Madison Weeks’ Invalid Pension Application

Madison Weeks is an interesting figure within my Family “Bush” that others might call a Family “Tree.” He is the son of John Weeks who was my 5th great-grandfather, making Madison my 6th great-uncle. But John’s brother, Thomas Weeks, was also my 4th great-grandfather on another of my branches, so that makes him my 1st cousin, 5x’s removed as well. And it doesn’t stop there. Madison then married one of my 4th great-grandmothers on yet a different branch, making him my step-4th great-grandpa. Clearly, this was one collateral line that I couldn’t afford to leave unresearched.

Madison Weeks’ invalid pension can be found in the Gallery of his profile in my public tree entitled “Sunni’s Family Tree” on ancestry.com (username: sunnisearchangel). From there, you can either attach it to your own tree or download it to keep in your personal files (or both!). All images used in this post are from that application unless sourced otherwise.

Per Madison Weeks’ initial application, he entered service in the Union forces on or about the 1st day of June 1864, as a Private in Co. B, of the 2nd Regiment of Florida Cavalry commanded by Major Edmund C Merks, and was honorably discharged at Tallahassee, around the 29th day of November 1865.

A comparison to his Compiled Military Service Record was performed (this can be found at fold3.com or can be viewed within his profile’s gallery within my publicly available tree on ancestry.com).

Madison Weeks enlisted in Company B, 2nd Regiment of the Florida Cavalry on May 12, 1864, at Fort Myers, Florida. He signed on for 3 years and was mustered into service on August 12, 1864, at Cedar Key, Florida. He was listed as age 40 at a height of 5’10” with a dark complexion and dark hair and blue eyes. He notes that he was born in Beaufort, SC and that he is currently employed as a farmer.

NARA M400. Compiled military service records of volunteer Union soldiers belonging to units organized for service from the State of Florida.

On an additional page within his CMSR, it is noted that he is a “refugee from the Confederacy.” Through a thorough examination of the CMSRs of other members of Company B, 2nd Regt of the Florida Cavalry, it can be observed that many other men in Company B also described themselves as refugees from the Confederacy.

Madison Weeks was enlisted by Captain Green. Per an article entitled “Company B, Second Florida Cavalry, United States Army” edited by Spessard Stone in Buried Treasures published by the Central FL Genealogical Society, Vol. 36, No.4 - Fall 2004 “Lt. & Capt. James Dopson GREEN - Born Oct. 6, 1823, Anderson Co., South Carolina. In Hillsborough Co., FL. on July 11, 1849, he married Eliza Whidden, daughter of Willoughby and Eliza (Pennington) Whidden. The Greens were living in the Simmons Hammock settlement in 1850 and settled at now Fort Green (named for him in 1856), Manatee (now Hardee) Co. in 1854.” Madison Weeks’ future brother-in-law, James H Stephens, and his future brother-in-law by marriage (married to his second wife’s half-sister, Charity Stephens), Benjamin F Duncan, were also members of this unit. (https://cfgs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/BT_Fall_04.pdf)

Madison’s CMSR notes that he was mustered out of service at Tallahassee on November 29, 1865.

Per the Soldiers and Sailors Database produced by the NPS, “2nd Cavalry Regiment was organized with 1,190 men during the late spring of 1862. Its members were from Melton and Tallahassee, and the counties of St. John, Marion, Gadsden, and Madison. The unit was attached to the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and served in Florida throughout the war. It fought at Olustee, Gainesville, and Braddock's Farm, and surrendered at Tallahassee on May 10, 1865. Colonel Caraway Smith, Lieutenant Colonel Abner H. McCormick, and Major Robert Harrison were in command.” (Of note: At first glance, it might seem that a regiment initially composed of men from the Panhandle would indicate that the Madison Weeks of the 2nd Cavalry, Company B, was not the same Madison Weeks of Hillsborough and Lee Counties. However, it is important to note that he joined the war effort much later. The reasons behind his eventual enlistment will be discussed later in the blog post, but I highly recommend reading Chapter 11, “Civil War in the River Valley,” in the book Florida’s Peace River Frontier by Canter Brown, Jr., for a more comprehensive understanding of the circumstances faced by the men and women of this area during that time.)

The Battle of Olustee mentioned above occurred in February 1864, so Madison would not have been involved in that battle.

The Battle of Gainesville

During the U.S. Civil War, the Battle of Gainesville took place on August 17, 1864, in Gainesville, Florida. Three-hundred Union troops occupying the city were attacked by the Florida Cavalry. The Federals were driven out of town and suffered significant casualties.

The marker reads:

"A Civil War battle was fought in Gainesville on August 17, 1864, when about 300 occupying Federal Troops were attacked by Florida Cavalry under Captain J.J. Dickison, called "Florida's most conspicuous soldier." The Federals were driven from the City after a brisk fight and suffered severe casualties during hard pursuit, which ended in victory for the Confederate force."

Photo courtsey of wikipedia by Ebyabe - Own work
Taylor, George Lansing Jr., "Battle of Gainesville Marker, Gainesville, FL" (2012). *George Lansing Taylor Collection Main Gallery*. 2950. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/2950

The Battle of Braddocks Farm

“On February 5, 1865 near this site the Battle of Braddocks Farm was fought between the 2nd Florida Cavalry Company's H and B and the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Captain J.J. Dickison, commanding the 2nd FL Cavalry received word that the 17th CT was raiding area farms for cotton, cattle, and other supplies. Capt. Dickison set out to end these raids and near this site he, along with 52 men surprised the 17th CT commanded by Lt. Col. A.H. Wilcoxen. The 17th CT, with about 100 men, was returning to their camp with ten wagons loaded with seed cotton they had confiscated. After a brief struggle, the Confederates captured the Federal troops. Five Federals were killed, among whom were Lt. Col. Wilcoxen and Adjutant Chatfield. There were no Confederate casualties. James Aldrich Braddock, who owned Braddocks Farm, along with several of his sons and nephews, served or supported the State of Florida and the Confederate Army during the War Between The States. James A. Braddock is buried in this cemetery.”

*Artist's rendering of a Civil War fight near Braddock Farm - Volusia, County, Florida.* 1865-01. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/34039>, accessed 26 November 2024.

Ages reported for Madison Weeks:

1850 Federal Census – 28: inferred year of birth 1822

Bounty Land Application in 1850 – 28: inferred year of birth 1822

1860 Federal Census – 43: inferred year of birth 1817

1864 CMSR – 40: inferred year of birth 1824

1870 Federal Census - 54: inferred year of birth 1816

1880 Federal Census – 63: inferred year of birth 1817

1885 FL State Census – 68: inferred year of birth 1817

Invalid Pension Application in 1891 – 74: inferred year of birth 1817

It is necessary to discuss the Confederate Conscription Acts for context. Per Wikipedia, “The First Conscription Act, passed April 16, 1862, made any white male between 18 and 35 years old liable to three years of military service. On September 27, 1862, the Second Act extended the age limit to 45 years. The Third, passed February 17, 1864, changed this to 17 to 50 years old, for service of an unlimited period.”

Additionally, when we look at the Enrollment Act of 1863, which was a Federal Law, “The Enrollment Act of 1863 also known as the Civil War Military Draft Act, was an Act passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War to provide fresh manpower for the Union Army. The Act was the first genuine national conscription law. The law required the enrollment of every male citizen and those immigrants (aliens) who had filed for citizenship, between 20 and 45 years of age, unless exempted by the Act.”

I lean towards an 1815-1817 date of birth for Madison Weeks. This is based on 2 main reasons: 1) he more consistently reported an age within this timeframe over all the sources noted above and 2) he signed a road petition in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 1836. To sign this, he was likely at least 21 years old at the time, placing his year of birth at around 1815-1816. With this in mind, as noted by the Confederate Conscription Acts above as well as the national Enrollment Act for the Union Army, if his date of birth fell in the range of 1815-1817, he was missing the required cut-off for mandatory service for either side until the Third Conscription Act which passed in February of 1864. As Florida was part of the Confederacy, he was now required to join the Confederate Army. It was now time to “put up or shut up” and as his beliefs did not align with the Confederacy, he instead joined the Union Army, as “a refugee from the Confederacy” shortly after the Third Conscription Act passed.

I would be remiss if it were not noted that author Canter Brown, Jr. does an analysis of the Confederate Conscription Acts in his book, “Florida’s Peace River Frontier,” pp 162-167 and he argues that the repeal of the “Confederate draft exemption for cattlemen had served to crystalize political, economic, and personal divisions…” And while this was certainly true for many of the men from the area that finally joined up in 1864, I believe that it was the age issue that affected Madison Weeks in particular. He is listed as a “Laborer” on the 1850 census and as a “farm laborer” on the 1860 census. His name does not appear on Schedule 4 (Productions of Agricultural) of the 1850 Census (negative search performed on 13 Mar 2024) or of the 1860 Census (negative search performed on 2 Dec 2024) for Hillsborough County. On the 1860 Hillsborough County tax list, he paid taxes on just 11 cattle. In short, there are no sources indicating that he was a ‘cattleman’ at the start of the Civil War in 1861.

His signature on his application is shown below:

On his brother John J. Weeks’ pension application, Madison signed with a mark. It should be noted that Madison was gravely ill at the time of John J. Weeks’ application, and the application even mentions that Madison was too sick to provide additional evidence.

Madison Weeks applied for an Invalid Pension due to an injury to his ribs sustained in May 1891. He fell from his wharf into his boat, striking a structural crosspiece, commonly used as a seat for a rower in a boat. As a result, he broke two ribs and fractured a third. He claimed that the fall occurred because of physical weakness caused by a severe attack of chronic diarrhea, which he stated he first contracted while serving in the U.S. Army during the Civil War.

At age 75, the physician notes Madison to be 5 feet 7 inches (he “shrank” 3 inches since enlisting in the Union Army) and and weighed 160 pounds. His heart was quite weak. Elsewhere in his application, it is noted that he is still dark-complexioned with black hair (in his mid-70s!) and has blue eyes. This is consistent with his description at the time of his enlistment with the Union Army.

He notes that he married Nancy Weeks nee Davenport on November 20, 1868, in Manatee County, Florida. (Their marriage license indicates they were actually married in 1866). He acknowledges that he was married to someone else before Nancy, but the only detail that is reported is that she died on April 14, 1862. Additionally, he lists his living children as John Weeks born 1855, William Weeks born July 31, 1869, Thomas Weeks born July 8, 1872, and Andrew J. Weeks born April 29, 1875. Thus, it can be assumed that his daughters with his first wife, Harriet and Rebecca Weeks, had already passed away by 1891.

"Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993", , *FamilySearch* (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:23CF-F54 : Sun Mar 10 20:06:37 UTC 2024), Entry for Mathew Waters and Nancy Pate, 1866.

In conclusion, Madison Weeks' enlistment in the Union Army in May 1864 aligns with his designation as a refugee from the Confederacy. This likely reflects his decision to avoid conscription into the Confederate Army after the Third Conscription Act of February 1864 expanded mandatory service to men aged 17-50. He served in Company B of the 2nd Florida Cavalry, and was mustered into service on August 12, 1864, and was honorably discharged on November 29, 1865. His service indicates a significant ideological departure from Confederate loyalties common in Florida at the time, further evidenced by his association with other "refugees from the Confederacy." He and his unit participated in smaller skirmishes in Florida such as engagements near Gainesville and Braddock's Farm.

Madison was described as a man of dark complexion, dark hair, blue eyes, and a height ranging from 5'7" to 5'10" during his lifetime. He fell into his boat in May 1891 and broke two ribs, which never healed correctly. Madison was also likely literate as he could sign his own name.

Madison married Nancy Davenport in 1866 after his first wife died in 1862. He had 4 children living at the time of his application in 1891: John, William, Thomas, and Andrew J. Weeks.

Parents for William R Carroll

Compiled Military Service Records for P. F. Smith’s Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers in 1836