buried in a section of Greenwood Cemetery where he is surrounded by a number of markers for unknown confederate soldiers. During the war Tuscaloosa served as a hospital site with at least two hospitals. Historians have noted that the unknown confederate dead were from these hospitals, many wounded at the Battle of Shiloh.
Research into Kendrick’s time in the service offered limited information. On source provided the date of his death, that being April 29, 1864. His grave marker provides his Company and Regiment identification, as well as confirmation that he fought for the Confederates. The records from Tennessee show that there were two 7th Cavalry Regiments from Tennessee, one Confederate and one Union.
The 7th Regiment on the Confederate side, with which Kendrick served, was engaged in a battle just weeks before his recorded death; Kendrick may have been wounded during this battle. This engagement, the Battle of Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864, and the ensuing massacre of colored Union soldiers enraged northern supporters and became a rallying cry for the Union forces to the conclusion of the war.
In April 1864, the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, comprised of 295 white Tennessee troops and 262 U.S. Colored Troops, all under the command of Major Lionel F. Booth. Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the fort on April 12 with a cavalry division of approximately 2,500 men. Forrest seized the older outworks, with high knolls commanding the Union position, to surround Booth's force. Rugged terrain prevented the gunboat New Era from providing effective fire support for the Federals. The garrison was unable to depress its artillery enough to cover the approaches to the fort. To make matters worse, Confederate sharpshooters, on the surrounding knolls, began wounding and killing the Federals, including Major Booth. Major William F. Bradford then took over command of the garrison. The Confederates launched a determined attack at 11:00 am, occupying more strategic locations around the fort, and Forrest demanded unconditional surrender. Bradford asked for an hour for consultation and Forrest granted twenty minutes. Bradford refused surrender and the Confederates renewed the attack, soon overran the fort, and drove the Federals down the river's bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetrating a massacre of the black troops, and that controversy continues today. The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening so they gained little from the attack except to temporarily disrupt Union operations.
Was Kendrick present at this battle? I have not been able determine that specifically, but his regiment was actively engaged there. J. A. Kendrick was buried a long way from his home in Sumner County, Tennessee.
To locate the final, solve:
33 11.8AB
87 35.3CD
A = The number of letters on the first word in the last line of text.
B = The number of letters on the last word in the fourth line of text.
C = The number of times the letter “L” appears on the marker.
D = The number of letters in the last word on the first line of text.