Abram Fulkerson
Encyclopedia
Abram Fulkerson was a Confederate officer during the American Civil War
, and a Virginia
lawyer and politician
. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates
, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives.
, to Abram Fulkerson, Sr. (b. April 3, 1789 in Lee County, Virginia
, bpt. 21 Apr 1791) and Margaret Laughlin Vance (1796–1864). His father, Abram, Sr., was a captain and commanded a company of Virginia Militia in Colonel David Sanders Regiment, 4th Brigade, Norfolk Division of Gen. Peter B. Porter, during the War of 1812. His grandfather, James Fulkerson, who had been a Captain in the Virginia Militia, joined with the Overmountain Men and fought the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain
during the American Revolution
.
Abram, Jr. graduated from the Virginia Military Institute
at Lexington in 1857, where he was a student of Prof. Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson
. According to his records at VMI, he had a reputation for being a prankster and wore an "outlandish collar" on his cadet uniform: the collar being the only part of the uniform not covered under regulations. After graduation, he taught school in Palmyra, Virginia
, and Rogersville, Tennessee
, until the beginning of the American Civil War
.
that was mustered into the 19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment
as Company K (The Hawkins Boys) at Knoxville. His was the first company of volunteers organized in East Tennessee. He was elected as Major of the 19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He was wounded in the thigh and his horse was shot from under him at the Battle of Shiloh
and was reassigned in the resulting reorganization to the 63rd Tennessee Infantry after recovering from his injury. He was elected as Lieutenant Colonel of the 63rd, and was later promoted to full colonel by President Jefferson Davis
on February 12, 1864.
In 1862, he was granted a furlough and went to Clarksville, Tennessee
and married his fiance, Selina Johnson. They were barely married in time to escape the Union Army's advance on Clarksville.
Fulkerson was garrisoned at Cumberland Gap twice: first with the 19th Tennessee and again with the 63rd Tennessee. On May 18, 1863, while at Cumberland Gap, he penned a letter to his wife in which he noted that he was visited there by President Jefferson Davis
:
In the same letter, he addressed the news of General Stonewall Jackson's death:
and again at the Second Battle of Petersburg, Virginia
(Battle of Petersburg II
), the regiment having been reassigned from the Army of Tennessee
to the Army of Northern Virginia
, where he was taken prisoner on June 17, 1864 and sent to the POW camp at Fort Delaware
.
On April 18, 1892, Fulkerson wrote an account of his capture and experiences as a prisoner. He related the events of his capture:
While a POW, Fulkerson was included in a group that became known as the Immortal Six Hundred
, which consisted of 600 captured Confederate officers who were taken to Morris Island
at Charleston, South Carolina and used as human shields by the Union Army for six weeks in an attempt to silence the Confederate gunners at Fort Sumter, in response to Union officer prisoners being placed among civilians to stop Union gunners from firing into downtown Charleston
. Though none of the Immortal Six Hundred were killed by the continuing Confederate artillery fire from Fort Sumter, 14 of the Confederate officers died as a result of dysentery and unsanitary conditions.
Of his time on Morris Island he wrote in the same 1892 account:
After Morris Island, he was taken to Fort Pulaski and placed on starvation rations in retaliation for alleged prisoner abuses at Andersonville. There they were crowded into the fort’s cold, damp casemates. For 42 days, a "retaliation ration" of 10 ounces of moldy cornmeal and half a pint of soured onion pickles was the only food issued to the prisoners. The starving men were reduced to supplementing their rations with the occasional rat or stray cat. Thirteen men died there of preventable diseases such as dysentery and scurvy.
At Fort Pulaski, the prisoners organized "The Relief Association of Fort Pulaski for Aid and Relief of the Sick and Less Fortunate Prisoners" on December 13, 1864 and Fulkerson was elected president. Out of their sparse funds, the prisoners collected and expended eleven dollars, according to a report filed by Fulkerson on December 28, 1864.
He was later transferred back to Fort Delaware in March 1865 where he was held until he was discharged and paroled on July 25, 1865, more than three months after General Robert E. Lee
's surrender at Appomattox
.
While at Fort Delaware
, it was recorded that Fulkerson was a very thin man with auburn hair and could float "like a cork". The prisoners were taken out to the badly polluted river every day and were allowed to bathe and swim. Fulkerson would lie on his back and float out with the current for ten or fifteen minutes until the guards would grow nervous, fearing that he was attempting to escape and would order him to return to the shore.
After he came home from Camp Delaware, his horse that he rode during his military service, whose name was Zollicoffer, but Fulkerson called him Old Bob, was returned to him. He kept the horse for the rest of its life. Upon Old Bob's death, the former Confederates from the Bristol area assembled and conducted a military funeral for the horse.
In 1885, Stonewall Jackson's horse, named Little Sorrel, was brought to Bristol on a tour and a number of former veterans assembled to pay respects to the horse. A photo of Fulkerson leading Little Sorrel through Bristol does exist.
Two of Fulkerson's brothers also saw service in the Confederate Army: Samuel Vance Fulkerson (1822–1862), who had been a lawyer and Circuit Court judge prior to the war, was the colonel of the 37th Virginia Infantry
and was killed at the Battle of Gaines' Mill
during the Seven Days Battles
, and Isaac Fulkerson (c. 1829-July 20, 1889) was a captain in the 8th Texas Cavalry (Terry's Texas Rangers).
, in 1866 with the firm of York & Fulkerson. As a lawyer, he was regarded as a legal giant in Bristol and it is said that he was such a gifted orator that many of the local citizens would go to court and sit in on trials just to hear him speak.
Fulkerson was elected as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates
, serving from 1871 to 1873. Next he served in the State senate of Virginia 1877-1879. He was elected as a Readjuster Democrat from Virginia's 9th U.S. Congressional District to the Forty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1883). Fulkerson was a Democrat, but assisted in organizing the Readjuster Party
, after which he returned to the Democratic Party.
Fulkerson resumed the practice of law after leaving Congress. He was again elected to the State House of Delegates in 1888. He was a delegate to the Democratic National (Gold) Convention in 1896.
, on December 17, 1902 at the age of 68, after suffering the effects of a stroke and was buried there in East Hill Cemetery. Henry Clinton Wood who served as the Major of the 37th Virginia Infantry (CS) under Fulkerson's brother Samuel Vance, and for whom the town of Clintwood, Virginia
was named, served as an honorary pallbearer
in the funeral.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans
Abram Fulkerson Camp 2104 in Greeley, Colorado
bears his name.
Fulkerson is portrayed at Civil War reenactments by his descendent third cousin, Joe Adkins. Adkins is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and is the current Commander of the Gen. Alfred E. Jackson Camp 2159 in Jonesborough, Tennessee
.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, and a Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
lawyer and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives.
Family and Early Life
Fulkerson was born on May 13, 1834 in Washington County, VirginiaWashington County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 51,103 people, 21,056 households, and 14,949 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 22,985 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...
, to Abram Fulkerson, Sr. (b. April 3, 1789 in Lee County, Virginia
Lee County, Virginia
According to the census 2009 estimates, there were 25001 people, 11,587 households, and 6,852 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,587 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, bpt. 21 Apr 1791) and Margaret Laughlin Vance (1796–1864). His father, Abram, Sr., was a captain and commanded a company of Virginia Militia in Colonel David Sanders Regiment, 4th Brigade, Norfolk Division of Gen. Peter B. Porter, during the War of 1812. His grandfather, James Fulkerson, who had been a Captain in the Virginia Militia, joined with the Overmountain Men and fought the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain
Battle of Kings Mountain
The Battle of Kings Mountain was a decisive battle between the Patriot and Loyalist militias in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War...
during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Abram, Jr. graduated from the Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
at Lexington in 1857, where he was a student of Prof. Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
. According to his records at VMI, he had a reputation for being a prankster and wore an "outlandish collar" on his cadet uniform: the collar being the only part of the uniform not covered under regulations. After graduation, he taught school in Palmyra, Virginia
Palmyra, Virginia
Palmyra is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 104. Palmyra lies on the eastern bank of the Rivanna River along U.S. Route 15...
, and Rogersville, Tennessee
Rogersville, Tennessee
Rogersville is a town in Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. It was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett and is the second-oldest town in the state. It is named for its founder, Joseph Rogers....
, until the beginning of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Military Service in the Civil War
Fulkerson entered Confederate military service in June 1861 as a Captain, having organized a company of men from Hawkins County, TennesseeHawkins County, Tennessee
Hawkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 56,833. Its county seat is Rogersville, Tennessee's second-oldest town....
that was mustered into the 19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment
19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment
The 19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, or Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment, was an infantry regiment in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The 19th Tennessee fought in every major battle and campaign of the Army of Tennessee except the Battle of Perryville....
as Company K (The Hawkins Boys) at Knoxville. His was the first company of volunteers organized in East Tennessee. He was elected as Major of the 19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He was wounded in the thigh and his horse was shot from under him at the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
and was reassigned in the resulting reorganization to the 63rd Tennessee Infantry after recovering from his injury. He was elected as Lieutenant Colonel of the 63rd, and was later promoted to full colonel by President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
on February 12, 1864.
In 1862, he was granted a furlough and went to Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
and married his fiance, Selina Johnson. They were barely married in time to escape the Union Army's advance on Clarksville.
Fulkerson was garrisoned at Cumberland Gap twice: first with the 19th Tennessee and again with the 63rd Tennessee. On May 18, 1863, while at Cumberland Gap, he penned a letter to his wife in which he noted that he was visited there by President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
:
"One of our pickets came in the other day and reported that a Mr. Davis was at the lines and desired to enter. This report took me very much by surprise, for although you had mentioned the probability of his coming yet I did not look for him. He only stayed a few hours. After dinner (a very poor one without apology to him) I went [around] to show him some of the curiosities of Cumberland Gap, which he seemed to think would compensate any one for making the visit. He went back up the valley and expected to get home by Wednesday next."
In the same letter, he addressed the news of General Stonewall Jackson's death:
"The intelligence of the death of Gen. Jackson came upon us like a shock. We feel that his death is a national calamity. The poorest soldiers among us appreciated his worth - loved the man, and mourn his loss. I knew him well.1 He was my preceptor for more than four years and whilst during that time I did not appreciate the man, as school [schoolboys?]are not like to do, yet I always had great reverence for the man on account of his piety & uprightness of character. Among the many heroes of this revolution, none have lived so much adored, none have died so much deplored, and none have left a character as spotless as that of Stonewall Jackson. Could his life have been spared till the close of this cruel war, the unanimous voice of a grateful people would have proclaimed him chief ruler of the nation. But God has seen proper to take him from us, and what He does is right and for the best. It is [illegible] therefore that we make the sacrifice cheerfully, th'o we cannot see why our country should be deprived of his services at his her hour of greatest need."
Capture and the Immortal Six Hundred
While in the 63rd, he was wounded twice more: in the left arm at the Battle of ChickamaugaBattle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
and again at the Second Battle of Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
(Battle of Petersburg II
Battle of Petersburg II
The Second Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Assault on Petersburg, was fought June 15–18, 1864, at the beginning of the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign . Union forces under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant attempted to capture Petersburg, Virginia, before Gen. Robert E...
), the regiment having been reassigned from the Army of Tennessee
Army of Tennessee
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...
to the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
, where he was taken prisoner on June 17, 1864 and sent to the POW camp at Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility, designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten, and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts, and...
.
On April 18, 1892, Fulkerson wrote an account of his capture and experiences as a prisoner. He related the events of his capture:
"About daylight, on the morning of the 17th, the troops in our front, having been largely reinforced during the night, made charge in three lines on our position, overlapping us on the right, and carrying our works by storm. A large portion of Johnson's Brigade was captured, including myself and about half of my regiment."
"The prisoners, in charge of an officer and detail of men, were quickly marched through the Federal lines to General Burnside's headquarters, located in a field about half a mile to the rear. The General had dismounted, and was seated on a camp-stool, and was surrounded by a line of negro guards."
"The prisoners were halted at the line of guards, and the officer in charge announced to the General that they had captured the colonel of a regiment, many officers and men, three flags, and several pieces of artillery. Rising from his seat, General Burnside approached us, and, addressing me, enquired what regiment I commanded, and being informed that it was a Tennessee regiment, he asked from what part of the State."
"From East Tennessee, I replied. With an expression of astonishment, General Burnside said:"
"It is very strange that you should be fighting us when three-fourths of the people of East Tennessee are on our side." Feeling the rebuke unjust and unbecoming an officer of his rank and position, I replied, with as much spirit as I dared manifest, "Well, General, we have the satisfaction of knowing that if three-fourths of our people are on your side, that the respectable people are on our side. At this the General flew into a rage of passion, and railed at me,"
"You are a liar, you are a liar, sir, and you know it." I replied, "General, I am a prisoner, and you have the power to abuse me as you please, but as to respectability that is a matter of opinion. We regard no man respectable who deserts his country and takes up arms against his own people." To this General Burnside replied, "I have been in East Tennessee, I was at Knoxville, I know these people, and when you say that such men as Andrew Johnson, Brownlow, Baxter, Temple, Netherland, and others, are not respectable, you lie, sir, and you will have to answer for it." At this point I expected he would order me shot by his negro guards, but he continued, "not to any human power, but to a higher power." With a feeling of relief I answered, "O, General, I am ready to take that responsibility."
"Take him on, take him on," the General shouted to our guards, and thence we were marched some two or three miles towards City Point, to the headquarters of General Patrick, the Provost-Marshall General of Grant's army, where we were guarded during the day in a field, without shelter, and under a burning sun. In other respects we were treated with the consideration due prisoners of war by General Patrick, whom we found to be a gentleman."
While a POW, Fulkerson was included in a group that became known as the Immortal Six Hundred
Immortal Six Hundred
In 1864, the Confederate Army imprisoned 50 Union Army officers as human shields against federal artillery in the city of Charleston in an attempt to stop Union artillery from firing upon civilians in the city. In retaliation, United States Secretary of War Edwin M...
, which consisted of 600 captured Confederate officers who were taken to Morris Island
Morris Island
Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War.-History:...
at Charleston, South Carolina and used as human shields by the Union Army for six weeks in an attempt to silence the Confederate gunners at Fort Sumter, in response to Union officer prisoners being placed among civilians to stop Union gunners from firing into downtown Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. Though none of the Immortal Six Hundred were killed by the continuing Confederate artillery fire from Fort Sumter, 14 of the Confederate officers died as a result of dysentery and unsanitary conditions.
Of his time on Morris Island he wrote in the same 1892 account:
"After marching into the pen and being assigned to our tents, we were called out and formed into line, and the rules prescribed for the government of the prisoners were read to us by Colonel Molyneaux, the officer in command. One rule provided that any prisoner who sentinels on the platform above. On account of this rule the prisoners rarely approached nearer than five or six feet of the "Dead Line," and this space between the line and the stockade materially diminished the small area available for our use. Another rule provided that if more than ten prisoners assembled together, the sentinel should order them to disperse, and if the order was not instantly obeyed, he should fire into the crowd. In our crowded condition it was almost impossible to comply with this rule, and we were kept in constant fear of being shot by the negro sentinels, and the command, "'sparse dat crowd," became quite common. On one occasion, I remember, a sentinel bellowed out "'sparse dat crowd damn you, the bullet in de bottom of my gun is just meltin' to get into you now." Another rule was that if a light was struck in any tent after taps, the sentinel was to fire into the tent without notice. The blankets furnished the prisoners at Fort Delaware were taken away from them before they left the Crescent, and returned to the quartermaster at the fort, the officer stating to us that other blankets would be furnished us on the island.
"This promise was not complied with. The prisoners who had private blankets were permitted to keep them, and these were hardly sufficient to cover the sand in the tents, for which purpose it was necessary to use them, and on these we slept without covering. There was however, no suffering on this account, as the weather was warm. The rations issued us on the island were insufficient in quantity, but in quality fairly good, consisting generally of hard-tack and salt beef or pork, with coffee once a day, soup occasionally, but no vegetables.
"The first effort of the Federals to draw the fire of the Confederate guns upon us was made about sunrise on the morning after our arrival. To that end every battery on the island and the guns on the monitors were, at a given signal, opened upon the Confederate forts, to which the Confederate batteries promptly replied, and a regular artillery duel ensued, lasting for an hour or more. Forts Johnson, Beauregard, Moultrie, and a battery on james Island participated. Shells from the Confederate batteries were thrown with great precision into Fort Wagner, passing immediately over our pen, and others exploded to our left and front so uncomfortably close to the pen that we, at first, thought our friends were not upon the island. This storm of shot and shell created some consternation upon the prisoners, and at first caused something like a panic, but we soon became satisfied that the Confederates knew what they were doing, and that there was no real danger. The negro sentinels on top of the stockades were greatly frightened as the Confederate shells thrown into Fort Wagner, and shells from the guns in that fort passed immediately over them. The Confederates seemed to have the exact range of every point on the island within the reach of their guns.
"We were kept on the island about six weeks, and these artillery duels occurred frequently during our stay, but the Confederates fired with such precision that not a single shot or shell fell within our stockade, and but one shell exploded immediately over us, and whilst several pieces fell in the pen, no one was injured. If the purpose of the Federal authorities in placing these prisoners on the island was to have them shot by their own people, six weeks must have convinced them that the experiment was a failure. However this may be, at the end of that time we were is situated on an island in the mouth of the Savannah river. This fort was of brick and built upon piles. We were confined in a portion of the casemates of the fort; the other casemates were used as quarters for the garrison."
After Morris Island, he was taken to Fort Pulaski and placed on starvation rations in retaliation for alleged prisoner abuses at Andersonville. There they were crowded into the fort’s cold, damp casemates. For 42 days, a "retaliation ration" of 10 ounces of moldy cornmeal and half a pint of soured onion pickles was the only food issued to the prisoners. The starving men were reduced to supplementing their rations with the occasional rat or stray cat. Thirteen men died there of preventable diseases such as dysentery and scurvy.
At Fort Pulaski, the prisoners organized "The Relief Association of Fort Pulaski for Aid and Relief of the Sick and Less Fortunate Prisoners" on December 13, 1864 and Fulkerson was elected president. Out of their sparse funds, the prisoners collected and expended eleven dollars, according to a report filed by Fulkerson on December 28, 1864.
He was later transferred back to Fort Delaware in March 1865 where he was held until he was discharged and paroled on July 25, 1865, more than three months after General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's surrender at Appomattox
Appomattox
Appomattox may refer to:*Appomattox, Virginia, a town*Appomattox County, Virginia* Appomattox Basin, a name for the Tri-Cities, Virginia region*Appomattox Court House, a court house in Virginia...
.
While at Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility, designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten, and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts, and...
, it was recorded that Fulkerson was a very thin man with auburn hair and could float "like a cork". The prisoners were taken out to the badly polluted river every day and were allowed to bathe and swim. Fulkerson would lie on his back and float out with the current for ten or fifteen minutes until the guards would grow nervous, fearing that he was attempting to escape and would order him to return to the shore.
After he came home from Camp Delaware, his horse that he rode during his military service, whose name was Zollicoffer, but Fulkerson called him Old Bob, was returned to him. He kept the horse for the rest of its life. Upon Old Bob's death, the former Confederates from the Bristol area assembled and conducted a military funeral for the horse.
In 1885, Stonewall Jackson's horse, named Little Sorrel, was brought to Bristol on a tour and a number of former veterans assembled to pay respects to the horse. A photo of Fulkerson leading Little Sorrel through Bristol does exist.
Two of Fulkerson's brothers also saw service in the Confederate Army: Samuel Vance Fulkerson (1822–1862), who had been a lawyer and Circuit Court judge prior to the war, was the colonel of the 37th Virginia Infantry
37th Virginia Infantry
The 37th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia....
and was killed at the Battle of Gaines' Mill
Battle of Gaines' Mill
The Battle of Gaines's Mill, sometimes known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War...
during the Seven Days Battles
Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...
, and Isaac Fulkerson (c. 1829-July 20, 1889) was a captain in the 8th Texas Cavalry (Terry's Texas Rangers).
Legal and Political career
At the close of the war he studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Goodson, later known as Bristol, VirginiaBristol, Virginia
Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....
, in 1866 with the firm of York & Fulkerson. As a lawyer, he was regarded as a legal giant in Bristol and it is said that he was such a gifted orator that many of the local citizens would go to court and sit in on trials just to hear him speak.
Fulkerson was elected as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
, serving from 1871 to 1873. Next he served in the State senate of Virginia 1877-1879. He was elected as a Readjuster Democrat from Virginia's 9th U.S. Congressional District to the Forty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1883). Fulkerson was a Democrat, but assisted in organizing the Readjuster Party
Readjuster Party
The Readjuster Party was a political coalition formed in Virginia in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the American Civil War. Readjusters aspired "to break the power of wealth and established privilege" and to promote public education, a program which attracted biracial support....
, after which he returned to the Democratic Party.
Fulkerson resumed the practice of law after leaving Congress. He was again elected to the State House of Delegates in 1888. He was a delegate to the Democratic National (Gold) Convention in 1896.
Death and legacy
Fulkerson died in Bristol, VirginiaBristol, Virginia
Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....
, on December 17, 1902 at the age of 68, after suffering the effects of a stroke and was buried there in East Hill Cemetery. Henry Clinton Wood who served as the Major of the 37th Virginia Infantry (CS) under Fulkerson's brother Samuel Vance, and for whom the town of Clintwood, Virginia
Clintwood, Virginia
Clintwood is a town in Dickenson County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,549 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dickenson County....
was named, served as an honorary pallbearer
Pallbearer
A pall-bearer is one of several funeral participants who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious or memorial service or viewing either directly to a cemetery or mausoleum, or to and from the hearse which carries the coffin....
in the funeral.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans is an American national heritage organization with members in all fifty states and in almost a dozen countries in Europe, Australia and South America...
Abram Fulkerson Camp 2104 in Greeley, Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
The City of Greeley is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Weld County, Colorado, United States. Greeley is located in the region known as Northern Colorado. Greeley is situated north-northeast of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. According to the...
bears his name.
Fulkerson is portrayed at Civil War reenactments by his descendent third cousin, Joe Adkins. Adkins is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and is the current Commander of the Gen. Alfred E. Jackson Camp 2159 in Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The population was 4,168 at the 2000 census...
.