William Falconer Hart, 3rd Alabama Infantry

In previous entries on this family, I have described the stories of Derrill Wason Hart, his father Robert S. Hart and Derrill's uncles/Robert's brothers Benjamin R. Hart, and Derrill M. Hart  

Remarkably, three more Hart brothers enlisted to fight in the war and this entry, the shortest of the series, will tell one more of their tales.

The third oldest Hart sibling, William Falconer Hart, (his middle name was his mother's maiden name) was born October 5, 1835. On April 26, 1861, just two weeks after the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, 25 year-old William reacted like many other young southern men and chose to fight for the Confederacy, enlisting in Company G of the 3rd Alabama Infantry regiment. He was enrolled by Captain William G. Andrews for a 1-year term, but would not be able to serve that term, as he died in a hospital on July 10 or 11, 1861, before even the fighting at Bull Run occurred. (A family history site says July 10, but the muster roll in his file at fold3.com says July 11.) The muster roll says the hospital was St. Vincent of Paul, which likely means St. Vincent de Paul. Since the regiment was in Virginia by this time and probably already in Norfolk, this seems to refer to the hospital now known as Bon Secors DePaul Medical Center, founded in Norfolk in 1855 (incorporated 1856.)  

I have not found any cause of death. He had probably been in camp already. Perhaps being around a large group of men, possibly near unclean water, led to him contracting a common disease. That was an all-too-frequent occurrence, for too many men, during the war years but is just speculation.

His younger brother Edward joined the same company a few weeks before William's death, but survived the war. His story, and others on this family, will follow soon.

St. Vincent de Paul Hospital, courtesy loc.gov