Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Elijah Byrd Jenkins was one of Wilcox County's most remarkable Civil War veterans

New Home Cemetery at Dottelle, Alabama.
Today – Dec. 13 – marks the 175th anniversary of the birth of one of the most remarkable Civil War veterans to ever call Wilcox County home – Elijah Byrd Jenkins.

Much of what I know about Jenkins comes from Steve Stacey of Monroeville, a noted Civil War expert and historian who has helped keep Jenkins’ memory alive over the years. According to Stacey, Jenkins was born on Dec. 13, 1842 in Wilcox County to Thomas Jenkins and his wife. In Montgomery on Nov. 1, 1862, Jenkins, who was 19 years old at the time, enlisted as a private in Co. K of the 1st Alabama Artillery.

Jenkins re-enlisted in Co. K on Feb. 11, 1863 at Port Hudson, La., but a short time later, he joined the Confederate Navy. On March 5, 1864, he began serving aboard the CSS Selma, a steamship that was originally known as the Florida. Jenkins served aboard the CSS Selma until it was captured by the Union Navy steamer USS Metacomet during the pivotal Battle of Mobile Bay on Aug. 5, 1864.


After the capture of the CSS Selma, Jenkins was imprisoned on Ship Island, a barrier island on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that’s also the site of Fort Massachusetts. In the Alabama Confederate Census of 1921, Jenkins said that he spent eight months as a federal prisoner before being released at the end of the war. Jenkins also reported that during all of his time as a Confederate soldier, he was never wounded.

Jenkins lived to the ripe old age of 87 before passing away on Dec. 17, 1929. He was buried in the cemetery at New Home Primitive Baptist Church in Monroe County. According to Stacey, Jenkins is the only known Confederate Navy sailor buried in all of Monroe County.

Elijah Byrd Jenkins
The New Home Cemetery is located off U.S. Highway 84, between Monroeville and Repton, on the Experiment Farm Road, in what’s known as the Dottelle community. This past Sunday, I sought out this old cemetery, found Jenkins’ grave and paid my respects to this Confederate sailor just a few days shy of his 175th birthday.


I traveled there alone and parked in the driveway near the cemetery entrance sign, which indicated that the cemetery was established in the early 1800s. I stepped out into the cool air and bright sunshine, which made it a tad too warm for the jacket I had on. I spent the next 15 minutes or so wandering through the headstones, looking for Jenkins’ grave before my eyes finally settled on his solitary grave marker.

I stood there for what seemed like a long time, a short walk from where patches of unmelted snow from a few days before remained in the shadows of the nearby wood line. I thought about Jenkins, his roots in a landlocked county like Wilcox, how fate led him to naval service and his participation in one of the greatest naval battles in American history. His thoughts on these events have been lost to history, but one thing remains for sure – Jenkins was truly one of the most remarkable Civil War veterans to ever call Wilcox County home.

2 comments:

  1. Elijah Byrd Jenkins was my great grandfather. Several years ago I dug up the information you have in this article and visited Elijah's grave, which at the time was not marked. Although I already have this information, I very much appreciate the fact that someone still cares about and honors people like Elijah. Thanks so much for this article and your work to research and publish it.

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  2. I Think Elijah Byrd Jenkins was a father's great, great grandfather. I have seen this picture before. If so, then it is exciting to know one of my ancestors was so accomplished.

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