KIDD Civil War Soldiers

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IN HONOR OF THE
KIDDS WHO GAVE ALL

KIDD Civil War Soldiers

Our Lewis and Sarah KIDD had no less than nine grandsons that fought in the Civil War. Three of their sons, Randolph, Edmund, and James saw their sons go off to war and serve in the Union Army. Robert's son, James L, enlisted in CSA. Three, perhaps four, of those sons never made it home.

KIDD CW SOLDIERS:
Grandsons of Lewis & Sarah KIDD

Lewis Milton KIDD DOB 1835,
Son of Randolph,
Sargeant, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company A, Union Army

William Riley KIDD DOB 1837,
Son of Randolph,
Private, 3rd TN Cavalry,
Company A, Union Army

Alexander KIDD DOB 1838,
Son of Randolph,
Corporal, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company A, Union Army

James William KIDD DOB 1839,
Son of Randolph,
Private, 3rd TN Cavalry,
Company A, Union Army

James L. KIDD DOB 1834,
Son of Robert,
Private 37th TN Infantry,
Company I, Confederate Army

William R. KIDD DOB 1837,
Son of Edmund,
Private, 6th TN Infantry,
Company C, Union Army

John H. KIDD DOB 1841,
Son of Edmund,
Private, 3rd TN Cavalry,
Company L, Union Army

James Franklin KIDD DOB 1843
Son of Edmund,
Sargeant, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company E, Union Army

William Harvey KIDD DOB 1844
Son of James,
Sargeant, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company L, Union Army
Family Photo of
William Harvey Kidd
Circa 1895

WAR IS HELL... It has been aptly said that war is hell, and it certainly proved true for our KIDD men.
The four sons of Randolph; Lewis Milton, William Riley, Alexander, James William, and their cousin James Franklin son of Edmund, were all captured by Confederate troops along with most of the 3rd TN Cavalry at the battle of Sulphur Branch Trestle (aka Sulpur Creek) in Alabama, September 24, 1864.

Their cousin William Harvey, son of James, was also in that battle, but he and others of his unit escaped capture that day as they had been deployed outside the fortification and were able to get away when the fort surrendered to CSA forces. His military record later reports him as on guard duty in Pulaski, TN, in June 1865.

James L. son of Robert was listed as missing for about two months after an unknown infantry battle. John H. Kidd son of Edmund, was a recruiter for the 3rd TN Cavalry before he fell ill and was hospitalized for most of the war. We don't know much about William R. Kidd son of Edmund, except that he was an infantry soldier.

After their capture, all four sons of Randolph and cousin James Franklin were sent to Cahaba Prison, a Confederate prisoner of war camp in Dallas County, Alabama, where William Riley subsequently died of typhoid fever. The three surviving brothers and cousin James were paroled on April 21, 1865 along with other prisoners of Cahaba and Andersonville Prisons and were shipped by train overland to Vicksburg where they were marched to the riverfront and loaded onboard the Mississippi River steamer, Sultana, a 260-foot-long wooden double decker side paddlewheel steamboat, to be transported northward.

The Sultana regularly transported passengers and freight between St. Louis and New Orleans and was designed to hold 375 persons, but due to owner greed and government & military corruption more than 1,960 Union troops had been crowded onboard for the trip. On the way, about 9 miles above Memphis, TN, on April 27, 1865, around 2 o'clock in the morning, the Sultana suffered a disastrous boiler explosion and burned. A series of three boilers exploded within seconds of one another causing a cascade of other disastrous events.

James William and James Franklin were both killed in the blast and fire. Somehow, Lewis Milton and Alexander managed to survive the dangerously swift, cold current of the Mississippi River. Our best records show that of a total of 2,137 passengers, 1,169 souls were lost that night, 1,047 of whom were ex Union POWs headed home from war, making the Sultana incident the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history.
It has been called America's Titanic. <-- more details here.

VIEW SULTANA MEMORIAL IN MT OLIVE CEMETERY, KNOXVILLE TN

Sulphur Branch Trestle

East Tennessee Convention
Temperance Hall,
Knoxville TN, May 1861

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READING:
America's Titanic
The Sultana Association
Cahaba Prison
History of Sulphur Branch Trestle
Civil War Prisoners - Searchable Dataset
East Tennessee Convention -1861
(Kidd kinfolks mentioned on page 6 of document)

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Email us at Webmaster.

Click Here for Video Tribute IN HONOR OF THE KIDDS WHO GAVE ALL
	KIDD Civil War Soldiers
	Our Lewis and Sarah KIDD had no less than nine grandsons that fought in the Civil War. Three of their sons, Randolph, Edmund, and James saw their sons go off to war and serve in the Union Army. Robert's son, James L, enlisted in CSA. Three, perhaps four, of those sons never made it home.
KIDD CW SOLDIERS: Grandsons of Lewis & Sarah KIDD Lewis Milton KIDD DOB 1835, Son of Randolph, Sargeant, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company A, Union Army William Riley KIDD DOB 1837, Son of Randolph, Private, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company A, Union Army Alexander KIDD DOB 1838, Son of Randolph, Corporal, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company A, Union Army James William KIDD DOB 1839, Son of Randolph, Private, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company A, Union Army James L. KIDD DOB 1834, Son of Robert, Private 37th TN Infantry, Company I, Confederate Army William R. KIDD DOB 1837, Son of Edmund, Private, 6th TN Infantry, Company C, Union Army John H. KIDD DOB 1841, Son of Edmund, Private, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company L, Union Army James Franklin KIDD DOB 1843 Son of Edmund, Sargeant, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company E, Union Army William Harvey KIDD DOB 1844 Son of James, Sargeant, 3rd TN Cavalry, Company L, Union Army Family Photo of William Harvey Kidd Circa 1895	WAR IS HELL... It has been aptly said that war is hell, and it certainly proved true for our KIDD men. The four sons of Randolph; Lewis Milton, William Riley, Alexander, James William, and their cousin James Franklin son of Edmund, were all captured by Confederate troops along with most of the 3rd TN Cavalry at the battle of Sulphur Branch Trestle (aka Sulpur Creek) in Alabama, September 24, 1864. Their cousin William Harvey, son of James, was also in that battle, but he and others of his unit escaped capture that day as they had been deployed outside the fortification and were able to get away when the fort surrendered to CSA forces. His military record later reports him as on guard duty in Pulaski, TN, in June 1865. James L. son of Robert was listed as missing for about two months after an unknown infantry battle. John H. Kidd son of Edmund, was a recruiter for the 3rd TN Cavalry before he fell ill and was hospitalized for most of the war. We don't know much about William R. Kidd son of Edmund, except that he was an infantry soldier. After their capture, all four sons of Randolph and cousin James Franklin were sent to Cahaba Prison, a Confederate prisoner of war camp in Dallas County, Alabama, where William Riley subsequently died of typhoid fever. The three surviving brothers and cousin James were paroled on April 21, 1865 along with other prisoners of Cahaba and Andersonville Prisons and were shipped by train overland to Vicksburg where they were marched to the riverfront and loaded onboard the Mississippi River steamer, Sultana, a 260-foot-long wooden double decker side paddlewheel steamboat, to be transported northward. The Sultana regularly transported passengers and freight between St. Louis and New Orleans and was designed to hold 375 persons, but due to owner greed and government & military corruption more than 1,960 Union troops had been crowded onboard for the trip. On the way, about 9 miles above Memphis, TN, on April 27, 1865, around 2 o'clock in the morning, the Sultana suffered a disastrous boiler explosion and burned. A series of three boilers exploded within seconds of one another causing a cascade of other disastrous events. James William and James Franklin were both killed in the blast and fire. Somehow, Lewis Milton and Alexander managed to survive the dangerously swift, cold current of the Mississippi River. Our best records show that of a total of 2,137 passengers, 1,169 souls were lost that night, 1,047 of whom were ex Union POWs headed home from war, making the Sultana incident the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history. It has been called America's Titanic. <-- more details here. VIEW SULTANA MEMORIAL IN MT OLIVE CEMETERY, KNOXVILLE TN
	Sulphur Branch Trestle East Tennessee Convention Temperance Hall, Knoxville TN, May 1861	BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READING: America's Titanic The Sultana Association Cahaba Prison History of Sulphur Branch Trestle Civil War Prisoners - Searchable Dataset East Tennessee Convention -1861 (Kidd kinfolks mentioned on page 6 of document) To include your stories and other information in this site, Email us at Webmaster.