Recommendation for Promotion to Colonel, CSA

What follows is a verbatim transcription of the original hand-written document from Col. Pressley's Official Records, a copy of which is in my possession.

"So Ca Regt. " stands for "South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment."

The preposition, "vice," which appears several times in this document, means "replacing." A brief biography of the people mentioned in the recommendation follows.

Text of the Recommendation:

Biographies (in alphabetical order):

• Crowder, John. A. (1834-1862)
  
  • Died, Battle of Murfreesboro. "Major Crowder...was conspicuous for [his] courage and coolness."—A. M. Manigault, A Carolinian Goes to War. Confederate Honor Roll for "conspicuous for courage and good conduct on the field of battle" at Murfreesboro. 31 December, 1862
    
    

• Manigault, A. M. (1824-1886)
  • James F. Pressley's immediate superior from Col. Pressley's entry into the war
  • Captain of the North Santee Mounted Rifles Militia, 1860
  • Leut. Col., volunteer Aid-de Camp to General Beauregard, Fort Sumpter, May, 1861
  • Organized the 10th SC Volunteers, elected Colonel, 31 May 1861
  • 10th SC Volunteers begin active service, 16 July 1861
  • Took command of the Brigade, early May, 1862
  • Promoted Brigadier General close to three months after the recommendation, 30 April 1863
  • Commanded Manigualt's Brigade until Franklin, TN, where he was wounded, 30 Nov. 64
  • Post-war: Planter, adjutant and inspector general for South Carolina
    
    

• Polk, Leonidas (1806-1864)
  
  • Graduated West Point, along with friend, Jefferson Davis, 1827
  • Entered Theological Seminary at Alexandria, VA, 1827.
  • Ordained a Deacon, Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia, 1830.
  • Made Bishop of Louisiana, 1841
  • Became a sugar planter, with many slaves inherited by his wife.
  • He helped found the University of the South, Sewanee, TN, 1857
  • Major General in the Confederate Army, 1861
  • Lieutenant General, 1862
  • Killed at Pine Ridge, Georgia, during the Atlanta campaign, 14 June 1864
  • Interred, Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans
    
    

• Porcher, Julius T. (1829-1863)
  
  • Graduated South Carolina College and appears to have earned an M. D. degree, but never put it into practice.
  • Became a successful planter.
  • Organized Company K, Eutaw Volunteers, of the 10th S. C. at the beginning of the war.
  • Commanded Company K, 10th S. C. under Col. Manigault, later Col. Pressley
  • Promoted through the ranks from Captain to Lt. Col.
  • Died, Battle of Missionary Ridge, Chatanooga Campaign, 25 November 1863
    "No one was more universally lamented and whose loss was a more serious one to the service than that of Lieutenant Colonel Julius Porcher, of the 10th S. C."—A. M. Manigault, A Carolinian Goes to War.
    
    

• Pressley, James Fowler (30 Aug 1835-13 Feb 1876)
  
  • S.C. Military Academy (The Citadel), 1852-1856.
  • Graduated Charleston Medical College (now Medical Univ. of SC), 1858
  • Married Emma Wilson, 15 April 1858.
  • Settled on the West side of Black Mingo Swamp, Williamsburg SC
  • Practiced medicine until early 1861.
  • Organized Company E, Black Mingo Rifle Guards, 10th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, 31 May 1861.
  • Elected Captain of Company E, 31 May 1861.
  • Commander, 10th & 19th Infantry Regiments, January, 1862 to April, 1864.
  • Acting Brigadier General, Battle of Chickamauga, 20 September, 1863, under Lieutenant-General James Longstreet.
  • Wounded, Battle of Atlanta during advance featured in the Atlanta Cyclorama, 22 July 1864.
  • Elected to South Carolina Legislature, 1864
  • Recommended for promotion to Brigadier General, 16 December 1864.
  • Commanded State Militia during Potter's Raid, saving Williamsburg County and slowing the advance toward Sumter and Camden, South Carolina, April, 1865.
  • Set up a medical practice in Cynthiana, Kentucky in partnership with Dr. A.J. Beale, his Surgeon in the 10th SC., around 1867.
  • Moved with his extended family to Suisun City, CA, by ship via the Isthmus of Panama, 1869.
  • Established a medical practice in Suisun City, 1870.
  • Moved to San Jose, CA, either 1874 or 1875.
  • Died, San Francisco, CA, 13 Feb 1876.
  • Buried, Fairfield Cemetery, Solano Co., CA
    
    

• White, James L.
  
  • Commanded Company H, 19th S. C. first under Col. Augustus J. Lythgoe, KIA, Murfreesboro, Tn., subsequently under Col. Pressley
    
  • Wounded at Battle of Atlanta
    
    

• Withers, Jones M. (1814-1890)
  
  • Graduated West Point, 1835
  • Lawyer, cotton dealer, merchant, politician
  • Fought in Creek Uprising and the Mexican War
  • Member, Alabama State Legislature
  • Mayor of Mobile, AL, 1855-1859
  • Col. 3rd Alabama Infantry, 1861
  • Brigadier General, Alabama Gulf Coast defences, July, 1861
  • Brigadier General, 2nd Division of Bragg’s Corps at Battle of Shiloh, April 1862
  • Major General, 2nd Division of Bragg’s Corps at Battle of Murfreesborough, 30 Dec 1862
  • Lost command due to ill health
  • Later, took command of Alabama state reserve forces
  • Mayor of Mobile, AL, 1865-1866