Confederate KY Private 1862 Discharge Papers; Vet Survived the War But Later Died in Railroad Accident

A 1p partly printed and partly manuscript document recording the military service details of Archibald E. Brevard (1836-1907), a Confederate private and corporal who served in Company E, 1st Regiment of Kentucky Volunteers. The discharge papers were issued from Richmond, Virginia on May 14, 1862. Docketed along a vertical axis along the left edge, and bearing the names of several of Brevard's commanding officers. Expected wear and paper flaws consistent with age including several splits. Else very good to near fine, with dark ink. 8.5" x 9.5." Accompanied by a former collector's research which includes photocopies of Brevard's Kentucky muster rolls.

Archibald E. Brevard enlisted in the Confederate Army on April 23, 1861 for a 12-month-long term of service; accounts vary, but he either joined up in Hickman County, Kentucky or Nashville, Tennessee. Enlisted as a private, Brevard was promoted to corporal, but illness demoted him back to a private by the time he was honorably discharged on May 14, 1862. The 1st Regiment of Kentucky Volunteers was attached early during the Civil War to the Army of the Shenandoah, the Army of the Potomac, and the Army of Northern Virginia under such illustrious commanders as J.E.B. Stuart, P.G.T. Beauregard, and Joe Johnston. Brevard almost certainly participated in the December 20, 1861 Battle of Dranesville, and the April 5 - May 4, 1862 Battle of Yorktown. All of his service with the Kentucky regiment was spent in Virginia.

The discharge papers give us a physical description of Brevard: the 26-year-old farmer with blue eyes and light hair stood 5'11" and was born in Smith County, Tennessee. Local histories and genealogical records complete Brevard's portrait. His father was a North Carolina Revolutionary War veteran, and his family heritage was Huguenot. Brevard reenlisted about one month after leaving the Kentucky regiment, this time in the 2nd Co. K of the 5th Tennessee Infantry, where he served as a corporal during the remainder of the war. Brevard was a Methodist, a Democrat, a Freemason, a Knight of Honor, and a member of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows. He was killed in a railroad accident at age 71 in neighboring Arkansas, the "Fulton Leader" of Fulton, County, Kentucky, reported in October 1907:

"Arch Brevard, formerly of this county, was run down and killed by a switch engine in the railroad yards at Paragould, Arkansas. The deceased was…reared in this section of Kentucky, only having lived in Arkansas about two years, and was well known by the citizens of Fulton County, having made several races for the office of county court clerk and served the county as county surveyor for a number of terms. Mr. Brevard was…a veteran of the Civil War, and throughout that trying period in the service of the Southern Confederacy…"

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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