Bowen family web
e-History files
Major John A.Vernon of Hobby's Regiment
The 8th Texas Confederate Infantry.
[ Click on the images for a larger view. ]
Greetings,
I am the great, great, great grandson of Major John A. Vernon and was absolutely amazed to see your website.
I have Maj. Vernon's original field journal given to me by my late grandmother, Nellie Farquhar in 1984.
I wasn't sure that it was the same man until I read some of your accounts and they are the same events depicted in his journal.
This journal was in the possession of my ggg grandfather but must have been a post journal at first because the first entries are made by SHEA(several pages), IRELAND, J.M. REUSS-Capt, Col.BRADFUTE (3-4 entries).
Entries concerning seizing the steamboat "Cora" and returning it back to Ft. Esperanza. On Aug. 14, 1863 is an entry from "J.R. Holmy- Lieut & Adjt. Fort DeBray, Texas also referring to the Cora.I am enclosing as an attatchment, a scan of Major Vernon's tin-type photo. [ see above ]
I don't know how much you know about Maj. Vernon's history, but the family story that has been handed down, (told to me by my grandmother when she passed the journal to me before she died), was that John A. Vernon was a wealthy plantation owner who did not wish to enter the war as a foot soldier and so he bought himself a commission and later was field promoted to Major. I will try to scan a few pages for you with translation because it is difficult to make out some of the handwriting of the period as I am sure you have already encountered. The journal is approximately 30-40 pages and has some interesting reading. I would love to make some of it available for your website. It was really exciting for me to see on your site the chronology you displayed and then go to the journal's corresponding dates and read what happened in some detail.
Andrew Lochridge
Related Links
[ From Major Vernon's Journal ] [ Company A roster ] [ More about Hobby's 8th Texas ]
[ Battles on Texas soil in the war of Northern Aggression ]
[ Report of the Fort Esperanza battle ] [ Texas military links ]
The Bowen family web The Rootsweb edition 2000-2003
email bowen151@yahoo.com
this url : http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~bowen/vernon.html
updated 7-1-2003