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Note: Place: Military: CSA, Co. A, 1st La. Cav.
_MIL: Date: 26 AUG 1861 Place: Co. A, 1st La. Cav. Reg., CSAThomas J. McMichael was born in Clio, Livingston Parish, Louisiana on May 31, 1839, to George McMichael, III and Eliza Louisiana Davidson. George McMichael, III was the descendant of
George McMichael, Sr. of Scotland. Thomas had a twin sister, Martha Jane that died in 1845. He also had an older sister, Mary Serena McMichael, born June 7, 1835 and she married William Joseph Sharp, I, in Livingston Parish.
At the age of 21, Thomas enlisted in Cajptain C.W. Keep's Grosse Tete Randers, Louisiana Militia. Shortly thereafter, Colonel John S. Scott was recruiting for a cavalry regiment and Capt. Keep offered the services of the Grosse Tete Rangers to
him. The company was accepted and designated Company A-Ed Moore Rangers, in honor of the business man that financed the company.
The company was mustered in at Camp Schlatre, in Plaquemine, Iberville Parish, on August 26, 1861 and began their training there. The company was mustered into Confederate service along with the other 9 companies and designated the 1st
Louisiana Regiment of Cavalry.
Co. A, Ed Moore Rangers were nicknamed the "Rattlers" due in part to the rattlesnake rattlers that each trooper had attached to their hats and jpartially due to the fact these men meant business when in a fight and this fact was proven over and
over throughout the war.
The 1st Louisiana Cavalry Regiment, sometimes known as Scott's Louisiana Cavalry Regiment, participated in over 125 battles, campaigns, and skirmishes during the War Between the States. Some of the more known ones are the Battle of Shiloh, 1st
and 2nd Invasions of Kentucky in 1862 and 1863, Battle of Frankfort, Ky, Murfreesboro, Chickemauga, Missionary Ridge, Battle of Perryville, Battle of Jackson, Ms. and many others.
Trooper McMichael was with the regiment throughout the war and during a skirmish near Louisville, Ky, in 1863, he was shot in the shoulder, just above the armpit. He refused to be treated at a hospital and remained in camp several weeks until
able to rejoin the regiment, the bullet never being removed.
Thomas was with the regiment when it went to Gainsville, Alabama to surrender but refused to do so. He and several other Troopers would not surrender and left for home as the regiment was being surrendered.
He never surrendered nor would he ever sign the Oath of Allegiance to the United States Government.
Thomas returned to his home in Livingston Parish and worked as a farmer and on February 12, 1878, married Sophia Redmond. They moved to Acadia Parish in 1890 and made their residence in Evangeline, La. In that same year, on June 14, 1890,
Sophia died in childbirth of their daughter, Nellie McMichael.
Of the six children born to Thomas and Sophia McMichael, only three lived beyond 3 years of age. Frederick McMichael, born 5-20-1880, Emma Alice McMichael, born 8-24-1882 (my grandmother), and Jonathan Redmond McMichael, born 2-23-1886.
After the lose of his wife, Thomas was left to raise 4 small children on his own. With a bullet still in his shoulder that would become infected and swell and cause great fever spells, he could hardly earn enough to feed and care for his
family. In 1893, Nellie McMichael, age 3, died. He did day labor and raised a small rice crop to support the three remaining children and himself.
In March, 1904, due to age and his wound, he applied for his Confederate Pension and was approved, only to die from complications from his bullet wound in 1907. (Pension Application No. 2682)
I still remember my Grandmother telling me how Thomas would suffer from his wound and how the right arm and side of his body would swell so large that it would appear that it was another person beside him in the bed.
Father: George MCMICHAEL III b: 13 MAY 1798 in South Carolina
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