Additional Information for 1863 BE Mitchell

I have been looking for information about Courts-Martial in the Confederate Army. I went to Stephenville, TX, to do some research and ran across the book I had been looking for,The Roster of Courts Martial in the Confederate States Armies, by Jack Bunch, about Courts-Martial in the Confederate Army. I couldn't believe our luck in finding it ! So we looked up Barney and he was court-martialed sometime in January, 1863, for violating #52 in the Articles of War. It said he was sentenced to hard labor.

During this time there is a company muster roll which states he was present during January and February.  On February 23 there is an entry which states that he was under G. O. 26, Hq. North Virginia for Court Martial.  There is a note following which says he was released from arrest on May 15, 1863.  This doesn’t seem to make sense as he took part in the battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, where he received a wound that gave him trouble for the rest of his life.  He was shot in the thigh, breaking the femur bone.  The Roster of Courts Martial in the Confederate States Armies, by Jack Bunch, states on page 242 that Barney E. Mitchell, Pvt., 3^rd NC, violated Article of War #52, and was sentenced to hard labor.  This was during the month of January, so perhaps he was serving his sentence during February.

A.O. W. #52 has to do with leaving a duty post or running away from the enemy, or inciting others to do so.  Since Barney was later cited for “Distinguished Service” and the Roll of Honor, evidently this was not as bad as the Article of War makes it sound.  Perhaps he decided to make a trip  home during the time in winter quarters.

This morning Bob found the Articles of War for the Confederacy online, and here is a link to the page: http://www.archive.org/stream/articlesofwar

I have linked the post about Barney's Civil War records to here at the ** in that post to make it easy to place this additional information.

Maggie