William Henry Welch

  General Notes:

Mr. W. H. Welch Dead
Mr. W. H. Welch died at his home in this city Tuesday night at midnight, after a short illness in which his heart and lungs were involved. His remains were laid to rest Wednesday afternoon in the Center City cemetery, where his parents were buried a few years ago.

Mr Welch had been a citizen of this county about 30 years, having moved here from Cock county, and most of the time he lived in the Center City community, where he owned a large and valuable farm and other property. He was an ex-Confederate soldier and was in the 73rd year of his age at the time of his death. He was a devout member of the Methodist church and an honorable, upright gentleman who to know was to esteem and admire. By his death, the county has lost one of its best citizens and one whose place will not be easily filled.

He leaves a wife and three daughters and four sons, besides a large number of other relatives all of whom have the deep and sincere sympathy of all who know of their great sorrow.

The Goldthwaite Eagle, 6 February 1909

Remembering Our Veterans:William Henry Welch
Editor's Note: The following information was provided by Beverly (Welch) Kovar. William Henry Welch, a Civil War veteran, was her great grandfather, and is buried in Mills County.

William Henry Welch volunteered in the service of the famous Eleventh Texas Cavalry in the fall of 1861. He was twenty-four years old at the time and was a private in B Company, on detail as Regiment Teamster, that is, he drove and cared for a team of horses. Being a large, strong man and an experienced stockman, he was well-suited for his job.

The dates of his enlistment vary. One source listed William Welch in a muster roll of men enlisted at Pilot Point, Texas, December 23, 1861 (Ed F. Bates, History of Denton County, 1918). His service record shows four dates of enlistment and reenlistment, the earliest date being January 1, 1862, at Gainesville, Texas (National Archives and Records, G.S.A., Washington, D.C.). He was enlisted by Lt. Col. J. Diamond, who was Col. W. C. Young's second in command, and who had charge of the Eleventh in the fall of 1861, while Young busied himself raising volunteers in the nearby counties.

The Eleventh Texas Cavalry spent the first part of 1862 in winter quarters at Fayetteville, Arkansas. The snow and ice were severe, and worse, the men were exposed to a raging epidemic of smallpox. After the Battle of Pea Ridge in March, the strength of the eleventh was reduced by almost seventy-five percent.

It was about this time that the regiment lost their popular commander, Col. W. C. Young, who was relieved and re- turned to Texas for health reasons. Another disappointment was the loss of their horses. The Army needed infantry, so the Eleventh dismounted. Despite the difficulties in getting used to walking, quite an adjustment for the Texans, the Eleventh crossed the Mississippi in the spring of 1862, and participated in the defense of Corinth.

The Eleventh encountered an intolerable situation at Corinth caused by insufficient water charged with rotten limestone which produced diarrhea and typhoid fever. Further, there was bad food, neglect of police duty, and inaction, all of which necessitated a retreat to Tupelo, Mississippi. The bad conditions were corrected, and under the command of J. P. McCown, the troops were transferred, probably by rail, to the command of Kirby Smith in Kentucky, who campaigned unsuccessfully to secure a route of retreat through the Cumberland Gap. The retreat route was used by Smith and Bragg in the fall of 1862.

The following December, the Eleventh was included in General Ector's brigade in the Battle of Murfreesboro, or Stones River. In describing the charge of the Texas brigade, Ector reported "such determination and courage" were "perfectly irresistible," and the "Yankees were swept from the cedar breaks where they were concealed." In this battle, Lt. Col. J. M. Bounds became the commander of the Eleventh, and they were moved to Wharton's brigade. Wharton's was a cavalry brigade, so the Eleventh was remounted, much to the joy of the men. In September, 1963, the Eleventh participated successfully in the Battle of Chickamauga. Under General Joseph Wheeler, the Eighth Texas Cavalry was brigaded with the Eleventh and remained so until the end of the war. It was Wheeler's Corps which resisted Sherman's march from Atlanta to Macon, and finally moved into South Carolina where there followed a series of desperate skirmishes until the end of the war (Texas in the Civil War, Texas Civil War Centennial Commission, 1962).

It is unknown how much time William Henry Welch spent in actual combat with the Eleventh Texas Cavalry. The records do show that his name appeared on the Company Muster Rolls for the following periods: August 31 to December 31, 1862; December 31, 1862 to April 30, 1863; June 30, 1863 to December 31, 1863; and October 31, 1863 to February 9, 1864. He was present on three of the rolls, but on the August 31, 1862 roll, he was absent on sick furlough in Texas.

The date of his discharge is not known, but apparently, he remained in service until the end of the war. ^{2 3}

Bill married Lucinda Frances Phillips, daughter of Gray Phillips and Frances, on 3 Nov 1861 in , Cooke County, Texas. (Lucinda Frances Phillips was born on 4 Jun 1843 in Tennessee, died on 20 May 1936 in Sterling City, Sterling County, Texas and was buried in Center City Cemetery, Center City, Mills County, Texas ⁴.)