Pvt. Daniel Malcolm Baker, CSA

Daniel Malcolm Baker served in the Confederate military during the American Civil War. Daniel first joined the Junior Reserves, serving as a Private in Company I, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry, 19th Regiment, CSA, enlisting on July 12, 1861 in Moore County, North Carolina at the age of fourteen, serving under Captain Dowd. He is shown in his records as having enlisted in the regular army on December 7, 1861. In April of 1862, when he was 16 years of age, he was officially transferred to the Confederate Army, land battery/heavy artillery, still serving in Co. I of the 19th State Troops, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry regiment with the 37th Infantry, stationed on the James River in Virginia, guarding Richmond Harbor. He is still found on the muster rolls of the 2nd Cavalry in July and August of 1863, but listed as absent because he was sent home on a 30 day detail. He was wounded in battle, according to the records - a gunshot that grazed his ankle. He was admitted to a hospital on December 16, 1862 and restored to duty on January 7, 1863.
The muster rolls for Company I again list Daniel M. Baker in July and August of 1864. His pension application states that he returned actually in April of 1864, and reenlisted on May 28, 1864 at Camp Holmes into Company E of the 1st regiment, North Carolina Junior Reserves, CSA. He is also listed on a Roll of Honor, but there is no date on it nor a reason why he is on this Roll of Honor. His pension application seems to indicate that whatever occurred happened in September of 1864. In order to be placed on such a roll, one had to do something extraordinary, such as capturing a flag, leading a unit into a charge after someone is killed, etc. The one battle that he would certainly have been in at that time would have been the Battle of Fisher’s Hill during which US Forces, under the command of George Crook overwhelmed Confederate forces commanded by Jubal A. Early.
Daniel M. Baker was finally captured by Union forces, on April 3, 1865 at Aberdeen Church, Virginia, just a few days prior to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. He is found on a roll of prisoners of war at Point Lookout, Maryland, having arrived on April 13, 1865 from City Point, Virginia. Afterward he spent eighteen months in military prisons, first at Point Lookout, Maryland and later at Newport News, Virginia because he ardently refused to take the oath of allegiance to the USA. A man with whom he was imprisoned, interviewed by Herman E. Browder, stated that Daniel had said that he would “rot in your damn Yankee jail!” before he would take the oath.
Daniel applied for and received a pension for his service in the North Carolina Junior Reserves(#S15738). But it was not approved until after his death, on March 6, 1943. He states that he was in one battle in April of 1865 near Decatersville where the unit surrendered. He also states that he was not wounded during the war. Then he goes on to state that he had three brothers killed in the war; one in Maryland, one at Culpepper’s Courthouse, and one “7 days fight in [unreadable].” He further states that he was not incapacitated in any way due to his service.
According to family tradition, Daniel was eventually exchanged with the very last group of prisoners without having taken the oath. Daniel was evidently determined never to pledge allegiance to a government whose armed forces had caused the deaths of all of his brothers, save one. However, the record shows that he actually took the oath on June 23, 1865 and was released from Point Lookout on June 24, 1865. Daniel confirms this in his pension application, stating that he took the oath about July 1, 1865 at Newport news. He states that he did so to get out of prison because he wanted to go home.
Other documents in his pension application state that he had “rheumatism”, which gave him “considerable pain for three years.” Daniel was virtually unable to work because of it. His trouble was mainly in his knees and ankles. It is dated November 25, 1922.
Also, A. B. Nicholson served as a witness for Daniel to his service. Nicholson states that he was the First Sergeant of Company I, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry. He stated that Daniel was indeed a volunteer from Moore County, North Carolina and had “served faithfully through the war.” He goes on to state that Daniel was indeed imprisoned and released in July of 1865.
Another witness, Redin Bryan, also stated that he himself had been a member of Company A of the 63rd North Carolina troops and knew Daniel from the war. He confirmed that Daniel had been imprisoned and then released in 1865 and that they had both been in the same prison together. Perhaps this was the soldier who told of Daniel’s initial refusal to take the Oath.
Also, perhaps because of the Civil War, Daniel and his family were fiercely anti-Republican politically. The record shows that Daniel rendered “Distinguished Service” to the Confederacy during the war.
It is interesting to note that the description of Daniel M. Baker in his military records shows that he had a light complexion, dark grey hair and grey eyes. He was five foot-six inches tall. It is known that after his release Daniel had to walk over one-hundred miles to get back home. In fact, this was the fate of many Confederate veterans. Once released, they were lucky if the Union Army had enough food to give them any before they went on their way. As Mitchell (History of Purdy and Early McNairy County) puts it “The roads of the South almost choked with the soldiers trudging homeward, passing through a land strained to the breaking point by war. When they asked at farmhouses for food or water, there was little to give. Worse, all along the road they could see the destruction the war wrought on their homeland (pp. 59-60).
According to returns to the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, Daniel was also a Freemason, having risen to the level of Royal Arch Mason during his lifetime, becoming a member of the Royal Arch Masonic Lodge in Selmer, Tennessee. But he was first a member at Purdy Lodge #132, F&AM, remaining with this Lodge when it was moved to Bethel Springs in 1899, still later moving his membership to Selmer Lodge #689 F&AM.
Daniel M. Baker was initiated at Purdy Lodge on July 17, 1891, passed on August 15, 1891 and was raised on September 19, 1891. It is interesting to note that Thomas Richard Sanders joined Purdy Lodge at about the same time, and was initiated during the same time period as Daniel M. Baker was. Daniel served as Senior Warden there in 1899.
However, according to the Gravel Hill Lodge Book, although he retained his membership at Purdy Lodge, in between he functioned mainly at Gravel Hill Lodge No. 232 F&AM, where he served as Senior Warden by November of 1891 (p. 296).
During his youth Daniel had been a member of Buffalo Presbyterian Church in Moore County, North Carolina, along with his parents. Once in McNairy County, Tennessee he and his family originally joined Bethel Springs Presbyterian Church, organized in 1828. Daniel and Mary later became charter members of Bethesda Presbyterian Church, which was organized in 1893, arising from Cedar Grove Sunday School. Their children were also charter members. And Daniel was on the Bethesda church building committee. Daniel and his male children, in fact, were instrumental in the building of the Bethesda Presbyterian Church building which was originally a log structure situated in the fork of the road on top of a hill close to the present site. They even cut trees for the building themselves and made the shingles, which they themselves nailed onto the roof of the building. Daniel served as a deacon at Bethesda from 1893/94, when the church was first organized, until his death, a span of about 49 years. He also served as a church Trustee along with John L. Sanders.
Daniel M. Baker served as a Justice of the Peace/County Commissioner at least from February of 1889 to December of 1893. He was among those associate justices who decided in favor of removal of the county seat from Purdy to New South (today called Selmer).
In 1884 Daniel M. Baker contracted to keep the inmates after preparing buildings for this for $72.00 per capita, per annum for a term of three years. After his term was completed, he bought some property and built a home in the old 19th district about 1890 (shown in these photographs). This property was inherited by his daughter, Sallie Mitchell, at Daniel’s death.
Daniel had donated about 100 acres of land upon which the new poor house was built. This place was also called the county “poor farm.” The land that Daniel donated was supposed to revert back to his heirs when the poor house was no longer in use, but that did not happen.
Daniel was the last surviving Civil War soldier in McNairy County, Tennessee.
The children of Daniel Malcolm and Mary Frances Basinger-Baker were Sallie Idella (February 8, 1875-September 16, 1953), John William (November 30, 1876-October 27, 1961), Patrick “Patten”/“Buck” Malcolm (March 26, 1880-April 15, 1949), Flora Ann (September 28, 1882-January 11, 1973), Mary Dora (May 7, 1886-April 11, 1968), Henry Daniel “Dee” (January 4, 1889-August 13, 1991), Lillie (September 29, 1891-May 4, 1924) and Benjamin Wilfred “Wilford” (August 22, 1894-past 1966).