Notes for WILLIAM HAMILTON ARMSTRONG by Donald Hayworth:
William Hamilton "Billy" Armstrong was born in Randolph County, Alabama, in 1840. He grew up on the Tallapoosa River just south of the town of Arbacoochee in the area that became part of Cleburne County in 1866.
As a young, single man Billy Armstrong went to Mississippi to work as a carpenter. While he was in Mississippi the Civil War broke out. On 15 June 1861, at the age of 22, William Hamilton Armstrong enlisted as a Private in Captain John A. Cason's Company, known as the "12th Regiment Mississippi Volunteers". This company was successively known as Captain Cason's Company, Mississippi Volunteers, and as Captain Cason's Company (Old) Company F and (New) Company I, 12th Regiment Mississippi Infantry. Company F was mustered in at Durant, Mississippi on 16 March 1961. The 12th Regiment Mississippi Infantry (Durant Rifles) was organized in May 1861 of companies which had previously been in the state service and was mustered into the Confederate Service for a period of 12 months. On 9 May 1861, the 12th Mississippi Regiment departed for Camp Clark, Corinth, Mississippi.
On 16 July 1861, one month after Billy Armstrong enlisted, Captain Cason's Company was dispatched to Northern Virginia to serve under General Robert E. Lee. They did not arrive in Virginia until after the "First Battle of Manassas". I have a copy of some of William's medical records while he was in Captain Cason's Company that show he was admitted to different hospitals on three separate occasions - none related to battlefield injuries.
On 02 August 1861, shortly after the company arrived in Virginia, Billy Armstrong was admitted to the General hospital, Orange Court House, Virginia. He was diagnosed as having "measles" and was released and returned to duty on 26 August 1861.
The 12th Mississippi Regiment went into winter quarters for the winter of 1861/62 at Centreville, Virginia, apparently without having engaged in battle. On 04 May 1862, after the long winter, Billy Armstrong was again admitted to the hospital - - - this time to Chimborazo Hospital No. 3, Richmond, Virginia with an illness diagnosed as "Debilitas". I have never heard of "Debilitas" and can only guess at the nature of this illness. It sounds as if it might be an archaic medical term for "being in a weakened, and run-down condition". In any event, William Hamilton Armstrong soon recovered and on 08 May 1862 was transferred to Camp Winder.
The 12th Mississippi Regiment engaged in a series of battles beginning on 31 May and 01 June 1862, when they fought in the "Battle of Seven Pines". On 27 June 1862, they fought in the "Battle of Gaine's Mill", also known as the"Battle of Cold Harbor". Then on 30 June they were in the "Battle of Glendale", also known as the "Battle of Frasier’s Farm".
On 10 August 1862, William Hamilton Armstrong was admitted to General Hospital No. 21, Richmond, Virginia, suffering from "Diarrhea". During his confinement, the 12th Mississippi Regiment fought in the "Battle of Kelly’s Ford" on the Rappahanock. On 30 August 1862, Billy Armstrong was released from the hospital and transferred to Mays Island.
His regiment fought in the "Second Battle of Manassas", engaged near the Stone house, on the day of his transfer to Mays Island. It is not known if Billy Armstrong participated in this battle. The 12th Mississippi Regiment was next engaged in the battles leading to the "Capture of Harper’s Ferry" on 15 September 1862. Then on 17 September 1862, they were in the "Battle of Sharpsburg". This was the last battle in which Billy Armstrong participated as a member of the 12th Mississippi Regiment.
William Hamilton Armstrong was transferred to "Company D, 13th Alabama Regulars" by Special Order 224/6, issued by the "Department and Army Northern Virginia - Lee" on 20 October 1862. At some point, Private William Hamilton Armstrong was promoted to Sergeant William Hamilton Armstrong in Company D, 13th Alabama Regulars. Perhaps, he was promoted at the time of his transfer and this was the reason for the transfer. It is my guess, however, that the transfer was made at William's request. With this transfer, William was now in the same company as his younger brother, John Franklin Armstrong, who enlisted on 06 July 1861. They would be joined about a year later by another brother, James Jasper Armstrong, who enlisted on 07 November 1863 when he turned 17.
I do not have a complete record of the battles in which William Hamilton Armstrong participated following his transfer. In 1998, however, a Confederate Marker was placed at his gravesite listing some of the battles in which he participated. His two brothers, John Franklin and James Jasper Armstrong, were also honored at the dedication ceremony. These markers were placed as a result of the research and efforts of Alfred Harrison Hewlett, assisted by his brother James Randall Hewlett, great-grandsons of William Hamilton Armstrong. Alfred Harrison Hewlett died before the markers were placed, but his efforts were recognized at the dedication ceremony. The citation for William Hamilton Armstrong read at the dedication ceremony was as follows:
"1st Sgt. William Hamilton (Billy) Armstrong - Company D, 13th Alabama Infantry - was born in Cleburne County, Alabama. He came to Texas in 1869 and settled in George's Creek, Texas in 1872. William fought in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Seven Pines and the Wilderness. At the Battle of the Wilderness he was captured and remained a prisoner until the end of the war." Of these battles, only the "Battle of Seven Pines" took place prior to Billy Armstrong’s transfer to the 13th Alabama Infantry.
After the Civil War, William was released and returned to Randolph County, Alabama. In 1865 he married Leanna Camp, who died in October 1866 at the birth of their daughter. William's mother and father took on the responsibility of rearing his daughter as if she were their child, rather than their grandchild. William's sister, Rachel Parthenia Armstrong, was 12 years old when William's daughter, Rhoda Leanna Armstrong, was born and came to live with her parents. Much of the rearing of William's daughter fell on her willing shoulders.
On 12 April 1868, William married Lucy Penelope Stephens. His daughter by his first wife continued to be reared by his parents and sister, however. On the 1880 Texas census, she is listed living with her grandfather and his two youngest sons - - - two years after the death of her grandmother.
Soon after their marriage, William and Lucy Armstrong left Alabama and headed for Texas along with William's parents and most of his siblings. They settled for a few years in Hill County before moving on to Somervell County in 1872. William and Lucy reared six sons in Hood and Somervell County.
William was a farmer for most of the time he lived in Texas. He was also a County Commissioner for Precinct Four in Somervell County in 1886. Earlier he served as Justice of Peace in Hood County and was a member of the Masonic Lodge for 60 years. He joined the church in 1874, when he was 34 years old. William died in 1921, shortly after his 81st birthday. He and his wife, Lucy, are buried in the George's Creek Cemetery in Somervell County, Texas.

• Married: ABT. DEC 1865 in GA.

1. Rhoda Leanna ARMSTRONG b: 16 OCT 1866 in Cleburne Co., AL.

• Married: 12 APR 1868 in Cleburne Co., AL.

1. John Dyer ARMSTRONG b: 11 JUN 1871 in Somervell Co., TX.
2. Henry Hamilton ARMSTRONG b: ABT. 1873 in Somervell Co., TX.
3. Algernon Lee ARMSTRONG b: ABT. 1876
4. William Franklin ARMSTRONG b: 10 MAY 1879 in Somervell Co., TX.
5. Gaston Polonius ARMSTRONG b: 10 FEB 1881 in Somervell Co., TX.
6. Francis Cocero ARMSTRONG b: 4 JAN 1883 in Hood Co., TX.