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APPOMATTOX PAROLE OF CORP. P.J. HOUGH CO. F 15th ALABAMA: FOUGHT ON LITTLE ROUND TOP AGAINST THE 20th MAINE; WITH TRANSPORT AND RATION ISSUE NOTES

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This comes from the collection of Greg Coco, scholar and author of an article on Appomattox paroles in the March-April 2006 issue of Civil War Times dealing with the origin and printing of these paroles, or parole passes, their importance to paroled Confederates not only in getting home, but remaining there undisturbed- generous terms that might aid  reconciliation and, on the other hand, in later years serve as proof both of the veteran’s military service and that he was faithful to the Confederate cause to the end. Records indicate Peter James Hough, to whom this parole pass was given, served in the 15^th Alabama from March 4, 1862, to his surrender with the regiment and parole at Appomattox, having been twice wounded: at Gaines Mill in 1862 and again at Fussell’s Mill in 1864. Muster rolls also indicate he was “present” for July-August 1863, covering Gettysburg. Also, as some collectors deem uncommon on Appomattox paroles, this has notations on the reverse regarding transportation and rations provided to Hough for his trip home under terms of the surrender.

Hough’s parole is in very good condition, bearing one of the three standard designs used on these on the left edge, and the standard text partly printed and partly filled out by hand. Dated at “Appomattox Court House, Va., April 10, 1865,” at upper right the text reads: “THE BEARER,  Corp. P.J. Hough of Co. F  15^th Regt. of Ala Vol, a Paroled Prisoner of the Army of Northern Virginia has permission has permission to go to his home and there remain undisturbed.” This is signed at bottom, “T.J. Prior 1^st Lt / Comdg Co.” The parole is fully legible. A handwritten “3/24,” whose meaning is uncertain is also on the face. The signer of the parole, Lt. Thomas J. Prior, was said by Oates to have been somewhat sickly, but had been wounded at Spottsylvania and returned in time to command Hough’s company at the surrender.

Hough folded the parole twice, producing three shallow vertical folds. The family at some point matted and mounted it in a frame, lightly gluing the parole to the back of a mat in three spots across the top and bottom edge and one at each side. The glue was carefully removed and now shows as just some thin round spots on the edges, away from the text, with the fold at right also archivally reinforced on the reverse. There is some typical light foxing. The edges beyond the printed portions were shielded by the mat and show a tad lighter than the main portion of the parole. Please see our photographs.

The notes on the back include a handwritten notation on one end reading, “one Ration 22 Apr,” with a set of initials or a number just below. On the other end is a partially legible stamp reading “TRANSP” pretty clearly, with the number “96” added in ink, and a stamped date, “APRIL” completed in ink with “26.” We are unsure of the significance of the “96,” but it seems clearly related to transportation home, which was provided for under terms of the surrender. Just below that stamp is a the handwritten notation: “2 Rations May 1 / 65” signed “R.L. Moss / acs.” This would seem to refer to rations issued further along his journey home. The signer is likely Captain Rufus L. Moss, a Confederate staff officer and Assistant Commissary of Subsistence,” who we find posted in Macon, GA, in late 1864, so this may actually refer to rations issued by the Confederate government to Hough after he had passed out U.S. controlled territory on his way home.

The regiment was organized in August, 1861, at Fort Mitchell, Alabama, and moved first to East Tennessee and then Virginia, where it first saw action in Jackson's Valley Campaign in Trimble’s brigade. Colonel Oates’s history of the regiment lists 6 engagements in which it was under artillery fire and did not suffer casualties and 48 battles, not including Appomattox, in which it sustained losses. As a quick sample, they lost 51 men at Cross Keys and Port Republic, 152 during the Seven Days' Battles, 112 at Second Manassas, and 84 (9 killed and 75 wounded) at Antietam. At Gettysburg they lost 178 (18 killed, 77 wounded, and 83 missing) out of 499 engaged. They went west with Longstreet in Fall 1863, reporting 142 casualties at Chickamauga and then returned east to face Grant in 1864, losing 91 during the Wilderness Campaign, and more in the Richmond-Petersburg fighting. At Appomattox the regiment surrendered with 15 officers and 204 men. According to Oates they lost during the war 279 killed or mortally wounded and had 599 men wounded in battle, though that may be a count of wounds suffered, with some men like Hough being wounded more than once.

Muster rolls, as usual in Confederate records, are incomplete, but those in Hough’s file, covering May 1863 through October 1864, list him as present. This includes the July-August 1863 roll covering Gettysburg, a note that he was slightly wounded in the leg Aug. 16, 1864, (Fussell’s Mill) and the Aug-Sept 1864 roll showing that he remained with company nevertheless, and the Sept-Oct 1864 roll showing he was promoted to 1^st Corporal in the company as of October 1. And, he is, of course, listed a prisoner of war at Appomattox. The appendix of Col. Oates’ history of the regiment indicates he had been wounded at Gaines Mill in the Peninsula Campaign as well and has this to say about him: he “was 21 years old when enlisted March 4 1862. He was an excellent soldier; was wounded at Cold Harbor, June 27, 1862. [This is alternate name for Gaines Mill.] Thereafter was nearly always present for duty and had the good fortune of not being wounded again. He was promoted to first corporal in October, 1864, and served through to the surrender, and thereafter resided in Bullock County.” Oates seems to be in error about him not being wounded again. The muster role extracts are clear on the date, August 16, 1864, which would place it at Fussell’s Mill, but do note the wound as “slight.”

Hough had been born in Putnam County, GA, April 27, 1840. The 1860 census picks him up in Dale County, Alabama, with Newton as his post office, living with his parents and seven siblings, including an older brother, William, listed like Peter and his father, as mechanic, and a younger brother John who seems to have served alongside him. Both Dale and Pike counties supplied men to Company F of the 15^th Alabama, which recruited in the Brundidge, Alabama, area. We don’t know what adventures Hough had in making his way home, but he reached it successfully. By 1870, however, he had moved with his family to Crenshaw County, Alabama, and seems to have married later the same year, the union producing at least seven children. By 1880 he had moved to Bullock County, where he died in July 1917. He was listed as a farmer and housepainter in some listings, but as a policeman in the 1900 census. A reminiscence by a grandson indicates he had a rather violent temper.

An extensive file with this, compiled by Greg Coco, includes other genealogical, military service, and personal data, as well as the actual frame and mat in which the family had preserved the parole. This is a strong example of an Appomattox parole, or “parole pass,” which is scarce and desirable in itself, and has the additional connection with a crucial struggle in fighting at Gettysburg, and could also be very informative in reconstructing the route home of many veterans paroled at Appomattox.   [sr][ph:L]

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