MARKER DEDICATION

ABRAHAM BUCK MOODY

Abraham Buck Moody, 3rd Corporal, Company K, 19th Alabama infantry, Confederate States of America, was remembered.  A service was held at 10:00AM, June 19, 2004 by members of General Felix H. Robertson, Camp 129, Sons of Confederate Veterans, to dedicate a veteran’s marker and honor Corporal Abraham Buck Moody’s service to the Confederate States of America Army. The grave site is located at Old Perry Cemetery, two miles north-east of Moody, Texas, where Corporal Moody was interred in 1883.  Isaiah and his brother Dwight Moody Jr., unveiled the marker and presented these remarks:  “We are honored to unveil this monument to the mark the resting place of our beloved ancestor, a common man of the soil, who was willing to give his all in the defense of his beloved southern homeland.  May present and future generations come to know of his legacy through our communications and stand with pride at his grave marked by this stone?”  

 

Abraham Moody, son of William Moody, was born about 1814 in the Pendleton District of South Carolina.  He married Nancy Holden, lived in Georgia and Alabama, before coming to Texas in about 1881 to live with his daughter, Mrs. Mattie Mansker, of Moody.

          

Abraham Buck Moody was the fourth of nine sons born to William and Sarah Moody of the Pendleton District of South Carolina, that’s in the northwest corner of South Carolina, that now comprises Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties.  The exact date of Abraham's birth is unknown but he was forty six when he enlisted in the Confederate Alabama infantry in August of 1861, which would make his year of birth 1814 or 1815.

 

Nancy Holden, daughter of James Holden of the Pendleton District, and Abraham Moody were married about 1835.  Their first two children, William and James, were born about 1836 and 1838 in South Carolina, before the family migrated to Georgia, prior to 1840.  Their third child, Sarah, was born 1840 in Georgia, as was David Hardy whose birthday was September 3, 1843.  Their stay in Georgia lasted about five years before the young family moved on to Blount County Alabama, joining father, William, brother Isaac and other allied families, the Bynum and Nix families.

 

The rest of Abraham and Nancy's children were born in Alabama; Elizabeth in 1846 and Martha Jane in 1850, were followed by Hiram, 1853; John Marion, 1855; Bartley M., 1858; and Jefferson Davis in 1860.  Of these, Martha Jane, Bartley, and Jeff eventually came to Texas.

 

Farming was the main occupation of the Moody’s in Blount County. Cotton, the main cash crop, brought good prices during the 1850's. Alabama records show land purchases for William, Jacob and Abraham Moody in Blount County during that decade.

 

The War of 1861-1865 was very costly to the Moody family.  In August of 1861 Abraham and his two eldest sons, William and James, enlisted in Company K, (made up entirely of Blount County men), 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment, leaving nineteen year old David at home to mind the farm.

The winter training took place in Mobile and the Florida panhandle, where Corporal Abraham Moody spent considerable time in the hospital.  His poor health led to his discharge in early 1862.  William and James saw action at Shiloh and other engagements before being joined by their brother-in-law, Manley Nelson, and younger brother, David, in Company K.

 

Chickamauga took its toll on the Moody men, with William killed by a rifle ball and James falling mortally wounded, across his brother's body only seconds later.  David suffered a wound to the right shoulder that limited him the use of his right arm the remainder of his life.  Abraham and Nancy grieved together.

                                                                        

Martha Jane, known in the family as Mattie, had married William Taylor and had three children by 1877.  The youngest was Ida, followed by Leona and John B.  The Taylor family migrated to the Moody, Texas area in 1878.  Shortly after their arrival William died.  In 1880 Mattie and widower, W.R. Mansker, were united in marriage.  Five children were born to this union.  When Mattie Mansker died in 1930 she was survived by her children, Will Mansker, Mrs. M.W. Shilling, John B. Taylor, of Moody; Mrs. T.S. McBride, Miss Helen Mansker, R.N., Dallas; Mrs. A. A. Strange, Temple; John Mansker, Wichita Falls; and one step daughter, Mrs. D.W. Bagley; Moody; one brother, Jeff Moody, Marble Falls; and eleven grandchildren & three great grandchildren.

Many miles separated Abraham and Nancy from the remainder of their family by 1880.  In 1870 the census indicates they are living in Scottsboro, Jackson County, Alabama and the four youngest boys with them.  The 1880 census shows Abraham, whose occupation was "painter", and Nancy living in Etowah County, Alabama with their nephew, William D. Moody.  David, jailer, had died of TB in Bellfonte, Jackson County, Alabama in June of that year.  John Marion had married and moved to Heber Springs, Arkansas and Bartley was married and living in the next county, Jackson County Arkansas.  Hiram was somewhere in Texas, Arkansas, or in between; Lord only knows.  Jefferson was in Texas somewhere, possibly around the King Ranch.

 

Moody Texas and the welcome of Mattie Mansker's open door began to draw the Moody’s within the next few years. Her parents, Abraham and Nancy, were first to find their way to her home.  Then shortly after the death of David Hardy Moody, his sons, Albert Sidney, James Wylie, John H., and William Buck Moody came to live with their aunt in Moody.  Bartley came to live in the area before dying in 1893 and is buried at Old Perry. Jeff would visit his sister on occasion.  Nancy died before Abraham and, oral family history says; she is also buried at Old Perry Cemetery.  It is believed she would be next to Abraham.

 

After much research and a 1963 letter from Jefferson D. Moody's daughter indicating that Abraham and Nancy Moody's burial place was Old Perry, confirmation was found at the Waco McLennan County Library.  From the book, Early Waco Obituaries, Page 46 "Wednesday, February 28 (4-1): Mrs. (sic) A. B. Moody, resident of lower McLennan Co., died a few days ago.  He was a Mason and was buried by the Moody lodge of Masonry."  Abraham had joined the Moffat lodge soon after coming to Texas.

On June 19th, 2004 a service was held at Old Perry Cemetery to dedicate a monument, furnished by the VA, marking the burial place of a Confederate States of America, veteran, 3rd Corporal Abraham Buck Moody.  Honors were accompanied by volleys of musket fire from the Seventh Texas Reactors and three blasts of cannon by the Val Verde Cannoneers.  Family and friends gathered from several states.  

 

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Descendants,  Great-Great-Great-Grandson’s Isaiah and Dwight Moody Jr., read the dedication prior to unveiling Abraham Moody's monument.

 

 

Members of SCV Camp 129, Waco, are L-R: Eddy Phillips, Charles Oliver, Hayden Moody, and Joe Walker.

 

Behind the monument to Abraham Buck Moody are four great-great-grandsons,

(l-r) John Moody of Duncan, OK; Thurman Moody of McAllen, TX; Hayden Moody of China Spring, TX; and Dr. Jerry Moody of Rhome, TX.  John and Thurman are descended from Abe's son, John M.; Hayden from David H.; and Jerry is from Bartley M., who is buried next to Abraham at The Old Perry Cemetery.

 

Reenactors of the 7th Texas fire a volley to salute the Confederate soldier,

Abraham Buck Moody.

 

Great-Great-Grand children, Wayne Powell of San Benita, Elaine Powell

Bowden of Houston, and George Powell of Fairfield, poses at their ancestor's monument.  The siblings are grandchildren of Albert Sidney Moody.

 

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This Poem to Abraham Moody was written by Katy Cranfill, 12 year old, Waco Baptist Academy student about her 4-X-Great-grandfather.  On the 19th Katy was participating in a track meet at Crawford so the poem was read at the dedication by her 10 year old brother, Collin Cranfill.  Katy and Collin are children of Craig and Janise (Moody) Cranfill of Crawford, TX.

 

 

POEM TO ABRAHAM

 

Abraham Buck Moody also known as "Abe",

Bravely defended the South in a uniform of gray.

He fought with three sons by his side,

For this cause he had tremendous pride.

 

Abe was a farmer-a-man of the soil,

Accustomed to hardships and much toil.

But nothing could prepare him for what lay ahead,

Few guns, much sickness, and two sons' deathbeds.

 

For James and William paid the ultimate price,

They courageously defended the Confederate and made

the sacrifice.  Abe was willing to give his life while

he served For much praise and honor he deserved.

 

Abe died in 1883...

 

And if it weren't for him, we Moody’s would not be.

 

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LEGACY OF THE 19TH ALABAMA INFANTRY REGIMENT

 

By October of 1861 the state of Alabama had recruited twenty-seven thousand men for military service to the Confederate States of America.  One of the more than twenty three regiments was the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment. This regiment was made up of nearly 700 volunteers from the six most northeastern counties in the state; Blount, Cherokee, Chilton, Coosa, Jefferson and Pickens counties.  Under the command of Col. Joe Wheeler, the regiment was organized on August 14th, 1861 and one month later was made part of General Leroy Walker’s Brigade along with the 14th, 17th and 18th Alabama Regiments.  On November 11th the 19th Regiment departs for Camp Moore, on Dog River, below Mobile, AL and received their arms on January 2, 1862.

 

In January, the 19th was placed under the command of Gen. Withers and in mid February was assigned to the navy yard eight miles below Pensacola, FL.  March saw the regiment reassigned to Army of Mississippi under Gen. A.H. Gladden and moved to advance camp at McNary, TN prior to the Battle of Shiloh.

 

Shiloh was the 19th’s first taste of action.  During this bloody engagement the Alabamans performed remarkable well, capturing a stand of colors, though suffering great loss.  Of the 650 members of the 19th AL on the field at the Battle of Shiloh, 219 were killed or wounded; a loss of approximately one third of its strength.

 

From April through June of ‘62 the regiment, as part of Gen. Frank Gardner’s Brigade, fought several skirmishes in Mississippi and by August was in Chattanooga where Gen. Zechariah Deas took command.  The 19th AL participated in the Kentucky Campaign, helping to capture Mundfordsville, KY in September, prior to moving back into TN.  They are found camped near Murfreesboro, south of Nashville, in mid December of 1862.

 

Then the bloodiest three days of the war to that time; January 1 through the 3rd of 1863 and the Battle of Murfreesboro.  The loss of 151 soldiers, killed or wounded, reduced the strength of the 19th by one quarter.  The regiment retired to repair and nurse its wounds on the Duck River near Shelbyville, TN and later that spring moved to Tullahoma, TN until returning to Chattanooga in July. 

 

Deas’ Brigade, as part of Gen Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee, was forced from Chattanooga by Gen William Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland into the northwest part of Georgia where a stand was taken by the Southerners at Chickamauga Creek.  Bragg’s troops numbering forty three thousand faced a Union Army of fifty eight thousand soldiers in the fields and thick woods surrounding that stream. Reinforcements swelled Bragg’s ranks to 66,000.  For two days, September 19 & 20th, musketry, shot and shell pulverized the landscape and men.  At Chickamauga during the second day of battle, the 19th took part in an uncommon occurrence, the routing of a Union army from the field.  It was probably their greatest day of battle in all the war.  On the 20th the regiment was part of the left wing of the Army of Tennessee as it broke through the Federal line and drove the Army of the Cumberland from the field.  The “near victory” for the South at Chickamauga was not without its costs.  The 19th suffered 191 casualties, killed and wounded.  Both armies lost about 28% of their strength, killed, wounded or missing; the Union 16,170 and Confederates 18,454. (Abraham’s two oldest sons, William and James were killed here and son, David, seriously wounded.)

 

The Battle of Missionary Ridge quickly followed outside of Chattanooga where few casualties were inflicted on the 19th.  The regiment retired to winter in Dalton, GA.  In almost incessant fighting from there to Atlanta (i.e. Battle of Reseca, GA; New Hope, GA; Noonday Creek, GA; and Kennesaw Mountain, GA) the 19th battled superior forces.  In the Battle of Lick Skillet Road, GA, near Poor House, the regiment colors were captured after being planted on Union breastworks.

 

Following the Battles of Atlanta, August 13-27th of ‘64, the Army of Tennessee withdrew to fight again at Jonesborough, TN, the Battle of Franklin, TN and the Battle of Nashville.  The 19th’s casualties were light at Jonesborough and at Franklin most losses were captures.  The remnants of Gen. Hood’s Army of Tennessee is routed in a December ice storm at Nashville and withdraws through Columbia and Pulaski to cross the Tennessee River and arrive at Tupelo, MS on January 6th, 1865.  From here the Alabamans are ordered to the Carolinas.

 

On the 9th of April, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Gen U.S. Grant but on the 12th Gen Pettus’ Brigade was sent to Salisbury, NC to stop an enemy raid on stores there, driving off the enemy.  The 19th, 40th and 46th AL (Consolidated) was sent in to guard the town, which was their position when the suspension of arms agreement was reached with General Sherman, US Army, on 19th of April.

 

The surrender terms were agreed upon on the 26th of April, and only seventy six men from the 19th Alabama were present at the surrender.  On the 6th of May General Pettus’ Brigade started the move from Salisbury to Charlotte, NC, thence to Union Point, GA where the brigade was disbanded thus ending the existence of the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment as a fighting unit. 

 

This regiment, comprised of ordinary men, men of the soil, shopkeepers, laborers who had come together to defend their country in its quest for independence, had answered the call and served proudly without reservation.

After nearly four years of untold sacrifices, patient endurance and heroic struggle, under the most trying conditions in the history of the time, their army, without resources, but still devoted patriots, yielded to vastly overwhelming numbers of the Northern army. 

 

 

Story & Photo’s  by Hayden H. Moody

 

Edited by Raymond N. Britton