Geneva County AlArchives News.....Memorial held for Civil War Soldier June 27 2004
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Christine Thacker http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00033.html#0008100 July 13, 2004, 12:47 pm

Dothan Eagle (Dothan Al.)
                                    Dothan Eagle Sunday, June 27, 2004.
                                    Section B, page 1B & 3B

       Memorial held for Civil War soldier

  "It's long been my desire to have a meeting to pay tribute and to honor one 
of my ancestors who so richly deserves it. He came into the
area by happenstance. But he has greatly influenced so many lives."
     Bill Aplin, great-grandson of Civil War soldier
                   
              By ANN HENDERSON
              Eagle Correspondent

  SAMSON- A solitary Confederate-re-enactment soldier sat on the front pew of 
the family section of Mt. Gilead Primitive Baptist Church Saturday morning.
  His longish brown hair skimmed the collar of his gray military uniform as he 
listened to a tribute to William Marion Aplin, a footsoldier in the 29th 
Alabama, Company 1. Jerry Sikes didn't know any of the fourth and fifth 
generations of Aplins, Cuthriells or Staffords who gathered for the tribute to 
the man who only lived in Geneva County for two years before being selected to 
volunteer for the Confederate Army.
  But Sikes, the commander of Camp W.C. Oakes of the Alabama Division of the 
Sons of Confederate Veterans near Dothan, knew about his grandfather, Mathias 
Quattlebaum. He had served alongside Aplin in the battle near Franklin, Tenn. 
that eventually led to the end of the war.
  "There were more casualties there in a short time than at any other
time," said Joseph W. Willis 1st Lt. Cmdr. of the Alabama Division. In
the five-hour battle on Nov. 29,1864, 9,000 men were killed, 7,000 of
whom wore Confederate colors.
  "I was told he was the color bearer (flag bearer) for his unit," said Bill 
Aplin; the great-grandson of the honoree and organizer of Saturday's memorial.
  "It was in November. Snow was falling," said Aplin. "I know they had one suit 
of clothes. I'm not sure if they had shoes. I can only imagine how terrible the 
trip was walking to Tennessee from Atlanta."
  W.M. Aplin was wounded in the battle and taken to McGavock House to receive 
medical treatment. He died four days later and was buried in a Confederate 
cemetery nearby.
  "It is an antebellum mansion that has been completely restored," said
Victoria Aplin, Bill's wife. "Many of the houses and churches were used
as hospitals. We were told five generals were laid out on the porch."
  Willis said history indicates Gen John B. Hood had lost an arm and leg and 
was tied to his saddle to ride into the battle at Franklin about 20 miles south 
of Nashville.
  "The Sons of Confederate Veterans want to make sure their memory is kept 
alive," said Willis. "We've been called traitors and rebels and our battle flag 
has been described as a symbol of hate.
  "But the soldiers who fought were some of the most patriotic in the nation," 
said Willis. "They abided by the Constitution until the states seceded from the 
union. This war was not a civil war. They were
See SOLDIER, Page 3B

SOLDIER   from 1B
not fighting to take over a government. They were fighting to remain free of 
northern aggression."
  Bill Aplin, a former mayor of Samson, has traveled to the battlegrounds in 
Tennessee twice. He said in April 2001, he had the strangest feeling as he 
walked beside the spot where a cotton gin was torn down by Union soldiers to 
make barricades.
  "It felt like somebody was there and wanted to welcome me and say, "glad you 
came."
  That's when he said the idea formed to have the memorial. "Hopefully his 
spirit now dwells and abides here among his family and friends," said Bill 
Aplin. A rebel flag and marker to honor W.M. Aplin was placed beside the 
gravestones for his wife and her parents.
  Blan Whisnant, owner of Pittman Funeral Home who helped with the service, 
said he will give Bill an urn for his next trip to Tennessee. "I want him to 
dig in the center of the place before the wooden marker to Aplin and bring the 
earth back here to where earth will be returned to earth."
  During the service, friends and family joined in several Sacred Harp songs 
including "Amazing Grace" and "Long Ago Comrades," a tribute to soldiers 
written by Judge J.M Carmichael, a Confederate soldier who lived in Ozark.
  But the song that seemed more fitting was Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven." 
The torrential downpour that slashed onto the church on the western edge of 
Geneva County created raindrops that consistently fell from the eaves of the 
roof over the picnic area.
  "It's long been my desire to have a meeting to pay tribute and to honor one 
of my ancestors who so richly deserves it," said Bill Aplin. "He came into the 
area by happenstance. But he has greatly influenced so many lives."
  W.M. Aplin's family lived in the Green Bay and New Hope communities south of 
Opp, about 20 miles west of the church. "It was a long way to walk for 
courtship," said Bill.
  "It's my theory Pappy Bowers, a Primitive Baptist preacher, would come to the 
area to hold hard shell meeting,” said Bill.
   "I know he preached here and helped establish this church and cemetery," 
Bill said of the building that is now commonly referred to as Eight Mile 
Church. "Eight Mile Creek is just over those hedges and there is a sign post 
that you can still read Eight Miles to Florala."
  Bill Aplin said Bowers would bring his wife or one of his two daughters. "You 
know how young folks are. The get together, start court-
ing and before you know it, they get married."
  Mary Ann Bowers soon wed W.M. Aplin. They built a log house measuring 20-feet 
by 20-feet about five miles from the church.
  "She was pregnant when he left for the war," said Bill Aplin. William Thomas 
Aplin was born two months later in October 1862.
  William Thomas Aplin wed Pinkie Henderson, the daughter of Dr. John Henderson 
who had a practice in his home in the area. They had nine children, one of 
which is Bill Aplin.
  "Three generations have been born in that house," said Bill Aplin. "I told 
the man who owns it now, "when you finish the renovation, I want to spend the 
first night there.'"
  Rev. Clyde Bowers said the people in the congregation will never know W.M. 
Aplin. "But you can help others understand that they do not just happen to be 
here. They are a part of a line of people, a part of something eternal."
  Janet Stafford said she has counted about 80 descendants of W.M. Aplin. Her 
grandfather, Johnny Aplin, was an elder in the church and he was a grandson of 
the honoree.
  Rev. John Holley spoke on the importance of the blood connection. "We are 
identifiable no matter how many generations separate us. It will always be 
important to know who you are and honor who you are."
  He advised the gathering to go to at least two reunions each year. "The most 
precious memories have been among blood relatives. Reunions make you feel more 
wanted and loved. They help you show respect for life."
  Stafford said the church no longer holds Sunday services but hosts a reunion 
on the second Sunday in October. Contributions for the maintenance of the 
church and cemetery made by made to Regions Bank in Paxton, Fla.
  As the memorial ended and the group left the sanctuary for the covered dish 
meal, Wayne Nelson walked to the display of Aplin family pictures and graphic 
drawings of the battle site in Tennessee.
  "My   great-grandfather William Spivey watched that battle from the hill," 
said Nelson, who lives north of Elba. Nelson is a member of
the Sons of Confederate Soldiers that meet in Prattville near Montgomery.
  As he and Bill Aplin shared family histories and asked about present-day 
relatives and businesses, they quickly seized on an idea to form a local 
unit. "We should get together and do this."
  For anyone interested in organizing a Sons of Confederate Soldiers unit near 
Samson, call Bill Aplin at 898-7253.

Ann Henderson is a freelance
writer who lives in Geneva
Countu and can be readied at
alienderson@centurytel.net

Posted with Permission from Mr. Clinton, Dothan Eagle Newsroom, July 13, 2004.



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