Honoring our Veterans

         History          of Veterans my family by Hollis Frances

         
         
Word count 1,016
As with most if not all peoples, I have a long list of war veterans on both my paternal and maternal sides. I wonder sometimes, what the conversations would be if they could all gather in one room to see the results from hundreds of years of life. Especially those that fought on opposite sides of the US civil war.
The earliest mention for my paternal family of military veteran is Guy Swete of Train Manor, Modbery, Devonshire England. He was granted a Coat of Arms, Crest and the Traine Manor itself by King Edward the fourth in 1473.

SWET, SWETE, SWETT COAT OF ARMS (swett-genealogy.com)

"Almost certainly, Guy Swete earned this award by fighting for York in the Wars of the Roses."

Interestingly, by the early 1600's my paternal family (John Isaac Sweet SR (1579-1637) fled England because of persecution by the Church of England. My family at that time were Quakers. The Quakers admonished slavery, fought for equal rights of women and believed there should be no intermediary between God and man. They also were conscientious objectors. He was later granted by the courts to be a "freeman". Which likely meant he had to borrow money for the trip and therefore work to pay off the loan (indentured servant) before he could own property or vote.
Below is a listing of my Paternal Veterans of War
William "of Hunt's Bluff" Sweat, 1732-1783-7th Great Grandfather Patriot
William "of St Peters" Sweat, 1757-1790-6th Great Grandfather Patriot
Reverend William K Sweat, 1812-1881 (Pvt. SC 4th Cavalry and POW), 3rd Great Grandfather**
Henry William Sweatt, 1830 - 1888 (Pvt, SC 4th Cavalry), 2nd Great Grandfather**
Hollis Rodell Sweatt, 1929-1998, Cpl, US Airforce WWII, England, Father
I do not have as many details on my maternal side of the family.
Only two.
William H Tyler 1827-1884 Civil War Unit D. 7th Battalion Washington D.C. Infantry my 3rd Great Grandfather
William K Rhine 1904-1964 Sgt 44th Engr Bn USA World War II. My Maternal Grandfather

**History of the South Carolina 4th Cavalry;

4th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment Confederate Regiments & Batteries * South Carolina The 4th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment lost over 260 men killed, or died of wounds or disease, the most of any South Carolina Cavalry unit.1
4th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment

Confederate Regiments & Batteries * South Carolina

The 4th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment lost over 260 men killed, or died of wounds or disease, the most of any South Carolina Cavalry unit.
                                                 

                             1862

                                                                                         December                              16
                                                                     Created                              by combining the companies of the 10th South Carolina Cavalry                              Battalion with the 12th South Carolina Cavalry Battalion. They                              were under the command of Colonel Benjamin H. Rutledge, Lieutenant                              Colonel William Stokes, and Major William P. Emanuel. Six                              companies were assigned to the 3rd Military District of South                              Carolina, Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Four                              companies were assigned to the 1st Military District of South                              Carolina, Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
                                                           

                             1863

                                                                                         April                              9
                                                                     Destruction                              of the George Washington near Beaufort
                                                                                         June                              2
                                                                     Combahee                              River
                                                                                         June                              4
                                                                     Expedition                              from Fort Pulaski to Bluffton (Company B)
                                                                                         August-September
                                                                     Assigned                              to the 5th Sub-division, 1st Military District of South Carolina,                              Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
                                                                                         September                              13-14
                                                                     Lowndes's                              Mill
                                                                                         September
                                                                     Company                              K assigned to the 1st Military District of South Carolina,                              Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
                                                                                         November                              24
                                                                     Near                              Cunningham's Bluff
                                                                                         December-March
                                                                     Company                              K assigned to the 5th Military District of South Carolina,                              Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
                                                           

                             1864

                                                                                         May-January
                                                                     Moved                              to Virginia and assigned to Butler's                              Brigade, Hampton's Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern                              Virginia.
                                                                                         May                              5-6
                                                                     Battle                              of the Wilderness
                                                                                         May                              8-21
                                                                     Battle                              of Spotsylvania Court House
                                                                                         May                              23-26
                                                                     Battle                              of North Anna
                                                                                         May                              28
                                                                     Haw's                              Shop
                             From                              May 28 to June 12 the regiment woud lose more then 280 casualties.
                                                                                         May                              30
                                                                     Battle                              of Matadequin Creek,
                                                                                         June                              1-3
                                                                     Battle                              of Cold Harbor
                                                                                         June
                                                                     Siege                              of Petersburg
                                                                                         June                              28
                                                                     Battle                              of Trevillian Station
                                                                                         October                              1
                                                                     Vaughan                              Road
                                                           

                             1865

                                                                                         January-April
                                                                     Moved                              by railroad to South Carolina and assigned to Butler's Brigade,                              Butler's Division, Hampton's Cavalry Command
                                                                                         February-April
                                                                     Carolinas                              Campaign
                                                                                         April
                                                                     Assigned                              to Logan's Brigade, Butler's Division, Hampton's Cavalry                              Command, Army of Tennessee
                                                                                         April                              26
                                                                     Durham                              Station
                             Less                              than 200 men remained with the colors when surrendered by General                              Johnston. According to Lieutenant Colonel Stokes, he ordered the                              regiment to march to Asheboro and disbanded them there rather than                              taking part in the surrender.
                              2023 Steve A. Hawks
***********
Note; The back story goes like this. My Maternal Grandmother, Frances M. Rhine 1910-2004 who worked in the Department of the Navy's budget office for 30 years said William Tyler her great grandfather was a traveling art dealer! Really? During the civil war?
William K. Rhine, 1904-1964 Sgt 44th Engr Bn Arlington Nat. Cemetery Section 43 Site 172. Added notes here is Granddaddy Rhine joined the Army when he was just fifteen years old in 1919. Therefore, he served in both WWI and WWII! I was able to spend a lot of time with him before he passed away from cancer when I was 7 years old. His nickname was "shorty". Added note here is whenever he would get promoted to Staff Sergeant, he would go out to celebrate, get drunk and get into a fight, then get busted back to Sergeant. He did this because he hated being a Staff Sergeant!
In summary; My maternal 3rd great-grandfather fought for the Union and my paternal great-grandfathers Reverend William K Sweatt (3rd) and Henry W. Sweatt fought for the Confederacy. I wonder if they could talk today what would they say? Another kicker is this. Reverend William K and Henry W. were black. Census says they were black but "considered" white! My lineage shows none ever owned slaves according to the available census records. At least two of my paternal grandmothers were former slaves. Both William of St Peters and my Reverend William K were married to former slave women. St Peter's Church, which is still there in Beaufort SC, was an outreach to the slaves "back in the day".
Thursday, December 21, 2023



1          History          of the 4th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment in the Civil War          (civilwarintheeast.com)