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Andrew Jackson McConnell, Jr., 1838-1864

 Person

Biographical Note

Andrew Jackson McConnell, Jr. (Feb. 14, 1838 –July 30, 1864) was the son of Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Dawkins McConnell. He was one of seven children in the family. The McConnell home was in Northwestern Fairfield County, South Carolina. McConnell lived in a house on land he inherited from his father when he died in 1855. He also farmed the inherited land. In 1857, he married Sally Amanda Coleman. They lost an infant. McConnell was involved in the military training company, called the Buckhead Guards, with a number of men from upper Fairfield County. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted with the South Carolina Volunteers in Company D, 17th Regiment. He witnessed the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the aftermath of the Battle of First Manassas, was wounded at the Battle of Second Manassas, and was deployed near Vicksburg shortly before it fell. He was killed at the Battle of Petersburg on July 30, 1864. He was initially buried near the battlefield, but was eventually sent back to Fairfield County, where he was buried next to his wife and child in Coleman graveyard. Immediately following his death, his brother-in-law, John Albert Feaster Coleman began writing in McConnell’s diary until the end of the war.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Lieutenant Andrew McConnell Civil War Diary

 Collection — Box 1
Collection number: MS-12
Scope and Contents The diary was written in pocket-sized editions and each was sent home after it was completed.  The collection in the Valdosta State Archives has two folders, each containing an identical copy of the McConnell diary.  The diary is divided into five volumes, the last of which was written by John Albert Feaster Coleman after McConnell died.  Kathleen and Mary Bess Coleman and Julia and Mary Faucette owned four of the original volumes of the diary.  Donald Clayton owned one book, which he found...
Dates: 1861-1865

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  • Subject: Petersburg Crater, Battle of, Va., 1864 X