James Orville PattonPosted by Susan on July 19, 2001 at 09:52:46:
According to family records and stories, James Orville Patton, always called "Orville", or simply "Brother", then aged 17, helped his younger brother Rufus Patton evacuate the wounded and bury the dead following the battle of Backbone Mountain (Devil's Backbone), which was fought 1/2 mile from the Patton farm outside of Greenwood, AR. The boys' older brother, Augustus Erwin Patton ("Gus") was enlisted in the 1st AR Light Artillery, CSA. As soon as Orville turned 18, he enlisted in the federal army, and was sent to Little Rock, where he died of disease, in camp, before his 19th birthday. Rufus wrote about this many years later - but neglected to say in which unit Orville was enlisted, or where in Little Rock he was buried. I have not been able to locate Orville in the records. He was the son of James Grimes Patton and the late Harriet Ross Patton - his stepmother was Mary Caroline Hunter Patton. Any clues or suggestions? Thank you.
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