Frederick Alexander – A Beloved Son-In-Law

Frederick Alexander was born around 1828 in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was enslaved by James A Stewart and lived on Holly Grove Plantation in Centreville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. On May 15, 1854, he married Kitty Veal, the oldest child of William Veal and Mary Brent. They were married on Holly Grove Plantation by my 4x Grandfather Robert Veal Sr (b 1804), the brother of William Veal. They lived together as husband and wife and had four children: William (b. 1856), Laura (b 1857), Douglas (b. 1858), and Mary (b.1859).

All that I know about Frederick Alexander comes from his military records. On September 1, 1863, he ran away from Holly Grove Plantation and joined the Union Army’s 12th Corps d’Afrique (84th Regiment United States Colored Infantry), at Port Hudson, Louisiana. His military enlistment record says that he was 35 years old, 5’ 8-1/2” tall, light complexion, with black eyes and black hair. He enlisted for a 3-year term which meant he was due a bounty of $300. His service was not long, after a little over 4 months he died of pneumonia on January 12, 1864, at the Port Hudson regimental hospital.

After the death of Frederick his family lived with William Veal, who was 68 years old when the 1870 Census was recorded. The household had a total of thirteen people including William’s wife Mary (57), and their children; Kitty (30), Charlotte (19), Preston (17), and his youngest daughter Florence (16). The others in the household are the children of his oldest daughter Kitty Veal; Alvira Veal (15), William Alexander (14), Laura Alexander (13), Douglas Alexander (12), Mary Alexander (11), Rosa Alexander (5), and Mattie Alexander (2).

On July 22, 1872, Kitty Veal Alexander filed a Widows Claim for Bounty Money and Arears to receive Frederick’s bounty and her testimony is as follows:

“That she was married to the said Frederick Alexander on or about 15^th of May 1864 at Wilkinson County, Mississippi, by the custom among slaves, that her name before her said marriage was Kitty Veal and she further states that she believes there is no public record of her said marriage and there is no private or family record. That she and her husband were slaves of James A Stewart. That there was no record of such marriages. That she and said Frederick lived and cohabitated in the same house from their said marriage until he entered the military service of the U. S. That there were 4 children of said marriage 3 of whom are still living, and she now has their care and control as their mother.”

Though his time in service was brief, Frederick Alexander met the 90-day requirement for a pension. Kitty Veal Alexander filed a pension application on February 2,1884. The original application lapsed for several years until she filed again at the age of 84, on October 9, 1916. Both times the pension was disapproved stating “rejection; soldier not discharged from the service and claimant therefore has no pensionable status under the act of September 8th, 1916.”

Who remembered Frederick Alexander? Does his life deserve to be remembered? Who in the large Holly Grove plantation community, where in 1860 there were 234 enslaved people in 60 slave houses, remembered the stories of the Civil War and the enslaved people who ran away and never returned?

Of the 40,00 black soldiers who died in the Civil War, 30,000 died of infection or disease, Frederick Alexander was one of them. These men, most of whom were born enslaved, never got a chance to see their families enjoy freedom. The lives of many of our family and community members who died in slavery did not have their names recorded on any documents. Frederick Alexander’s military records and his wife’s applications for a pension provide documentation tracing his short life of 35 years.

Frederick Alexander is likely buried in Port Hudson National Cemetery but I have not located his headstone. His name appears on plaque C-90 with the rest of the soldiers in the 84^th Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington D.C. He died in service and is deserving of a Memorial Day salute for his willingness to give his life for the freedom of his family and enslaved community. May he always be remembered.

Next: Corporal Madison Veal