Samuel LaFayette Pittard and his twin sister were born Dec 11, 1833 in Oglethorpe County GA to William Pittard and Curacy Louisa Meadows.

In the 1850 census, Samuel, age 16 and living at home, is counted among Oglethrope’s “nearly 4,500 free citizens.” Others in the Pittard household at the time include Samuel’s older brother, Thomas N., age 20, sister Elizabeth, 18, and his twin listed as Amanda. Samuel’s twin was probably named Eliza Marida rather than Amanda. Though some sources list Eliza as a separate person and the fifth and youngest child of William and Louisa, she doesn’t appear in the 1850 census when her age is placed at about 14. After the 1850 census, Amanda vanishes from the records. She could have died early. That would explain why Eliza is mentioned in William’s will while Amanda isn’t, but that fails to account for Eliza being left out of the family’s household count in 1850. The evidence points to Amanda and Eliza being one in the same; either Amanda was Eliza’s nickname or perhaps the 1850 census taker made a mistake.

In the early 1850s, Sam’s family moved to Cass (later Bartow) County GA to a farm “near White” located about four miles east of Cassville. The family of Rev. Alpen W. Buford, a Baptist minister, lived next door. The Dillard farm was nearby and soon Sam would meet their daughter, Margaret Jane. According to Margaret's Widow's Pension filed in 1919, she and Sam were married by Rev. Buford “near Cassville” on Nov 10, 1858.

State of Georgia, Cass County

To any ordained minister of the Gospel, Judge of the Superior Court, Justice of the Inferior Court, or Justice of the Peace. You are hereby authorized to join Samuel L. Pittard and Miss M.J. Dillard, in Lawful Bonds of Matrimony agreeable to the Laws and Constitution of this State. Given under my hand and seal of office this the 8th day of November 1858.
James W. Watts, Ordinary.

Georgia, Cass County. I hereby certify that the marriage of the persons named in the above license actually took place and was duly solemnized before me the 10th day of November, 1858.
A.W. Buford, M.G.

Recorded November 12th, 1858. James W. Watts, Ordinary.

(The following is handwritten and filed with Margaret's Widow's Pension Application.)

I certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct copy of Marriage Record Book “E” page 148 now of file in this office. This Oct. 9th, 1919. G.W. Hendricks, Ordinary, Bartow County, GA

Sam and Margaret's first child, Martha L., was born the following fall. They called her Mattie. The families of the young couple were among the area's most prosperous and together owned 47 slaves according to the 1860 Cass County Slave Census. By then, 26-year-old Sam farmed and lived near his father, William, now a widower after Louisa died May 16, 1857. With real estate valued at $1,400 and a personal estate worth $2,900, young Sam would have been considered wealthy by his contemporaries. In the Slave Census, Sam is listed with two, a 16-year-old male and a freed 17-year-old female. They probably occupied Sam’s only “slave house,” which the separate census also recorded.

Despite the political war that divided the nation with the election of President Lincoln in the fall of 1860, most north Georgians were against a military conflict. As moderate thinkers for the times and loyal to the Union, they opposed secession by nearly two-to-one. Pro-Union Cass County delegates voted unanimously against seceding in January 1861, but on the strength of balloting by delgates from the southern part of the state, the measure passed and Georgia left the Union.

Late in 1861, Sam and Margaret welcomed their second child, a boy, William Davis, who would be known as Dave (Uncle Dave to later generations). By then Cass County had changed its name to honor a Southern soldier. Originally named for then Secretary of War, Lewis Cass of Michigan, the locals now found his position in the current political climate intensely unpopular, and the state renamed the county for Capt. Francis S. Bartow of Savannah, killed at the Battle of Manassas. Cassville also changed its name to Manassas, however, the moniker never took hold.

Early in 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis asks Gov. Joseph Brown for 12 regiments to defend the Southern cause. The Georgia head of state presents him with 18. Sam and his brother, Thomas, answer the call along with other young men from their community and enlist as privates. The Pittards are assigned to Company I of the 40th Regiment. Numbering 1,174 officers and soldiers from the county and nicknamed The Bartow Rangers, the men of the 40th Georgia muster in at Camp McDonald near Big Shanty (now Kennesaw) GA on Mar 4. Their commander is Col. Abda Johnson, a Cassville lawyer. The 40th and four other regiments of young men from north Georgia, the 41st, 42nd, 43rd, and 52nd, are immediately absorbed into the Confederate States Army. Before the year is out, the five regiments of the Georgia Brigade will be assigned to Gen. Seth Barton, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, fight in the western theatre, and become part of the Confederate Army of Tennessee.

Knoxville & East Tennessee...Mar 27, 1862...Sam and others in the Georgia Brigade officially enlist for three years and receive a $50 bounty. The next day, the men of the 40th board the train for Camp Van Dorn in Knoxville, TN. For Samuel and Thomas Pittard, the war has begun.

Unveiled March 28, 2007, exactly 145 years after our grandfather, Sam Pittard, and others in the 40th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment arrive at Camp Van Dorn, this Tennessee historical highway marker is the result of 10 years of research and persistent navigation of numerous state bureaucracies by Gary R. Goodson, Sr. of Shawnee, CO. Our grandfather, Sam, and Goodson's ancestor, who also served in the 40th Georgia, escaped diseases that swept through camp, killing 137 in just the 40th and 52nd regiments alone. The marker is located "near the banks of a little stream, Third Creek" on the south side of Western Ave. in Knoxville, TN.

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA CAMP VAN DORN MARCH 28 - JULY 28, 1862 Major General E. Kirby Smith of the Confederate Army established Camp Van Dorn 1.5 to 2 miles west of Knoxville Depot, near the banks of a little stream, Third Creek. It operated from March 28 through July 28, 1862. Most Georgia Confederate Infantry regiments, including the 37th, 39th, 40th and 52nd from Camp McDonald at "Big Shanty", Georgia were here. Diseases decimated the ranks of the Ga. 40th and 52nd, killing 137. Most of these Confederate dead were buried in Bethel Cemetery here in Knoxville.

Contributed by Gary R. Goodson, Sr.

Cumberland Gap, TN/KY Border...June 17 & 18, 1862...On May 23, 1862, the 40th Georgia is ordered northwest to Cumberland Gap. They arrive before their supply wagons and must forage for food or starve. Over the next three weeks, the 40th is ordered back and forth across Tennessee, traveling both by train and on foot. Once again on the Tennessee-Kentucky border, Sam’s regiment takes part in the Battle of Cumberland Gap.

Perryville, KY...Oct 8, 1862... All summer long the men of the 40th endure scarce food supplies and unrelenting drought in the desolate mountains of Cumberland Gap. No relief came for the parched Kentucky landscape as summer faded into autumn.

Desperate to retain control of water supplied by Doctor’s Creek, the Southern army of 16,000 soldiers takes on a larger Federal force on Oct 8, 1862 in the Battle of Perryville. Sam's 40th regiment is held in reserve and never enters the battle, however, the artillery company in which he, his brother, Thomas, and two nephews serve later in the war plays a pivotal role in the outcome of the tactical Confederate victory.

Lt. William B. Turner’s Mississippi Light Artillery is attached to General George Maney’s Brigade of Tennesseeans of Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham’s division. In a fierce five-hour fight at Perryville, Maney’s men destroy an eight-gun Federal battery and flush panicked infantry into running for their lives.

Following Maney’s brigade across a stream, legend has it that Turner’s cannoneers have to pick and shovel a wide enough passage to accommodate their guns up a wagon road. At the top of the hill, Turner runs into his division commander, General Cheatham, who sends the battery’s four cannons to high ground on the battlefield’s farthest point to the right. From there, Turner reported later that he “immediately opened an enfilading fire on [Terrill’s line and Lt. Charles Parsons’ battery] at a distance of 250 to 300 yards, with canister, and continued it with shell and spherical case as the enemy retired.” Since the range of a civil war cannon was three miles, its understandable why his Union targets would later call Turner’s deadly fire that day “terrible beyond description”.

Maney’s Tennesseeans, which at Perryville also include the 41st Georgia Regiment of Sam and Tom's brigade, hurry down a gentle slope and fire from their bellies behind stone and rail fences between the guns of Turner on one hill and Parsons on the next. A member of Maney’s brigade said afterwards that “...such a storm of shell, grape and canister and minie balls was turned loose upon us as no troops scarcely ever before encountered.”

Captain Thomas H. Malone, adjutant general on General Maney’s staff at Perryville, recounted that “...our men could not have maintained our position at all but for the fact that old Turner - the best artillery man, but the poorest drilled man in the army -- was imperatively demanding the attention of Parsons' guns. He thundered with his little six-pound howitzers right over the heads of our men, and with grape was making it very hot for Parsons...”

The horrific Confederate fire kills or wounds two-thirds of Parsons’ cannoneers. However, undermanned and outgunned, Maney's only hope is that a simultaneous charge can take the Yankee guns. At the signal, 1,200 screaming men jump to their feet and run as fast as they can at Parsons. A scalding blast from the crippled Yankee gun crew tears through the assault before the Southerners overrun the Federal position without firing a shot. After a fierce clash of gun butts and bayonets, the Yankee line gives way in a panicky run for the next hill. Turner follows, taking up Parsons’ former position and renews the shelling. Now, so far forward that he risks being flanked by the enemy, General Maney regroups and holds his position.

After dark, Turner seizes all the Federal artillery his men and horses can handle and cuts up the rest. The battery is allowed to keep the captured trophies and selects the best two, which become the pride of Cheatham’s division.

One cannoneer with Turner that day is James R. Pittard, son of James H., and Samuel and Thomas’ nephew. He’s eventually promoted to corporal. Later in the war, James, his younger brother William, and Samuel and Thomas will all serve with Turner’s battery.

The South wins the day at Perryville and retains control of the water supply, though the contest costs both sides a total of 7,500 casualties.

View of the open hill that has become known as Parsons' Ridge, a scant 250 to 300 yards from Turner's four cannons [foreground] positioned on the extreme right of the Confederate line during the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky's biggest conflict during the war.

Chickasaw Bayou near Vicksburg, MS...Dec 28 & 29, 1862... After Perryville, a portion of the Southern forces amass near Murfreesboro, TN and prepare to engage the Federals. In December, the largest Confederate division, including the 40th, rush by train deep into Mississippi to defend Vicksburg and keep the Mississippi River under Confederate control.

The 40th Georgia arrives at the Vicksburg depot at 11 a.m. Dec 27, 1862. Though fatigued from being pent up on the train for a week, the 40th along with the rest of Barton's Brigade are immediately ordered to march north, first to Mint Spring where they rest until midnight then to the Valley Road at Chickasaw Bayou, one of five possible landing sites for Union troop ships. In the center of the Confederate line of defense, a section of Drew's First Mississippi Light Artillery mans the slight elevation of an old Indian mound. In front of the Indian mound, Col. Charles H. Morrison's 31st Louisiana hunker in rifle-pits. At 4:30 a.m. on Dec 28, the Federals open fire on Morrison's men in the rifle pits and Drew's two cannon positioned on top of the Indian mound.

Early in the day, 40th Georgia Commander Col. Abda Johnson sends five companies or about 100 men to reenforce the Cajuns now under heavy fire and on the verge of being overrun. Col Morrison, commanding the 31st Louisiana, later expressed his indebtedness to the 40th "for their coolness and cheerful obedience." Two 40th Georgia companies are sent to strengthen the line of skirmishers and the remaining three companies, including Co. I and the Pittards, stay on the road. Col. Johnson of the 40th is wounded but stays at the front with his men.

The next day, Dec 29, Barton's Brigade is positioned in the center of the Southern line behind well-fortified breastworks constructed high upon bluffs known as Walnut Hills. Federal artillery and small-arms fire render it impossible for the men to stand to their guns down front on the Indian mound. With the Southern battery silenced, the fierce Union attack concentrates on the Confederate breastworks.

Taking advantage of the terrain's natural defenses, the Confederates' nearly impregnable stronghold repulses five enemy assaults. Yankee dead outnumber Southern losses more than eight to one before the Federals pull back in defeat.

Baker's Creek/Champion Hill near Vicksburg, MS...May 16, 1863

Big Black River near Vicksburg, MS...May 17, 1863

Vicksburg Seige...May 18, 1863 - July 4, 1863...As men and equipment arrive exhausted after three days of marching and fighting, officers assign them to positions in the trenches. Shot up badly at Baker's Creek/Champion Hill, Stevenson's Division, including Barton's Brigade and the 40th GA, are assigned to South Fort, the southern-most portion of the defensive line and thought to be the least vulnerable to Yankee attack from the Mississippi River. However, all sections of the line come under constant attack. Without cover from the sun and rain or relief of any kind, the men remain in the trenches for 47 days and nights.

Surrender, Parole & Exchange...July 4, 1863 - July 12, 1863...

Georgia State Guard...Aug 1863 - Feb 1864...After being paroled and exchanged, Sam is furloughed home. He is relieved of further duty in the 40th Georgia Regiment and in August enlists as a private for a six-month stint with Capt. Robert C. Saxon's Company D of the 10th Battalion Georgia Cavalry State Guard. As mounted infantry, the Bartow County unit's mission is to defend that portion of the state west of the Chattahoochee River.

Winter Camp...Feb 1864 - May 7, 1864...The Confederate army spends the winter of 1864 resting and resupplying near Dalton, GA. Nearly half of the army's battery units including Capt. William B. Turner's Mississippi Light Artillery are sent 40 miles south to near Kingston in Bartow County, where their broken down and malnourished horses recuperate on the richness of the Etowah Valley.

With his six months of State Guard service at an end, Sam enlists at Kingston Feb 11, 1864 as a private in Turner's Battery for the duration of the war. Brother Thomas follows the next week. They join nephew James R., son of their half brother James H. Pittard. The younger James, a veteran with the company since its organization in 1861, holds the rank of corporal and is possibly in charge of a gun crew. When James' younger brother William arrives, the Pittards comprise five percent of the company's manpower.

Originally the unit was designated Smith's Battery when commanded by Melancthon Smith, a West Pointer from Alabama. Later, after Smith is promoted and Turner takes over, the artillery company gradually becomes known by his name alone. Historians have dubbed it Smith-Turner's Battery.

Turner enlisted as a private in 1861 but distinguished himself early with "skill and valor"and earned his command on grit alone. His division commander, Gen. Cheatham, described him as plain, uneducated, and unqualified, but pushed hard for his promotion to captain because no qualified candidate existed.

At Kingston, Capt. Turner resupplies his company by requisitioning seven tents, 10 jackets, four shirts, three blankets, six hats, nine pairs of shoes, and 20 pairs of drawers. He also orders six mule collars and three saddle blankets.