William Thomas Pitt, Company K

William Thomas Pitt was injured in friendly fire one evening when his unit set up camp for the night.  He eventually returned to duty but suffered from the gunshot wound to the ankle for the rest of his life. His brother Edward R. Pitt also served in Company K, 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry.

 

Invalid – 532, 379 / 926,536
Widow – 418, 977 / 439,090, Lillian A. Pitt

 

Declaration for Original Invalid Pension, William Thomas Pitt, 9 February 1884
“49 years old; height 5 feet 3 inches; complexion, light; hair, black; eyes, black … in the line of his duty at Gloucester County, in the state of Virginia, on or about the first day of February, 1864, he was wounded in the ankle with a ball fired by the enemy while he was on the march near Gloucester Point in the County of Gloucester, State of Virginia, for which he was treated at the Hospital at Fortress Monroe, Virginia by Dr. Manley.”

 

Original For A Board, Board of Surgeons, 8 April 1885
“his height is 5 feet and 10 inches; he weighs 144 pounds, and states that he is 48 years of age.”

 

Deposition, Virginius Jones, 12 January 1897
49 years old; residence and post-office address, rear of 40 Charles St., Lynn, Mass …. The only time I have any recollection of him being disabled in any way was when I shot him accidentally about his left ankle. That was in the early part of spring of 1864, about breaking up of the winter.

“We had been in Winter Qrs. at Hampton Va. and were ordered to Yorktown, Va., and from there we were taken in boats to Gloucester, Va. across the York River and marched to some distance and then back to a point under cover of our gunboats. It was after dark when we got to the place where we were to make any big fires, only small fires and to scrape away a hole to kindle our fires in to cook our suppers. Our horses had been looked after and I was kneeling down building my piece of a fire when Serg’t Pitt came along and said the orders of Capt. Whiteman was that any who had discharged any shots from their pistols were to recharge them, so as to have their chambers full in case of necessity. We had no carbines only pistols and sabre. When Serg’t Pitt told me of the order he moved off amongst the other men and I took my pistol out of the holster to put in two new charges as I had fired out two. I was leaning over close to the ground so as to get the light from my fire and just putting the last cap on when the hammer slipped as I was lowering it and the pistol went off and almost immediately Sergt. Pitt was brought back to where I was and he asked me why I had shot him. I explained to him that it was a pure accident and some of the men around me who saw the way the pistol went off, explained it to him and he went away to hospital fully satisfied that it was an accident… [the wound] on the inside of left leg about two inches or may be a little more above the ankle. The ball had gone through his leg but did not break any bone because he was standing on that leg and some blood was running from it. It had not been bandaged then…. I was not even arrested for it but was made Acting Orderly Serg’t after he was sent to hospital.

“Q. Who saw the shooting?
A. Alfred Jones, Willis Council and Steve Riddick had their fires near me and saw it. I don’t know where they are now. No. I don’t know whether Serg’t Edward Pitt was near or not.”

 

Declaration of Widow’s Application,
“widow of William T. Pitt … who died at Churchland, Va. on 29 Sept 1889 … was married under the name of Lillie Ann Elliott … on the day of Jany 1862 by Elder Jones at Sicamore [sic] Hill, Virginia … names and dates of births of all the children of the soldier now living and under age sixteen years of age as follows:

Martha S. Pitt, May 3th [sic], 1877         James A.G. Pitt, August 24, 1883

Belle F. Pitt,  September 2, 1879            Richard R. Pitt, November 1st,

W.T. Pitt, Jr., Oct 10th, 1881                   he born deformity, he is [illegible]

 

General Affidavit, Miles Conner, 11 October 1892
58 years old, residence of “the village of Churchland, County of Norfolk … knows her to be the widow of the said William T. Pitt and the mother of the children Martha S. Pitt, Belle F. Pitt, William T. Pitt and James A.G. Pitt, children under 16 years of age of the soldier William T. Pitt at the time of his death.
“He states that he is knowing to the above stated facts from having known the claimant since childhood: that he was present at the marriage ceremony and saw them joined in wedlock in the year 1862 and having lived near neighbor to her and been intimate with the family ever since. He further states that he was present at the funeral of William T. Pitt on the 30th day of September 1889.”

 

General Affidavit, Edward R. Pitt, 11 October 1892
50 years old, citizen of the village of Bowers Hill, County of Norfolk Co…. “that he is well and personally acquainted with the claimant Lillian A. Pitt who was the wife of the soldier William T. Pitt who died Sep 29, 1889 of disease caused by a gunshot wound rec’d while in the service and in the line of his duty: … that he is knowing to the facts above stated from having been acquainted with both the claimant and the soldier since childhood, and from having been present at their marriage as groomsman and having served with the soldier in the same co & regt … and having been present at the funeral of the soldier in September 1889.”

 

General Affidavit, Sarah Ann Conoway, 11 October 1892
64 years old, resident of No. 1 Green St., in the City of Norfolk . . . “that she knew both parties well … her knowledge is obtained from having lived in same family and knew both from youth and had every opportunity to see and know her real condition, still know widow, know she has not remarried, and is now single and is entirely dependent on her own labor for support.”

 

 Affidavit, Lillian A. Pitt, 25 July 1893
“She states that the dates of birth of her children giving [sic] in her Application  were giving [sic] from memory and they are incorrect and that the dates herein giving [sic] are taken from the family record and are correct, and that she further states that she cannot write and that she was compelled to have her affidavit written but it was written by her own dictation. The following names and birth and death of said children: Mary E. Pitt born Jany 8, 1864 and died in 3 months same year; Edward born Jany 16, 1866, still living; Chestene born Nov 20, 1868, still living; Frances born Jany 15, 1870; Nannie born Jany 20, 1871, still living; Richard born Nov 15, 1872; Martha born May 15, 1877 still living; Belle born Oct 20, 1879 & died Dec 19, 188[?]; Wm born Sept 18, 1886, still living; Lucy Jane born Aug 1, 1883, still living.

 

Affidavit, William Baines & Henry Johnson, 5 March 1894
55 years old and 51 years old, respectively; both residents of Churchland, Norfolk Co., Va. …. “they are near and intimate acquaintance of the said Lillian A. Pitt the widow William T. Pitt having known her all her life … that said claimant has no property whatever real or personal except a few household effects but nothing from which she derives an income. That she is entirely dependent upon her own labor for her support.”

 

Widow’s Claim for Pension, Lillian Pitt, 26 March 1896
“[S]he was married to said William T. Pitt on or about the Fall of 1862 at Hattens [sic] Point in the County of Norfolk and State of Virginia by Rev. Peter Jones … [her husband] died near Churchland, Norfolk Co. … on or about the 29th day of September, 1889 of the effects of a gunshot wound in his left ankle rec’d in the service of the U.S. and in the line of his duty … The following are the names, date of birth, and place of residence of all the children of her deceased husband who were under sixteen years of age at the time of his death: Martha S. Pitt, born May 1877; Belle F. Pitt born Oct 1879; William T. Pitt, born 1881; James A.G. Pitt born Augt 1883.”

 

Index to Special Examiner’s Report, Claim of Lillian Pitt, December 1896
[Note: The Special Examiner “graded” the deponent’s credibility – Leslie]

James R. Wright	Good
Louis H. Wilson	Good
Willis E. White	Good
Stephen Wright	Good
Joseph P. Elliott	Good
Edward R. Pitt	Good
Jacob Ashburn	Fair
Thomas Riddick	Good
Nelson Elliott	Not Good
Stephen Riddick	Fair
Henry Hopkins	Good
Peter Fentress	Good
Samuel B. Humphrey
James Norman
Wm Henry
Azariah Griffin

Declaration for Widow’s Pension, Lillian A. Pitt, 24 December 1896
56 years old, “a resident of Churchland, County of Norfolk, State of Virginia … [the soldier] who died 30 Sept 30, 1889 … that she was married under the name Lillian A. Elliott to said Wm T. Pitt … about Jany 1862 by Rev. Reuben Jones, at Norfolk Co., Va. …that she has not remarried … that all the children now living under sixteen years of age of the soldier are as follows:
Wm. Thos born Sept 18, 1880
Garfield born Aug 24, 1882

 

Deposition, Lillian A. Pitt, 18 June 1902
“I am 56 years of age; housekeeping … [my husband] died 12 or 13 years ago near this place of blood poisoning …
“My husband was a native of Nansemond Co. Va. and was a free man. He was the son of Benjamin Pitt. He never went under any name other than that of Wm T. Pitt….
“We had no regular marriage ceremony except as colored people had those days….
“My husband was a tall man – was of dark brown complexion – had black eyes and hair and always lived on a farm.
I know my husband was in the Army because I visited while he was there at Fortress Monroe in Newport News, Va., when I visited him he was wearing a blue uniform with yellow stripes on his arms and on side of his pants….
“After his discharge, he moved to Nansemond Co., I lived near Live Oak for 2 years and then moved here. I lived here till he died. Since his death I have lived right around here…
“Mr. Reed was local atty I paid him fifty cents for each paper he wrote for me. I paid my Wash. DC atty nothing.”

 

Approved Pension File for Lillian Pitt, Widow of First Sergeant William Thomas Pitt, Company K, 1st U.S. Colored Troops Cavalry Regiment (WC-439090), Summer 2018
Last summer I visited the National Archives’ Innovation Hub and scanned William Thomas Pitt’s pension file.

 

See also Compiled military service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served with the United States Colored Troops [microform]: 1st through 5th United States Colored Cavalry, 5th Massachusetts Cavalry (Colored), 6th United States Colored Cavalry (1997). Reel 0010 – 1st United States Colored Cavalry: Moss, James – Polk, James (online at  https://archive.org/details/compiledmili0010akesunit/mode/2up).
William Thomas Pitt’s Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR) can be viewed at n1690 – n1711.

Spotlight: William Thomas Pitt, Company K will be published February 14, 2022.