PARNELL, WINFIELD MASON (1828 ~ 1917). Confederate veteran Winfield Mason Parnell was born on April 11, 1828, in Alabama.
With the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the Confederacy on December 20, 1862 at Valhermoso Springs, Morgan County, Alabama.
Parnell served with the 5th Alabama Cavalry in Company C or G, records indicate he served in both. The 5th Alabama Cavalry was organized in December, 1862, at Tuscumbia, Alabama, when the 22nd Alabama Cavalry Battalion was enlarged to a regiment.
Throughout the War, the 5th Alabama served in Eastern Tennessee and Northern Alabama and participated in battles at Chapel Hill, Madison Station, Brice's Cross Roads, Pond Spring, and Selma, where the majority of the men were captured. On May 6, 1865, the remaining members of the 5th Alabama surrendered at Danville, Alabama.
Sometime before 1870, Parnell moved to Texas and settled in Gonzales County, where he worked as a farmer. He was married and had a daughter, but his wife's name is unknown.
According to 1880 census records, Parnell was living by himself and was a widower. He was a Mason and a member of the Shueler Lodge at Wrightsboro.
He was granted a Confederate Pension from the State of Texas in September of 1904.
Suffering from old age and no longer able to care for himself, Parnell moved to Austin on January 13, 1910, to live in the Confederate Men's Home. He lived at the Home until his death on May 30, 1917. He was buried at the Texas State Cemetery the next day.
Upon entering the Home, Parnell listed his daughter, Mrs. P. L. Floyd, of Gonzales, and the members of the Shuler Lodge to be notified of his passing.
Information taken from: Compiled Military Service Records; National Park Service website, http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss; 22nd Alabama Cavalry Battalion and 5th Alabama Cavalry Regiment website, http://www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/alcav.html; 1880 United States Census; Confederate Pension Application # 10540; Confederate Home Roster; and Death Certificate # 14694. |
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