When you think of a military bugler, what do you hear and see in your imagination? Perhaps it's the mournful sound of Taps at a military funeral. Maybe you see the Cavalry galloping across the landscape to the notes of Charge. Or maybe you hear the perky notes of Reveille mingling with the groans of weary soldiers rising from their beds.
As an Army bugler in 1846, my third great-grandfather had to learn to play dozens of signal tunes, though Taps wasn't composed until after his death. However, you won't find his name on any lists of Arkansas soldiers -- at least not his correct name. The name of Josiah Allee, Bugler, Company I, Arkansas Mounted Volunteers, has been incorrectly written and/or misread in most records.
Captain William K Inglish of the same regiment signed an affidavit on May 4, 1850, stating:
... that he is the identical Wm K Inglish who was Captain of Company "I" in the Regiment of Arkansas Mounted Volunteers commanded by the late Colonel A. Yell afterwards by Col. John S. Roane, that in said Company "I" there was no such person as Josiah, also Joseph Allen, and if such name is entered on the muster rolls, the same is erroneous and instead thereof, the name of Josiah Allee should be inserted...
Abraham was also a country lawyer, so it's likely that Josiah likewise had some education and was able to read and write. How Josiah met his wife is a mystery, as she lived some 30 miles away, near Benton. They may have met through family connections or Josiah might have hired himself out. Regardless of how they met, on December 29, 1842, Josiah, age 21, married Mary Jane Pelton, age 15.
Mary Jane gave birth to their only child, Andrew Lafayette Allee, on August 24, 1844. By the spring of 1846, Mary Jane was sick and being visited by a doctor. Also in the spring of 1846, on May 13, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico. The call went out for volunteers to serve for one year. Josiah volunteered, joining on July 1st as a private and stating his age as 24. Did he need the money to pay doctor bills?
The volunteers from Saline County traveled first to Washington, Arkansas, where they were formally mustered into service. Josiah was appointed as a Bugler on July 25, replacing Miles Haley, whose rank was changed from Bugler to Private.
The Arkansas regiments marched to San Antonio, Texas, where they arrived on August 28. They joined the forces under the command of General John E. Wool and spent the rest of August and most of September drilling.
The topographical engineers, led by Captain George W Hughes, left San Antonio for Mexico on September 23, a few days ahead of the main body of the Army. General Wool and his forces followed. Captain Hughes reported that the whole army crossed the Rio Grande on [by] October 12, 1846.
Here I must diverge from other articles on the internet. Captain Hughes and his engineers documented latitude and longitude for the area of the crossing, as well as distances between locations and dates of travel. Other internet articles will state the location of crossing differently.
The location of the town nearest the river crossing was known to Captain Hughes as Presidio del Rio Grande. That name no longer is in use, but has led to bad assumptions. The closest readings reported by the engineers were made four miles from the town and are 28°20'48.5"N 100°31'12"W. The location was also documented as being about 25 miles from Nava, which is slightly northwest of that location. Today the town near the river crossing is known as Guerrero, in the Mexican state of Coahuila.
The true location of Presidio del Rio Grande is important to my family. Captain Inglish's affidavit continues with the sad tale:
...The said Josiah Allee died at Rio Grande Crossing, or Presidio, on or about the 18th day of October 1846.
Josiah had served less than four months and did not die in any documented battle. In the early part of the war, illness was a bigger threat to the soldiers than battle, but his cause of death was not included in his service file. No doubt he was buried near where he fell, somewhere near the town of Guerrero.
Josiah's wife had also died during 1846, leaving their son an orphan. Josiah's brother, Abraham Allee, fought the Army to obtain an orphan's pension for Josiah's young son. That fight created a wealth of documentation about Josiah, including proving the correct name of this Bugler who served his country.
Source list:
- Traas, Adrian George. From the Golden Gate to Mexico City: the U.S. Army Topographical Engineers in the Mexican War, 1846-1848. Office of History, Corps of Engineers and Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1993.
- Allen, Desmond Walls. Arkansas’ Mexican War Soldiers. Conway, AR: Arkansas Research, 1988.
- Book Committee (Plano, Tex.). 1985. Plano, Texas: The Early Years. Wolfe City, Texas: Henington Pub. Co.
- Service File of Josiah Allee [Allen]
- Service File of Miles Haley
- Pension File of Josiah Allee
- Marriage records of Saline County, Arkansas
- 1820 census, Lawrence County, Alabama Territory
- 1830 census, Lawrence County, Alabama
- 1840 census, Saline County, Arkansas
- 1850 census, Saline County, Arkansas
- Land records of Saline County, Arkansas
- Land records of Lawrence County, Alabama
- Tax rolls of Saline County, Arkansas
- Probate of Josiah Allee, Saline County, Arkansas
- Probate of Samuel Pelton, Saline County, Arkansas
- Wikipedia article: Taps
- Google Maps
- Family stories about Abraham Allee
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