Joseph Tully Bell

BELL, JOSEPH TULLY (1847~1927) Joseph Tully Bell, Confederate veteran, was born in Webster County, Georgia in 1847. After moving to Dawson, Terrell County, Georgia, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, at the age of 16. After enlisting in February, 1864, Bell was sent to join the 64th Georgia Infantry, which was stationed in Florida. Upon his arrival, he was mustered into Company H, on May 4, 1864. This regiment was comprised of men, like Bell, who were too young to serve, or who were veterans from disbanded regiments.

Bell spent most of his time in Florida, training in and around the cities of Quincy and Tallahassee. On February 20, 1864, his unti fought in Florida's largest battle, the Battle of Olustee, where the men successfully defended the area from encroaching Union Forces. By May of that same year, the 64th Infantry was transferred to the Army of Northern Virginia and was stationed in Petersburg, Virginia as provost guards. On June 17, 1864, Bell was captured and held as a prisoner of war at City Point, Virginia. After arriving at City Point, on June 24, he was later transferred to Elmira, New York, where he remained until his parole on June 14, 1865.

After the War, it is difficult to pinpoint Bell's exact location, but it is believed that he returned to Webster County, Georgia, where he worked at a flour mill. This information was found in the 1880 United States Census. If this is the same Joseph T. Bell, he was married to a woman named Sarah C., and had three daughters: Sarah A., Jessie A., and Carry R. It is believed that he moved to Texas in 1885, sometime after his wife's death.

After moving to Texas, he eventually settled in Wood County, where he worked as a farmer and, in 1914, successfully applied for a Confederate Pension from the State of Texas. From Wood County, he moved to Campbell County, and then to Fort Worth. Because of his advanced age, he was 74 years old, he moved to Austin to live in the Confederate Men's Home on April 20, 1921.

While living at the Home, Bell met, and later married, Mary Ann Whitehead Hassell, a widow who was living in Austin with her two daughters. Joseph and Mary Ann married in early 1925, and, by February 10, Mary Ann had moved into the Home. After only two years of marriage, Bell died on June 7, 1927, and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery the next day.

After her husband's death, Mary Ann was transferred to the Confederate Woman's Home on June 16 of that same year. She later left the Home and was living independently until her death on March 14, 1935. She was buried next to her husband in the Texas State Cemetery two days later.

Information taken from: Compiled Military Service Record; National Park Service website, http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss; 1880 United States Census; Soldier's Application for Pension # 29107; Confederate Home Rosters; and Death Certificate # 21646.