DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for James Franklin Byrd — and here's how that story goes, the way the record tells it. Now, some men live lives that seem almost too eventful to fit into one span of years. James Franklin Byrd was born on December 18, 1844, in Kentucky.
By 1862, he had made his way to Gonzales, Texas, and there he joined the Confederate army. He was assigned to Company F of Willis' Battalion of Cavalry, Army of Virginia — and what followed was the kind of soldiering that leaves marks on a man. Byrd fought at Holly Springs.
He fought at Harrisburg. He fought at Fort Pillow. And others still.
He was in the thick of it, battle after battle, the kind of service that fills a page and then some. But here's where the story really leans in. He was captured.
Became a prisoner of war — held on Ship Island. Now, most men in that situation might settle in and wait. Not Byrd.
He volunteered to help load a boat. And in that small act of apparent cooperation, he found his opening — he joined the prisoners being exchanged and walked right out of captivity. Didn't break out.
Just... volunteered his way free. You've got to appreciate the nerve of that. After the war, he married Eliza Elizabeth May.
And eventually, James Franklin Byrd made his permanent home at Pecan Mott, west of Hayrick Mountain, out in Coke County. That's where he put down roots and stayed. He died on June 9, 1915.
From Kentucky to Gonzales to the battlefields of Virginia, to a prison on an island, to the quiet west of Hayrick Mountain — James Franklin Byrd covered some ground. In every sense of the word.
What the marker says
(December 18, 1844-June 9, 1915) Born in Kentucky. Joined the Confederate army at Gonzales, Texas, 1862. Was in Co. F., Willis' Battalion of Cavalry, army of Virginia. Fought in battles of Holly Springs, Harrisburg, Fort Pilow, and others. Captured, he became prisoner of war on Ship Island. Escaped by volunteering to help load boat, then joining prisoners to be exchanged. Married Eliza Elizabeth May. Made permanent home at Pecan Mott, West of Hayrick Mountain. Recorded -- 1968