Corporal James Porter Hoover

JAMES PORTER HOOVER, son of Mathias and Nancy Hoover, was born January 1, 1822 in Murfreesboro, Hoover's Gap, TN, and died January 26, 1863 in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., AR. He married ELIZABETH MATILDA RENSHAW on April 12, 1841 in Rutherford Co., TN, daughter of Nathan Renshaw and Lettie Dunn. She was born August 18, 1824 in Rutherford Co., TN, and died March 27, 1908 in Alto, Cherokee Co., TX. James and "Matilda" Hoover were blessed with six children: Nancy Lucinda, Mary Susan, Martha Emoline, John Wesley, James Granville and William Lee. In about 1853, James P. Hoover, along with his family, left Yourees District in Rutherford Co., TN and began their migration to Texas. By 1860, the Hoover family was settled in Rusk, Cherokee Co., TX.

Family stories say he enlisted "soon after the outbreak of the Civil War" indicating he enlisted early in the war. Military records confirm he enlisted on April 7, 1862 in Ochilltree's Regiment, 18th Texas Infantry, Company "C", a company made up of men from Rusk and Cherokee Co., TX serving under Capt. T. R. Bonner, which was formed "April 7, 1862, Rusk, TX" with its election of field officers completed by May 13, 1862. James P. Hoover is shown on the Company Muster-In Roll for his enlistment as a "Corporal" and he signed on for a period of three years. At the time of his enlistment, he was listed as 40 years of age. The Muster-In Roll was at Camp Sidney Johnson, Marion Co., TX. In the Fall of 1862, he was in Camp Hope (Austin, Lonoke Co., AR) which by October 1862 became Camp Nelson after the death in October 1862 of Brigadier General Allison Nelson. Camp Nelson was plagued with illness.....typhoid, Black measles, pneumonia...... and before the end of January 1863, James P. Hoover had died.

While the loss of James P.Hoover was a blow to his family, they were luckier than some who were left wondering what happened to their loved ones. Two of James' sons-in-law, Joseph T. King and John G. King, were also at Camp Nelson. They reported back to Matilda that he had died in Arkansas of the measles. We believe this to be a true accounting of his death because of the many reports documenting the dire circumstances in Camp Nelson. A letter written in July 1862 from a soldier serving at Camp Nelson to his mother cited "a great many of our boys have died" and also that this very same soldier had "the measles". The Camp Nelson Confederate Cemetery web site states: "During the cold wet winter of 1862-63....this battle was against disease - against typhoid and the dreaded black measles with its raging fever, bilious eruptions and debilitating diarrhea........more than 1,500 men at Camp Nelson would succumb ......"

Initially, because of documented events and a timeline of the Division's movement in 1862 and early 1863, it was thought James P. Hoover had died at Camp Nelson. His military records tell a different story of the final months of his life. The Roster cards for the months of September, October and November 1862 place him as being "sick in hospital at Camp Nelson". But, the Roster card for the month of December 1862 shows him as "Absent enlisted men accounted for: Convalescent Camp L. R." The placement of him in a Little Rock convalescent camp in December shows he didn't die at Camp Nelson! With his death documented as being January 26, 1863, it now looks as if his death occurred in one of the many Little Rock hospitals. Convalescent camps were known as "wayside hospitals" for recuperating soldiers.

Elizabeth Matilda Hoover applied for her CSA Widow's Pension, Application #00782, dated June 24, 1899. She stated that James Porter Hoover died January 26, 1863 in Arkansas. Witnesses for Mrs. Hoover were J. T. King and M. W. Martin, both of which testified that they served with James P. Hoover in the Ochiltree Reg., Company "C under Capt. T. R. Bonner. They testified that James P. Hoover served "about one year" with them and that he "died in the army". Matthew W. Martin, Ord. Sgt. and Joseph T. King, Sgt., are both found on the 18th Texas Infantry, Company "C" roster and in the Civil War Detailed Soldier Records.

Still, no actual documentation has been found for the burial place of James P. Hoover! Sadly, we have all known that he was most likely buried in a mass grave or buried as an "Unknown Confederate Soldier" because of the circumstances of his illness and death. Research of the counties of Lonoke and Pulaski, AR told us there were four cemeteries which should be researched to find his burial place: Camp Nelson Confederate Cemetery, Mount Holly Cemetery, Oakland Cemetery and the Little Rock National Cemetery. Camp Nelson Cemetery was quickly ruled out because of the change of his death place. Mount Holly and the Little Rock National Cemetery were also ruled out when we found a history of the Oakland Cemetery.

Research of the Oakland Cemetery [aka Oakland Fraternal Cemetery] found a good history for the cemetery, which also included info on the Mount Holly and Little Rock National Cemeteries, written by Lakresha Diaz with photos by Paul Barrows. The history stated the following excerpts about the Confederate burials in the cemetery: #1: "A May 15, 1862 Arkansas Gazette article indicated that the city of Little Rock had appropriated funds to purchase a new city cemetery to acommodate all the Civil War soldiers dying in Little Rock's hospitals. It was "christened" Oakland......"; #2: "Oakland's story begins with the Civil War, as the need for a new cemetery in Little Rock was great, with "many soldiers dying almost daily in the emergency hospitals of Little Rock."; #3: "A small section of less than an acre holds a mass grave of 900 soldiers. The monument erected by the DOC in 1913 reads: "in memory of 900 Confederate soldiers buried within this enclosure, most of whom died in the hospitals in Little Rock, AR. in 1863."

Research and speculation sometimes have to go hand in hand to find the final resting place of our ancestors. Our research shows James Porter Hoover to have been in Little Rock, AR right before he died. Our speculation leads us to think that James Porter Hoover is most likely resting in the Oakland Cemetery along with 899 of his fellow comrades.

Researchers for the biography were: Shirley D. Bray, ggg granddaughter of James Porter Hoover and Rayburn Miller Hoover, Jr. (Texas), gg grandson of James Porter Hoover

Submitted by Shirley Bray

Texans in the Civil War