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Co.H, 18th Texas Volunteer Infantry
 James Lafayette Tarver, of Upshur County, Texas, was a civil war veteran, having enlisted in the Confederacy on  May 6, 1862 in the 18th Texas Volunteer Infantry.1, 2, 3 An image of several muster rolls showing proof of James Tarver's service is to the right. Click on any of the inline photos on this page to view a larger image. Use the BACK menu option on your browser to return to this page after viewing an image.
The 18th Texas Infantry was in Walker's Division along with the 8th & 22nd Texas Volunteer Infantry, 13th Texas Dismounted Cavalry and Halderman's Battery. The 18th Infantry spent its entire career within the Trans-Mississippi theater, participating in more than twenty various type engagements during its career.
James L. Tarver  served as a private in Company H of Colonel William Beck Ochiltree's Regiment Texas Infantry,4 Lieutenant Colonel David Browning Culberson's Company.5  Ochiltree's Regiment completed its organization by the election of field officers May 13, 1862, and the regiment was then mustered into service. The photo to the left is of Colonel William B. Ochiltree; the photo to the right is of Lieutenant Colonel David B. Culberson.
Walker's Texas Division took its name from Major General John George Walker,6 who took command from its organizer, Brigadier General Henry Eustace McCulloch, on January 1, 1863. In October of 1862, Brigadier General McCulloch was assigned the duty of making a general organization of the Texas Volunteer Infantry that were encamped at Camp Nelson, Arkansas into a division. The division consisted of four brigades, with a battery of light artillery attached to each brigade. Major General Walker relieved McCulloch from command about three months later, and would command the division until June of 1864. McCulloch was assigned command of third brigade.
Walker's Division would be the only division in Confederate service composed, throughout its existence, of troops from a single state.  It has been said that Walker's Division did less fighting and more walking than any other outfit in the war. While the division didn't see as much combat as some in the east, they faced distances and hardships unheard of on the east of the Mississippi. Union troops would honor the division with the name we most often refer to today, "Walker's Greyhounds," in tribute to its renowned capability of making long, forced marches from one threatened point to another in the Trans-Mississippi Department. Walker's Greyhounds were the backbone of Confederate military force in the Trans-Mississippi Department.
The flag to the right is Walker's Texas Division Battle Flag. The flag, inscribed with battle honors "Mansfield, April 8th 1864" and "Pleasant Hill, April 9, 1864" (click on the photo to read the inscription) is important for two reasons.  First, it was carried in the two desperate Louisiana battles that turned back Union General Nathaniel Bank's Red River Expedition, thus saving east Texas from conquest. Second, it is one of only two so-called Taylor battle flags still in existence. [Taylor flags are named for General Richard Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, and Confederate commander in western Louisiana.] The Taylor flags are unusual because they are Saint Andrews cross rebel flags with the colors reversed, i.e. a blue field instead of the famous red field, and a red rather than blue cross with white stars. 7
For a more detailed bio of James Lafayette Tarver, including notes on his service and pension records, see James Lafayette Tarver, 1836 - 1914 in our Lineage Library.8
18th Texas Infantry Muster Roll, Company H
Men from Coffeeville and Upshur Counties
Acker, A.
Adams, W.R., 1st Sergeant - Transferred to the 14th Texas Infantry
Aills, T.P., Sergeant
Baily, A.E.
Baily, David
Baily, Joseph - Nurse, Cook
Bass, Lemuel C. - died at Camp Nelson, Arkansas, December 1862
Baxter, W.F. - died at Des Ark Arkansas, October 1862
Beauboeuf, J.B. - from Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
Bellgard, J.B. - POW, captured Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Bishop, J.O.A.
Boyce, J.T.
Brown, James
Carpenter, Augustus - Nurse
Chadick, I.M.
Clayton, William, Corporal
Clinton, Jeremiah C. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana,
Clinton, J.R.
Cole, Joshua - joined Fort DeRussy, Louisiana
Collins, Henry W. - Commissary
Collins, S.K. - Iron Worker, Texas Iron Works
Cope, Samuel - Arsenal
Cope, W.H.H., Sergeant - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Courtney, James - POW, captured Fort Couteau Louisiana, November 1863
Crutchfield, Thom
Culberson, D.B., Colonel
Davis, E.N. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Day, J.N. - Nurse
Deen, Joseph L. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Duncan, J.W., Captain
Ervin, James
Franks, James
Freeman, J.H. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Freer, Z.E. - Musician, Nurse
Gaskin, Enoch
Gibbins, J.L.M.
Private Andrew J. Green - died
Hackler, John, Lieutenant - Nurse
Hackler, William
Harison, W.P.
Hart, J.T. - died at Camp Nelson, Arkansas, October 1862
Hathcox, J.C. - Nurse
Hathcox, J.W., Corporal
Herring, B.F.
Hill, A.
Jackson, J.S. - Guard
Johnson, A.M.
Johnson, Ant - POW, captured Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Johnson, Anthony, Sergeant - Pickett
Johnson, John A. - POW, captured Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Johnson, M.C., Corporal - died at Camp Nelson, Arkansas, October 1862
Jones, B.A., Sr. 2nd Lieutenant - Teamster
Jones, E.T. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Kidd, John R., Ensign
Lee, J.I. - Miller
Lee, W.A.
Lilly, W.G.
Little, J.D. - Guard, Carpenter
Loyd, John T. - died at Camp Nelson, Arkansas, November 1862
Martin, John
McCurdy, Thomas
McGee, J.H.
McNairy, F.M.L.
Meek, J.E.
Miller, D.B.
Miller, James M.
Montgomery, W.L. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Mooney, S.J., 1st Lieutenant
Nesbitt, Robert
Newbery, Isaac
Newbery, J.A. - POW, 1st captured at Richmond, Louisiana, June 1863, sent to Alton, Illinois and released. 2nd capture at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Newman, M.V.
Nutt, J.J. - Teamster
Oliver, F.M. - Teamster
Owen, Jas. W.
Patterson, John L., Sergeant - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Patterson, Sam - Transferred to Engineers
Patterson, W.W. - Teamster
Petty, G.W.
Porter, John C., Sergeant - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Prichard, A.J. - Pratt's Battery
Puckett, W.C.
Purcell, R.L. - Coffin Maker
Ray, J.B., Corporal - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Reeves, C.M.
Reeves, William - Teamster
Roberts, Walter
Robertson, Charles
Robertson, E.D. - Cook
Robinson, J.M. - Teamster, Nurse
Robinson, Lafayette, 2nd Lieutenant
Robinson, Walton, Sergeant
Rumsey, H.F.
Seals, N.A., Corporal - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Sears, William
Skeen, T.L., 1st Lieutenant
Smith, H.E.
Smith, L.Y. - POW< captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Steed, Thomas N. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Steelmon, Jesse - Head wound
Stephens, Thomas W., Captain - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864.3
Stevens, S.G., 2nd Lieutenant - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Stiles, William - died at Camp Nelson, Arkansas, December 1862
Stoker, W.E.
Story, S.C.
Talkington, S.M.
Tarver, James Lafayette - Teamster8
Thomas, Joseph - Teamster
Thompson, W.F. - died at Camp Nelson, Arkansas, October 1862
Thornton, R.B.F.
Tucker, G.W., Sergeant - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Turner, E.M.
Vines, Thomas, G. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, March 1864
Vines, W.H. - Quartermaster Department
Williams, W.B., Corporal
Wilson, E.R. - from Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
Worley, A.J. - POW, captured at Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, March 1864
Worley, Joseph.
Wortham, J.A.
Wortham, Joseph
Wyatt, R.E. - died at Little Rock, December 1862
Wyatt, Yancy
Yelverton, S.M.
A Word of Caution About Muster Rolls: Muster rolls--which were ordinarily compiled to cover a 2-month period--are generally accurate for the day on which the roll was filled out, but often not for all of the period covered. If a person left the ranks some time during those 2 months and then returned, that absence may not show on the roll. This is especially true for Confederate rolls. Further, the presence of a given unit at a battle does not necessarily establish that your ancestor (who may have served with the unit) participated in that battle. In the War Department's view, such an assumption cannot ordinarily be made. There are a variety of reasons why a particular individual may not have been present at the time of battle: different companies in the regiment may have had different assignments, or an individual soldier may have been absent due to sickness, desertion, temporary assignment to other duties, or other causes. Finally, roll calls were not recorded prior to battles. (Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration)
Endnotes
1.Application of Indigent Soldier of the Confederacy for Pension. James Lafayette Tarver completed his original application for pension in Pecos County, Texas on 5 July 1899. Tarver's application was approved on the 11th of October, 1899. A second application, also approved, was signed by Tarver on January 4th, 1910 and witnessed by F.M.McMahon and Paul Tarver on January 8th. Copies in possession of author, ldc.
2. Widow's Application for a Pension, 26934, sworn to on the 14th of March 1914, in Lamesa, Dawson County, Texas. After James Lafayette Tarver's death in 1914, his wife, Julia Virginia Sanders, moved to Lamesa, Texas where she lived with her daughter, Emma Tarver Simpson. Witness signatures on the pension application are G.W. Simpson and R.P. Simpson (son-in-law, Richard Pinkie Simpson, husband to Emma Tarver). Copy in possession of author, ldc.
3.On 14 July 1899, Captain Thomas W. Stephens, of Temple, Bell County, Texas, signed a deposition in support of James Lafayette Tarver's application for pension. Thomas Stephens indicated he had served with James Lafayette Tarver, each of them "going into the war at the same time and serving the entire term of the war." Stephens stated he had entered the army as a private, and afterwards was made Captain of the company, in which capacity he served until the end of the war, a period of about two years. "The said Tarver," he said, "when I knew him had a rather full face and heavy broad shoulders. I do not remember any other peculiarity that a person would notice particularly except the full face and broad shoulders. I suppose he weighed at the time I knew him, about one hundred and eighty five or one hundred and ninety pounds." Copy in possession of author, ldc.
4.
William Beck Ochiltree (1811-1867). Born in Fayetteville, N.C., October 18, 1811. Judge of Texas Republic, 1842; Texas Republic Secretary of the Treasury, 1844-1845; Attorney General of the Texas Republic, 1845-1846; delegate to Texas state constitutional convention, 1845; member of Texas state house of representatives, 1855; delegate to Texas secession convention, 1861; Delegate from Texas to the Confederate Provisional Congress, 1861-1862. Aide de Campe to General H.H. Sibley. Died in Jefferson, Texas., December 27, 1867. Internment at Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson, Texas. Ochiltree County, Texas is named for him. See The Handbook of Texas Online.
5.
David Browning Culberson (1830-1900. Born in Troup County, Georgia, September 29, 1830. Member of Texas state house of representatives, 1859; colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; member of Texas state senate, 1873; U.S. Representative from Texas, 1875-1897 (2nd District 1875-1883, 4th District 1883-1897). Died May 7, 1900. Internment at Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson, Texas. Culberson County, Texas is named for him. See The Handbook of Texas Online..
6.
John George Walker (1822-1893). Born in Cole County, Missouri, on July 22, 1822. United States and Confederate Army officer, railroad agent, and United States consul. Served on the Texas frontier against the Indians, 1854-1856. Lobbiest and Texas delegate to the national railroad convention, 1875. Resigned from the United States Army (July 1861) and accepted a commission as major of cavalry in the Regular Army of the Confederate States (Dec 1861 to rank from Mar 1861). Promoted to brigadier general, Jan 1862. His first year of Confederate service has frequently been confused with that of another officer of the same name, who was his cousin. Cousin John George Walker raised and commanded Company K of the Eighth Texas Cavalry, Terry's Texas Rangers. After the war, Walker joined other senior Confederates in fleeing to Mexico. Later resided in Havana and then England. Returned to the United States, early 1866. Resided in Jefferson, Texas, 1871. Later resided in New Orleans, then Virginia. Died in Washington, DC, July 20, 1893. Buried in Winchester, Virginia. See The Handbook of Texas Online.
7. Texas State Library and Archives Commission. See "The Historic Flags of Texas Project."
8. A genealogical bio of James Lafayette Tarver, including notes on his service and pension records, is available on this Web site. Click here to go to James Lafayette Tarver, 1836 - 1914 in our Lineage Library.
Researchers for this line: Lotus Dale Cirilo <lotus@cirilo.net>; Bill Hart (4624 30th Street, Lubbock Texas 79410), email <BillDHart@aol.com>, Margyth Shaffer (1222 Water Street, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901; (907) 247-1450), email <mshaffer@ptialaska.net >, and her sister Lou Anne Kirby (PO Box 827, Sonoita, Arizona 85637-0827, (520) 455-9389), <louanne@dakotacom.net>.
CSA Pages of Interest on the Web
- War of the Rebellion The War of the Rebellion is a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies published under the direction of the U.S. War Department. All volumes have been scanned from originals held by the Cornell University Library and are online at this site. The Official Records of the United States and Confederate Navies are also
available.
- Causes of the Civil War This site offers an indexed list of links to primary documents from the &qot;period of the secession crisis".
- Texans in the Civil War Regimental history and muster roll for the 18th Texas Infantry. Regimental history for Walker's Texas Division and Phillip's Georgia Legion. Biographies of General Horace Randal, Colonel James Reily and a few enlisted men.
- Shadows of Forgotten Heroes: The Confederate Infantry Private A site dedicated to educating the public about the real Confederate soldier and his experience in the Civil War. Includes areas on background, uniform, equipment, soldier life, and a bibliography of related books.
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