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Civil War Veteran
Simeon S Duggar, Sr was born September 30, 1891 in Thomas County, Georgia, the son of William Duggar (1803-1857) and Margaret M. Futch (1807-1860). His family moved to north Florida in the mid 1840s, settling in Leon County. Simeon and some of his siblings later moved to Liberty County, where many of their descendants live today.
On October 2, 1857 Simeon married Mary Ann Pittman (1833-1890) and they began raising a family in Leon County. Mary Ann was the daughter of John T. Pittman, born about 1787 in North Carolina and Eliza, born abut 1797 in Georgia. Her family moved to Gadsden County in the 1830s.
In the spring of 1864, leaving a pregnant wife and four small children at home, Simeon travelled to Whitfield County Georgia where he joined up with Company 'A' (RHM Davidson), 6th Florida Infantry Regiment. The regiment contained men from Gadsden, Jackson, Union, Collier, and Washington counties. The regiment moved to East Tennessee. Later it was assigned to Colonel R.C. Trigg's, and General Finley's and J.A. Smith's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. It served on many battlefields from Chickamauga to Atlanta, was active in Tennessee with Hoods.
During the Atlanta Campaign, Simeon was captured at the battle of Marietta, Georgia (1 Jul 1864). He was sent to Camp Morton POW camp, located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. As with most Civil War POW camps, conditions were harsh and sickness rampant. Simeon caught a 'bad cold' that affected his right eye, resulting in total blindness of that eye.
When Simeon arrived at Camp Morton it housed 4, 900 prisoners, over half of which had arrived since May. Planned renovations and improvements to the camp had not been made on a scale to accommodate many of these new prisoners. A high number of malaria cases were reported during this time. Reforms at Camp Morton were ordered by Union Army medical personnel, which included recommendations of enlarging the camp, building of new hospital wards, and a supply of vegetables or “antiscorbutics” for the prisoners to prevent scurvy. Some of these reforms, however, were never instituted.
Upon his arrival Simeon would have been given clothing and blankets. Each man received one blanket, and as two usually bunked together, they joined forces. As the cold weather of autumn approached the prisoners were issued an additional blanket a piece, and some of the men fashioned the old ones into capes or cloaks, and the sight of a sturdy Confederate strolling about with the Uncle Sam's U.S. branded between his shoulders was not uncommon. The winter 1864-1865 was very cold. On New Years day, 1865, the temperature dropped to 20 degrees below zero along with a severe snowstorm. Extra straw, blankets, and wood for the cast iron stoves were secured for the barracks, but the winter hardships continued. The winter proved to be very cold with the last snow recorded on April 16.
With General Lee's surrender on April 9, all of the remaining prisoners were released after they were administered the oath. After his release Simeon made the 800 mile trip back home to Florida. He and Mary Ann had three more children, and sometime between 1870-1880 they moved to Liberty County. Simeon dies on September 18, 1904 and Mary Ann dies about 1910. Both are buried in the Blue Creek Cemetery.
Pension Application Nr. A00019 (Click to search and view at the Florida Memory Project)
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