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- He served with the Confederate Army in Company H, 8th Regiment, 4th Cavalry.
1880 Federal Census of Precinct 13, Marion County, Florida
J.D. Bassett 34 M FL -- -- Other Farmer
M.C. 24 F FL -- -- Other Keeping House
W.T. 8 M FL -- -- Other At Home
H.C. 8 M FL -- -- Other At Home
A.C. 6 M FL -- -- Other At Home
M.S. 4 F FL -- -- Other At Home
L.A. 2 F FL -- -- Other At Home
W.L. 7/12 M FL -- -- Other At Home
Fort McCoy Cemetery, Marion County, Florida
Caro Bassett, 24 Aug 1882, 23 Nov 1884 "Dau of J.D. & M.C. Bassett
Jackson Devers Bassett, 1 Jan 1844, 7 Jul 1918
Mary Cornelia Bassett, 18 Feb 1853, 24 Aug 1883, "Wife of J.D. Bassett.
The Civil War Record of Andrew Jackson Devers Bassett
Written by him 11 Aug 1916 for his grandson Wirt Vincent
I was born in Hamilton County, Florida. January 1, 1844 and enlisted in Company H, 8th Regiment of the Florida Volunteers. For 3 months I was stationed at Columbus, Fla. in Suwannee County. My first soldier duty was to drill and do guard duty...guarding the railroad brdige across the Suwannee River.
I enlisted on April 12th, 1862 and before 3 months expired I enlisted for 3 years or the duration of the war. On August 4th, 1862 we was ordered to Richmond, Va, where we joined the 2nd and 5th Fla. Regiments. We fought in the 2nd Battle of Manassas on August 30th, 1862 where, as General Prior reported, the 5th and 8th Regiments, though never under fire before, exhibited the cool and collected courage of veterans, crossing the Potomac near Leesburg.
Early in September the Brigade, which consisted of the 2nd, 5th and 8th Florida, the 12th Virginia and the 14th Alabama, marched through Frederick City (Fredericksburg) over South Mountain into Plesant Valley and participated in the investment and capture of the Fderal forces at Harper's Ferry. We then hurried to the field of Sharpsburg, Md. Sept. 17th, where we shared the services of R.H. Anderson's Division in that Battle.
On our return to Va. at Fredericksburg, Dec. 11th, 1862, the 8th regiment, under the command of Capt. David Lang, went to the support of two Mississippi Regiments under Barkadale at the river where the Yanks were endevoring to lay their Bridges. In Gen. McClellen's report he says the H. and 8th Fla. acted gallantly and did good service. The Companys under Capt. Lang lost seven (7) killed and 24 wounded.
During the early part of the Chancellorsville Campagin, Gen. Perry was on duty near Fredericksburg. May 2nd, 1863 our Brigade, after an exhausting march and skirmishing, rejoined the Division to march to the Furnace at daylight on May 3rd. We took part in the fighting on May 3rd and 4th and Gen. Anderson in his report paid special tribute to Gen. Perry and his heroic little band of Floridians. This ended my service in the Army of Northern Va.
Old Joe Hooker was in command of the Yankee Army, Robert E. Lee commanded the Southern Army. We sure did give the Yankees a good thrashing at Chancellorsville and drove them back across the river. A few days after this Battle, I was taken sick with pneumonia at Hamilton's Crossing and was sent to Richmond, was unconscious for several days. I remainted in the Florida Hospital until the 1st of August, 1863, when I got a furlough to go home and a transfer to the 4th Georgia Cavalry, Company H. T.S. Wiley was Capt of Co. H. We were on detail duty for 10 months hunting deserters in South Georgia. We had a good time those ten months, plenty to eat, a horse to ride and not much fighting to do. During those ten months, we captured, and they came in and gave up, over 1000 men. We were then stationed at #7 to guard the RR Bridge across the Altamaha River. About Feb. 15th, 1864 the Yanks landed at Jacksonville, Fla. and our Regiment was ordered to meet them. We did meet them at Olustee where on the 20th of Feb. the Battle was fought. The Battle lasted only about 3 hours, was considered one of the hardest during the time it lasted. I was in very little of this Battle as my Regiment was sent on the left to get in the rear of the Yankees. Unfortunately, or fortunately, as I thought, we got into a big pond and it was so boggy we couldn't get across it and when we got back the Yanks were on the run. The Yanks had 1,660 killed, wounded and missing, we lost 946 killed, wounded and missing.
Soon after this Battle we were ordered to Dalton, Ga. and were assigned to Gen. Joe Wheeler's command. On the retreat from Dalton to Atlanta we had a rough time scouting and scrapping with the Yanks almost every day. At Atlanta we made a stand and did some hard fighting. The two Armies were camped about four miles apart and there was a large field of corn about halfway between the Armies and grub being scarce, both for ourselves and horses, we would go out after corn. Sometimes the Yanks would run us out and sometimes we would run them out. They came very near capturing me one time. We nearly lived on parched corn. For some time after about two months seige we had to retreat towards Savannah. We made several stands and fought the enemy at Jonesboro, Ga. We were dismounted and put in the ditches We had a very weak line and the Yankee Cavalry charged our breastworks with two lines of Battle and ran right over our works and captured and killed quite a number of our boys. I guess they would have got me this time but when they ran over our works I said to a comrade, Sam Fletcher, who was your Granpa Fletcher's brother to lie down in the ditch as though he was dead, so we did so and I suppose they thought we were really dead. In a very short time our reinforcements came to our assistance and drove the Yanks back and we got up and joined in the charge.
We had no more hard fighting to do on our retreat to Savannah. My Company was then sent back to No. 7 to guard the RR Bridge across the Altamaha River where we remained only a short time until the cruel war ended in May, 1865, and what few of were left bid our comrades goodbye, and with sad hearts went back to what homes that had not been destroyed by the Yankees.
A history of the Soldiers of Florida boys - the history of the 5th, 2nd and 8th Florida Regiments is so closely interwoven that the story of one is practically the story of them all. At Appomattox the 2nd Fla. Regiment surrendered 9 officers and 59 men; the 5th Fla. Regiment 6 officers and 47 men; the 8th Fla. Regiment 4 officers and 28 men. When they went into the war there was about 3000 men besides officers.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1844 - 1918 (74 years)