George W. Moss

MOSS, GEORGE W. (1839 ~ 1922). George W. Moss, Confederate veteran, was born in York District, South Carolina in 1839. Sometime after his birth Moss and his parents immigrated to Pickens County, Georgia, where, on August 31, 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was mustered into Company D of the 23rd Georgia Infantry.

The 23rd Infantry was mustered into Confederate service at Camp McDonald, Big Shanty, Georgia, in August/September, 1861. Soon after, the men were moved to Tennessee and then Virginia, where the regiment took part in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Williamsburg to Chancellorsville.

From Virginia, the regiment headed south. They first stopped in Charleston, South Carolina and then moved to Florida, where they fought in the Battle of Olustee. Soon after, the regiment headed back to Virginia, but Moss, in early 1864, deserted his unit, as he was later arrested on March 30, 1864, for desertion. It is not know if he continued to serve in the Confederacy or if he finished out the war as a prisoner.

The 23rd continued to fight its way north. They men took part in the Battles of Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, the Petersburg siege, Gaines' Mill and Malvern Hill. In 1865, the unit was stationed in North Carolina, where it was included with the surrender of the Army of Tennessee.

Following the surrender, Moss was paroled in Kingston, Georgia, where he lived for awhile. He also lived in Atlanta. In 1884, he moved to Texas and settled in Granbury, Hood County, where he worked as a farmer.

In 1908, while still living in Hood County, Moss successfully applied for a pension from the State of Texas, but lost it in 1913, when he returned to Georgia for personal business. He returned to his home in Hood County and reapplied for his pension.

Complaining of old age, he moved to Austin to live in the Confederate Men's Home on September 2, 1921. Early that next year, he was transferred to the Austin Lunatic Asylum, now called the Austin State Hospital, where he died on May 18, 1922. He was buried the next day in the Texas State Cemetery.

Moss had at least one son, G. J., who was living in San Angelo, Texas in 1913. He testified on his father's behalf to reclaim his pension. Also, when Moss entered the Confederate Home, he listed a Mrs. Lula Mosely, of Granbury, as a contact. It is entirely possible that she was Moss' daughter. He claimed to have been married twice and had two children with his first wife.

Information taken from: Confederate Home Roster, Twenty-third Georgia Infantry website at http://www.extlab1.entnem.ufl.edu/olustee/23rd_GA_inf.html, Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System website at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss, Confederate Pension Application # 26193, Records from the Austin State Hospital, and Death Certificate # 15734.