WILLIAM D. ROGERS
© Karen McCann Hett All Rights Reserved 2003-2009
William arrived in Montgomery County in about 1858. In 1859, he rendered three horses and twenty-five head of cattle for taxation. He continued to render horses and a large herd of cattle through 1861. In 1862, he had only two horses and “miscellaneous property.” He did not render his taxable property in 1863, presumably because he had gone to war.
It is not known whether William D. Rogers was related to any of the local Rogers families.
When William joined the Texas Lancers in 1862, he stated the value of his horse as $175.00 and his equipment as $20.00. He had to travel fifty miles from his home to place of rendezvous, which was Camp Carter at Hempstead.
William rode his horse to Arkansas with the rest of the regiment, after training at Camp Carter. There he was dismounted along with the others, and his unit of the Texas Lancers became Company B, 24th Regiment Texas Cavalry.
The men were sent to Ft. Hindman at Arkansas Post, and were then engaged in building cabins for the winter. The Union attack on January 11, 1862, was not expected. William was captured and was sent up the Mississippi River to prison at Camp Butler, Illinois.
He appears on the Roster of Troops Captured at Ft. Hindman and on the Roll of Prisoners of War who were captured on January 11th, 1862, at Arkansas Post.
On a Roll of Prisoners, William’s age was given as thirty-five, he was 5 feet eleven inches tall, he had brown hair and blue eyes. He was born in Tennessee and was a resident of Montgomery County, Texas.
In about March, William “took the oath” of allegiance to the United States and was freed from the prison. In looking at the situation in which William found himself, it is possible to understand why he may have wanted to take the oath and be freed. The prisoners were living in cold, miserable conditions without enough food. Many were very ill and many were dying. Others were taking the oath daily.
We do not know if he ever returned to Montgomery County, but he does not appear there on the 1870 census.
His final muster roll states that he “deserted, took the oath of allegiance at Camp Butler, Illinois.” There is no later roll for any service with the Department of the Mississippi, so we assume William did not rejoin the Confederate army.
Return to History of Co. B 24th Texas Cavalry
© Karen McCann Hett All Rights Reserved 2003-2009
William D. Rogers enlisted in the Second Texas Lancers at Danville on April 28, 1862. He was thirty-four years old. He was born in Tennessee in about 1827. In 1860, he was living near Danville, next door to Peter Pincham. He was enumerated as a farmer with a wife, “A,” age twenty, also born in Tennessee. With them was a female, E. B. Green, age 56, born in South Carolina.
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Karen McCann Hett
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