Camp Watts

Zack Sprayberry
zspr@earthlink.net
January 15, 2000

Camp Watts was a Confederate cemetery, a camp of conscription, a camp of instruction, a supply depot, and the site of a hospital during the War for Southern Independence. The Camp Watts Cemetery is located about a mile and a half south of Notasulga, Alabama, on the west side of Macon County Road Number 52 on property now owned by Arnold Umbach.

Today, there are only two marked graves left at the site. One grave bears the marker of "Col. George Weedon Arnold, 50th Ala. Inf., CSA, Aug. 12, 1840, to Aug. 6, 1864." The original marker for the Arnold grave was broken and leans against a tree. The marker that replaced the original is set at the end of Col. Arnold's grave.

A newer monument marks another grave beside Arnold's. The newer marker was set in memory of Simon W. Bingham, a private in the 31st Mississippi Regiment, who died June 22, 1864, at age 22. Private Bingham's marker was placed on an unknown grave in 1997 by Mr. Ed Bingham of Carthage, Mississippi.

Camp Watts was added to the Alabama Registry of Military Heritage at the Alabama War Memorial in Montgomery on May 1, 1979. The Alabama Gas Corporations's publication, Gas Lines, reported that "Camp Watts Cemetery had quite a few graves in view in 1952." But over the years most of the graves have been obliterated.

At one time Camp Watts had temporary buildings for 2000 to 3000 men. In the book, Prestons 33rd Alabama, by L.B. "Tex" Williams, " the ten companies of the 33rd Alabama assembled together as a unit for the first time at Camp Watts ... In April or May of 1862. There the regiment drew "wall tents with a fly for each, also issued were a two-mule covered ambulance wagon with team, other two-mule teams, and white canvas covered wagons to carry our tents, cooking utensils, axes, picks, spades, and other such things. Here, recruits drew clothing, shoes, and gray hats." This information was according to the diary of William Preston.

When General Lovell H. Rousseau came through Alabama in 1864 with 2300 hand-picked troops armed with Spencer Rifles, on his raid to destroy the Montgomery and West Point Railroad, he ran into resistance by Lockhart's Battalion, a group of 500 young Confederates, at Chehaw Station, and a battle was fought at that site. Rousseau then turned back toward Notasulga. He spared the hospital at Camp Watts but he did burn the rest of the camp. Several of the Union wounded were reported to be left at Camp Watts Hospital by Rousseau. Several members of Lockhart's Battalion are buried at Camp Watts and probably some of Rousseau's raiders are buried there also.

There are quite a bit of records concerning Camp Watts in the http:/www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00042/cah-00042.html Samuel Hollingsworth Stout Papers at the University of Texas Library. These records have never been thoroughly searched because of their magnitude and the lack of an index. Camp Watts has been written about over the years by Peter Brannon, Alexander Nunn, and Martha Swann.

There have been stories about Camp Watts handed down by the old railroad men who were familiar with that area's history which tell about the railroad bringing lots of stones from Saugahatchee Creek to Camp Watts to use as grave markers. There are also stories of the railroad bringing trainloads of wounded men to Camp Watts from the Battle of Atlanta. Mr. Leon Hammond of Notasulga related these stories to me. He also took me to Chehaw and showed me the old historic places that he was so familiar with there such as Beasley's Tank, Beasley's gin, and earthworks.

Mr. Bill McLain of Notasulga, who farmed the Camp Watts property for many years, told me that the whole pasture was covered with stone markers long ago.

I believe that there are hundreds of graves at Camp Watts. I hope that some day we will find out more about the Camp Watts Cemetery and have a monument at that site to honor all the unknown soldiers buried there.

 

	Old tombstone of George W. Arnold at Camp Watts
	Old tombstone of George W. Arnold Newer tombstone of George W. Arnold New tombstone of Simon W. Bingham placed there by Mr. and Mrs. Bingham, their grandson and I.
	Close up of newer tombstone of George Arnold.
	Close up of newer tombstone of Simon Bingham.
	Close up and sharpened photo of George W. Arnold's original Grave.