Richard B. Pittman Letters

Richard B. Pittman, born July 27, 1828, in Marion County, Mississippi, was the seventh child of John and Susanna Ward Pittman. John Pittman had been born January 12, 1796, in Robeson County, North Carolina; Susanna's birth date was June 15, 1797. Family tradition, cited in Descendants of Captain Thomas Pittman Sr. by James Calvin (J.C.) Pittman, says that John left North Carolina about 1821 and settled in Marion County, Mississippi, in early 1823.

On November 20, 1848, Richard B. Pittman and Mary Ann Bullock, daughter of Richard and Louisa Magee Bullock, were married by J.H. Webb, a Justice of the Peace. Richard and Mary Ann became the parents of six children: John Calvin b. 1851; Daniel J., b. 1854; Mary Jane S., b. 1856; William R., b. 1858; Charles Tommie J., b. 1860; and George Marion, b. 1862. Descendants of this family, as well as a typed copy of the family Bible record, can be found in the family genealogy named above.

When the need for volunteers to defend the southern states became evident. Richard B. Pittman, along with seven brothers and a brother-in-law, joined the 7th Mississippi Infantry. Service records show that John Pittman enlisted on May 8, 1861, and other family members, including Richard B., enlisted on August 10, 1861. They were part of Company F, which was first stationed at Camp Clark in Hancock County near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Company F was originally known as "Marion's Men," and was enrolled in Confederate service at Columbus, Mississippi. From September 27, 1861, until early 1862, Richard and his company were stationed at Camp Clark near Bay St. Louis. In May and June 1862, the 7th Mississippi Infantry was in camp near Tupelo, Mississippi, but Richard Pittman had been sent to the general hospital on April 29, 1862, on a surgeon's certificate. Richard rejoined his regiment by the end of June and marched with them to the area of Knoxville, Tennessee, the site of their camp through October 31, 1862. In November and December, their camp site shifted to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where on the morning of December 28, the 7th Mississippi was ordered into battle. On December 31, 1862, in the first charge, 400 yards in front of breastworks, Richard B. Pittman was wounded slightly. A medical card shows that he was hospitalized in the 1st Mississippi CSA Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, for contusion of the hip from January 13-23, 1863.

By February 1863, Richard had rejoined his unit near Shelbyville, Tennessee, where they were on picket duty for the next several months. Health and living conditions of the troops were good during this period. In early July, the unit retreated from Shelbyville to the Chattanooga area in a forced march through mud and rain during early August, the unit moved further south near Bridgeport in Jackson County, Alabama.

On September 20, 1863, Richard B. Pittman was shot on the field of battle at Chickamauga. According to the Pittman genealogy, he was allegedly buried in the national cemetery near the site of the battle.