A Brookhaven unit that distinguished itself during the WarBetween the States will soon have a monument dedicated to itsmembers in Railroad Park.

Roy Wooten, commander of the Brookhaven Light Artillery Sons ofConfederate Veterans Chapter, said the historical marker is theresult of several years of investigative and cooperativeefforts.

The marker is being provided by the Mississippi Department ofArchives and History and its text was proposed by Elbert Hilliard,director.

“The Brookhaven Light Artillery has her history scattered allover the five states in which she served,” Wooten said. “To thebest of my knowledge, no real attempt to gather her history wasmade until just a few years ago. As a feat of fate, several’baby-boomer’ descendants of the unit’s veterans began researchingtheir Confederate ancestors about the same time. These ‘sons anddaughters’ began to network and share information. From Dallas,Texas, to Washington, D.C., historical data is being found andshared.”

In those years, said David Wooten, camp historian, the chapterhas been able to compile some of the unit’s history and convincethe state’s history department of the importance of honoring theunit locally for its contributions in the war.

The historical marker will be placed in Railroad Park at theintersection of Whitworth Avenue and Chickasaw Street. It is greenwith gold lettering.

“We wanted to put it at the railroad park because when the gunscame in they were brought in by rail and when the unit left theyleft by rail,” Roy Wooten said.

“Hopefully,” David added, “one day we’ll have a nice artillerypiece to set there.”

The Wootens said they wanted to make the public aware that theirConfederate veteran ancestors are being honored at a special markerdedication ceremony Nov. 9. They are also hoping to line up a fewfamily descendants as guest speakers.

Roy Wooten said he wanted to warn city residents not to bealarmed if they are startled that afternoon.

“We will be able to fire a cannon in the city,” he said. “We gotpermission from the city to do that.”

Brookhaven Light Artillery was formed May 11, 1861, with 104enlisted men and four officers. It was led by Capt. James A.Hoskins, where the unit picked up the nickname of Hoskins’Battery.

It fought at and distinguished itself in fighting atPonchatoula, Port Hudson, Woodville, Jackson, Yazoo City,Mechanicsburg, Demopolis, Chickamagua, New Hope Church, KenesawMountain, Ezra Church and Atlanta. It was never captured andsurrendered at the end of the war in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in1865.

Its most noted achievement may have come during the Gen. UlyssesS. Grant’s Vicksburg campaign. Hoskins’ Battery was stationed atGrand Gulf and the captain invented the armored car by loading twoof his #12 cannon onto a boxcar and armoring its sides. The world’sfirst “armored car” would roll out onto a bridge span and fire onthe Union’s shipping in the Mississippi River until the gunboatsgot its range. It would then retreat back to the shoreline. Thistactic wrecked havoc with Admiral Farragut’s fleet in 1863.

The unit was also commended several times by its generals forthe excellence in which it conducted itself in engagements againstthe enemy.

Members of the Brookhaven Light Artillery:

Abner Ables, Andrew J. Adkinson, Willie Algood, James Allen,Jefferson Allen, Alex G. Ashe, Benjamin T. Atkins;

Joseph Barnes, Patrick Barnes, Isaac Barr, Christopher C.Barret, John W. Barton, John N. Baston, Asa A. Beatts, MitchellBecker, Francis Bonner, Shelton Bonner, Elias Bowman, NehemiahBright, Granberry Britt, Mayberry Britt, Henry Burke, RaymondBurke, Patrick Burns, J.B. Bush, Asa A. Butts;

Peter Callahan, E.L. Callender, John Callender, Wm. J.Callender, Franklin Case, Green Berry Case, James Case, JasperCase, Thomas J. Case, S.H. Chandler, Walter Clark, Levi W. Clines,Daniel W. Conway, Dennis Crane, E. Crane, Elijah Crane, JohnCunningham;

James C. Dayman, Thomas O. Decell, John C. Deets, MauriceDrefus, William Duffee, George A. Duke, Esadore Deitch, Leon K.Dunn, Levi Dunn

Andrew Edwards, Darling Edwards, John Edwards, Victory Edwards,Isaac J. Entrekin, Andrew J. Evans, James Evans;

Lewis Ferris, Joseph L. Foster, Edward Frank, Encharee Frank,John Fuller, Stephen Fuller, William Fuller, B.F. Furr, H.H.Furr;

James Gill, James M. Grafton, Wesley Graham, James A. Gressner,W.H. Griffith;

Patrick Hallard, L. Hardgrove, John C. “Jack” Hardy, John Hart,Malachi Hart, John Hash, M. Hash, William E. Henson, George WarrenHoskins, Henry C. Hoskins, James A. Hoskins, Zachary T. Hoskins,Thomas A. Hough, Joseph D. Hudson, William E. Hudson;

Henry V. Keen, William Keen, Preston Kees, George V. Kemble, BenF. King, James W. King, Jepee King, John King, Green King, MartinKing, Samuel King, William A. King, Frank Klotz;

E.L. Lee Sr., Michael Lewenthall, Edward Lewis, John Lewis, MarkLewis, Thomas H. Lewis, Samuel Lofton, Thomas Lofton, John M. (W.)Lyles;

A.J. Manning, James M. Martin, Augustus E. Maxwell, Henry J.Maxwell, John S. Maxwell, William P. Maxwell, Robert P. May, D.E.McCashesn, A.D. McClendon, George M. McDaniel, John McGuine, PeteyMiller, N.H. Mims, William Vann Minton, Daniel H. Mitchell, RobertMontgomery, A. Monssean, R.J. Morris;

Levi N. Netherland, William Newell, Chad Newfesh, CharlesNewport, Hezekiah Nichols, John B. Noel;

James O’Connor, Henry O’Harra;

Thomas Patterson, Berry Peavy, Hassie Price, Uriaha Price,William Pryne, William J. Putnam;

Van B. Ratcliff, Edward C. Rathrock, Harry Rice, Watford Rice,G.R. Robertson, Louis Robinson, George W. Roby, Giv. W. Rodey,James Roseberry, Janus Roseenberry, Richard Row, Augustus Ruff,James Rutland;

John Saxon, A.L. Scarborough, Phillip Schoff, Edbed Edwin Seavy,E.E. Sigrest, Margil Sigrest, Robert M. Sigrest, Drury Slay,Anderson Smith, Conway Smith, Isham Smith, James F. (T.) Smith,Martin J. Smith, Milry Smith, Nathan Smith, Pleasant Smith, RankinSmith, Wade Smith, Wiley Smith, William Henderson Smith, William J.Smith, William W. Smith, Willie Smith, Edward W. Smithwick, JohnStorm;

A.O. Taylor, Richard Thomas, Thomas Tiernay, William Topham,John Tounsell, John Turner;

Harry Vera;

Alfred Walker, Henry H. Walker, Isham Walker, James M. Walker,Jeremiah Walker, Ephran Watts, Edward Welch, Ford Wetcher, FredrickWetzel, Charles H. William, Creihton A. Williams, John P. Wilson,Marx Wolfe, Simon Womack, Samuel Wyman, Milton Jacob Whitworth.