Little Powell Erskine was the son of Andrew Nelson and Ann Theresa Erskine. Sadly, the toddler drowned in the Guadalupe River in early 1862. Several months later, his grandfather, Michael Erskine, was robbed and murdered by highwaymen in Louisiana while returning to Texas from a cattle drive to New Orleans. The tale of tragedy continues, as Powell's father, Andrew, joined Company D, 4th Texas Infantry, Hood's Texas Brigade, in April 1862. Within months, he'd fought in some of the fiercest battles of Robert E. Lee's first summer as commanding general of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. For Andrew, that summer ended with the single bloodiest day in American history: September 17, 1862. At the battle of Antietam, Maryland, Andrew was shot through the temples, killed instantly. Thus, for Powell's mother, Ann, the year 1862 began with the loss of her youngest child and her father-in-law and then closed with the loss of her husband.
Information thanks to Phillip M. Sozansky, Independent scholar and 8th-Grade American History Instructor
Little Powell Erskine was the son of Andrew Nelson and Ann Theresa Erskine. Sadly, the toddler drowned in the Guadalupe River in early 1862. Several months later, his grandfather, Michael Erskine, was robbed and murdered by highwaymen in Louisiana while returning to Texas from a cattle drive to New Orleans. The tale of tragedy continues, as Powell's father, Andrew, joined Company D, 4th Texas Infantry, Hood's Texas Brigade, in April 1862. Within months, he'd fought in some of the fiercest battles of Robert E. Lee's first summer as commanding general of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. For Andrew, that summer ended with the single bloodiest day in American history: September 17, 1862. At the battle of Antietam, Maryland, Andrew was shot through the temples, killed instantly. Thus, for Powell's mother, Ann, the year 1862 began with the loss of her youngest child and her father-in-law and then closed with the loss of her husband.
Information thanks to Phillip M. Sozansky, Independent scholar and 8th-Grade American History Instructor
Family Members
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
