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Caleb Bouknight was
not in the Confederate army, so there is no biography in the National
Archives for him. Below is my biography. Entries in blue are references
and my additions
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Caleb M. Bouknight was born May
16, 1816 in South Carolina and died April 22, 1892. He was married
to Julia Ann Rebecca Meetze and they had at least 6 children. The
family lived in Columbia, S. C. at the 1860 census, where he is
shown to be a Railroad Agent and to have real property of $5,000 and
personal property of $6,000. The next lot in the census is the
Charlotte & South Carolina RR and within one block of him live 5
more railroad employees. The Charlotte & South Carolina RR and
receipts for government payments to the Railroad show him to have
been the Treasurer of the Railroad throughout the war -- despite his
Government position as Transportation Agent for at least a year.
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Bouknight was appointed
Transportation Agent at Columbia, S. C. in December, 1861 by Major
Ashe, Chief of Railroad Transportation. At the end of March, 1862,
he was paid by the Assistant Quartermaster General, in Richmond,
with the notation that he worked under Major Ashe. There is no
surviving voucher for his service from March 31 to June 10, at which
time he begins to be paid by the senior Quartermaster in Columbia,
Major Roland Rhett. The last surviving pay voucher runs through
November, 1862. The next known voucher for a Transportation Agent in
Columbia is for a different man, starting July 1, 1863.
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Bouknight had been with the
Charlotte & South Carolina RR from its inception (about 1850)
and remained with it, in various positions, as it changed form
several times, until at least 1880. He was Superintendent from 1867
to at least 1869, and when the Richmond & Danville RR bought out
the Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta RR, in 1878, he became the
Secretary of the new road. He was President of the Carolina National
Bank in the 1870's and 1880's. |
| August 15, 1861 |
Asked QM General how
to get paid for passengers without proper orders
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| December 16, 1861 |
Appointed
Transportation Agent at Columbia, S. C.
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| January 17, 1862 |
Wrote QM General
for instructions regarding transportation for troops and supplies
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| March 31, 1862 |
Paid, in Richmond,
for services to date
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| June 27, 1862 |
With Major Ashe's
resignation, was ordered to report to the QM General
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| June 30, 1862 |
Instructed to store
clothing at Augusta until a regiment has been located
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| July 31, 1862 |
Paid in Columbia for
service from June 10 through July 31, 1862
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| August 31, 1862 |
Paid for August
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| October 14, 1862 |
Noted as Treasurer
of the Charlotte & South Carolina RR. There are numerous newspaper
advertisements and articles that indicate he held this position
through 1862 - 1865.
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| November 11, 1862 |
Quartermaster
General ordered Major Rhett, in Columbia, to pay a claim for
reimbursement submitted by Bouknight
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| November 30, 1862 |
Paid for September
through November, 1862
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| December 5, 1862 |
Repaired barrels
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| January 21, 1863 |
Reported on traffic
backup in Columbia
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| January 27, 1863 |
Reported receiving
letter dispensing with his services as Transportation Agent
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| February 13, 1863 |
Expenses paid
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| November 5, 1863 |
Received payment in
Charlotte on Charlotte & South Carolina RR bills, as Treasurer of
the RR, from Maj. R. D. Echols QM (about 10 months of bills) |
| May 26, 1864 |
Certified December,
1862 bill
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| February 22, 1865 |
Was
working for the Charlotte & South Carolina RR in Charlotte to
prepare for the refugees from Columbia, S. C.
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| March 13, 1867 |
Promoted to
Superintendent of Charlotte & South Carolina RR
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| April 18, 1869 |
Was mentioned in a
story in the Fairfield Herald, Winnsboro, SC as the Superintendent
of the Columbia & Augusta RR. Described as "genial and energetic,"
"urbane to the last degree," "a thorough business man." |
| March, 1871 |
Had his buggy,
livestock and household furniture sold at Sherriff's Auction to pay
the three winners in a lawsuit against him. |
| April 7, 1875 |
With 4 other
Columbia, S. C. citizens formed a partnership (Jones, Davis &
Bouknight) to sell retail gods. Contributed $2,000 cash to the
partnership. |
| August 19, 1880 |
Contracted to get
the US military to return the South Carolina Military Academy to the
State.
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| November 12, 1881 |
Transferred his
contract to recover the SC Military Academy to another party |
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