From 1936 to 1939, the county of Lauderdale in Mississippi assembled a catalog of its citizens that served in the Confederate military during the American Civil War. Though John William Graham died in 1913, some 23 years earlier, his service was recorded as follows:

1. Name: Graham, John W.

2. Command: Co. B. 35 Miss. Reg., Col. Barksdale, Capt. Jack

Company B was raised from men in Kemper and Winston Counties in Mississippi and was initially commanded by Captain Abner M. Jack. The company was nicknamed Farmer Boys.

I could find no information on Colonel Barksdale of the 35th Regiment.

I also could not find John on any roster of the 35th Regiment. I found a couple of records that appear to reference John, but they contradict one another. A future article will address John’s military service in more detail.

3. Rank: Private.

5. Date and Place of enlistment: Kemper Co., April ’62.

John was 21 years old in April 1862.

Though I haven’t been able to find John in the 1860 census, he was residing in Kemper County on the 1870 census.

10. Date and place of discharge: Anderson, Ala. ’65.

It is an odd coincidence that Anderson, Alabama is also in a county named Lauderdale. Both counties were named for Colonel James Lauderdale, a militia officer who died at the first Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812.

13. Remarks: Died Meridian Nov. 17, 1913

14. Authority: Pension Application Book E-K, Chancery Clerk’s Office, Meridian, Miss.

Bibliography

“Mississippi, State Archives, Various Records, 1820-1951,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GGYY-K?cc=1919687&wc=9B4C-3TG%3A211903501%2C211898602 : 21 May 2014), Lauderdale > Civil War records 1936-1939 (Box 11055) > image 380 of 895; Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

“Thirty-Fifth Mississippi Infantry.” American Civil War Research Database, Historical Data Systems, Inc, http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?RegimentHistory?1655&C.

Wikipedia contributors, “James Lauderdale,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Lauderdale&oldid=984086080 (accessed February 7, 2021).