Henry Stokes Figures
Photo from Ancestry.com (bkrasis) |
| Born: | January 9, 1844, Huntsville, Alabama |
| Died: | May 6, 1864, Madison County, Alabama |
| Buried: | Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama |
| Son of: | Harriet Stokes Figures | - First Child/Son of William Bibb Figures and Harriet A. Stokes |
| Son of: | William Bibb Figures |
Notes:
• Henry S. Figures joined the Confederate Army in 1861 when he was 18 (48th Alabama Infantry) and was killed in 1864 in the Wilderness Campaign.
• Adjutant of the 48th AL Infantry CSA. Died in 1864 of wounds received at the Battle of the Wilderness.
• "Lieutenant Henry Figures of Huntsville, impatient with his assignment and colleagues in Montgomery, had sought a more active role in the War effort. He requested to be sent to the front. The young man wrote his parents not to worry about his honorable behavior. He had observed his companions and asked, 'How can they serve their country well with their brains stupefied with intoxicating drink?' With permission from his parents he joined the 4th Alabama at Winchester, Virginia, in the summer of 1861. His mother visited the War Department, and his father wrote many letters on behalf of his commission before young Figures became adjutant of the 48th Alabama Regiment. Henry Figures died rallying the men on May 6 at the age of 20 at the Battle of the Wilderness. His body was wrapped in his blanket roll in lieu of a coffin; a makeshift wooden cross marked the spot. His sister, Mattie, wrote later, 'Kind hands carried him from the battlefield, and laid him to rest, in an orchard under an apple tree, in full bloom, which cast its rosy petals near his head.' Henry's father went to Virginia two years after the War to retrieve the body. His remains are in the family plot at the city cemetery." - Chadick & Rohr
• "He fought at Yorktown, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Chickamauga, and Gettysburg, where he was cited for bravery. In an area of dense underbrush and scruffy trees aptly called the Wilderness, the 20-year old Figures was killed" - Stephens
• "At war's beginning there was the light-hearted gallantry of the young soldiers going forth to do battle with dragons, sensing in the excitement of the moment a heightened reason for being, but covering it over with banter. Henry S. Figures, seventeen-year-old son of William B. Figures, the editor of the Huntsville Advocate, keenly enjoyed the romantic prospect of war. He wrote to his sister on April 22, 1861:
I got a letter from Sandy White this morning. He said the college girls were going to give the Huntsville Guard a flag and Annie Brown & Sallie McGee were going to give it to them, I would like to be there very much & to have a little speech so as to respond to her [Annie Brown]. . .You must give her my love and kiss her for me, give my love to all the girls and boys. What did Liley Bibb want with my Ambrotype. . .P.S. Don't forget to tell Annie Browne what I said and to get her ambrotype for your brother.
Two years later, a much sobered and battle-worn nineteen year-old Henry Figures wrote in July 1863:
Gettysburg-where we had a great fight. . .Our regiment charged up the mountain for two miles, when it became so steep that we could not go any farther. We then fell back and charged it four successive times but could not take the heights. The enemy were upon the top of the mountain - the steepest place I ever saw in my life. . .killed and wounded in our regiment. . .Captain Leftwich, Tom Lanier, Jim Duff. . .Tell Mr. Leftwich that I have his son's sword and will send it to him as soon as I have an opportunity.
The following year, May 5, 1864, Henry Figures was slain in the Wilderness Campaign. He had left home a boy; he was returned a corpse."He fought at Yorktown, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Chickamauga, and Gettysburg, where he was cited for bravery. In an area f dense underbrush and scruffy trees aptly called the Wilderness, the 20-year old Figures was killed" - Stephens
• March 4, 1867 - "The remains of Lt. Henry S. Figures, Adjutant of the 48th Alabama Regiment and son of Advocate editor William B. Figures, were disinterred last week and brought home by his parents for burial at the City Cemetery. He was killed at the battle of the Wilderness in Virginia." - Pruitt
Related Links:
• AlabamaMosaic: Huntsville-Madison County Public Library - Alabama Mosaic (Originally found at http://digitalarchives.hmcpl.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p15431coll1&CISOPTR=79&CISOBOX=1&REC=16.)
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by bkrasis and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/20035242/person/1607753618.)
• Chadick & Rohr - Incidents of the War: The Civil War Journal of Mary Jane Chadick by Nancy M. Rohr, 2005, pages 171 & 172.
• Find A Grave - Page created by Graveaddition, photos added by Stonewall
• Flickr - Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll
• Foraging in Pennsylvania - Figures, Henry S. (d. 1864) Collection of Henry S. Figures, F company, 4th regiment, Alabama, infantry, in The Clider Lehrman Institute of American History.
• jamescitycavalry.org - Summary of his military service
• Letter - Manuscripts of the American Civil War, Letter by Henry S. Figures (to his father) and introduction by George Rugg. You can link to the letter at the bottom of this page.
• Pannick - Article titled "A Tragedy of the Civil War: Lieut. Henry Stokes Figures, 4th Alabama Adjutant 48th Alabama" by John Pannick in Huntsville Historical Review, Volume 11, #1 & #2, Jan-81, page 15-19, Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society
• Pruitt - Eden of the South: A Chronology of Huntsville, Alabama, 1805-2005 by Raneé G. Pruitt, Editor, 2005, page 62.
• Stephens - Historic Huntsville: A City of New Beginnings by Elise Hopkins Stephens, 2002. page 54.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Chadick & Rohr
• Harriet Stokes Figures
• Pannick
• Pruitt
• William Bibb Figures