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Civil War Veteran
Alexander B. Bass was born March 3rd, 1846 in Irwin County, Georgia being the eldest son of David Bass and Amanda Thomas. About 1850 the family moved to Marion County, Florida, where just a few years later (1854) David Bass dies. On June 28, 1855 Amanda marries her 2nd husband, Allen Fort. Allen was born in Georgia but moved to Marion County with his parents, where he became a 'planter', owning several slaves. Four years after Amanda marries Allen, she dies, leaving her sons in his care. On the 1860 census Alexander and his brother David are listed with the Fort surname.
Alexander enlists at Thomasville, Georgia on August 16th, 1862. His pension application and tombstone list his unit simply as '1st Georgia', but I believe this to be in error (and it caused his pension application to be denied). His unit was probably 11th Battalion, Georgia Artillery (Sumter Artillery) or 10th Battalion, Georgia Infantry. Both carried an Alexander Bass on their rolls, and fought at Cold Harbor Virginia, where Alexander states he was captured (1864) and sent to Fort Delaware POW camp in Connecticut, from which he was released at the end of the war. He traveled to Wayne County, Georgia for his discharge (according to his pension).
Exactly where Alexander lives after the war, and who he marries, is a bit of a mystery. What is known is that he has as least four children born in Georgia between 1880 and 1900. In September of 1904 he moves to Florida. His daughter, Pleasant 'Lillie' Bass marries Noah Alonzo Hill (1914 Liberty County), and son Henry J Bass marries Vassie Manning (1921 Liberty County). One other son (possibly Thomas Bass) must marry in the area also because in 1930 Henry & Vassie have 3 of his nieces in their household.
In January 1920 Alexander applies for his Civil War pension and states that he has no property, and is living with a son in Liberty County. His pension is denied because they can't verify his unit, and Alexander dies in April 1920. He is buried in Hosford Cemetery.
There's a very strong chance that another Bass buried in Hosford Cemetery, Bennett Bernard Bass (1870-1958) is also a son of Alexander. Bennett was born in Alabama, which would place Alexander in Alabama in 1870 (although he isn't on the US Census).
Pension Application Nr. D21649 (Click to search and view at the Florida Memory Project)
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