WBTS veteran was one of Wilcox County, Alabama's 'best citizens'

Benjamin D. Portis

I was looking through some old editions of The Wilcox Progressive Era earlier the other day and ran across an interesting item about one of the county’s old Confederate veterans.

On the front page of the June 24, 1937 edition of the paper, under the headline “CONFEDERATE VETERAN PASSES,” the newspaper reported that “friends over the county will regret to learn of the death of Mr. Ben D. Portis of Lower Peach Tree. Mr. Portis was a Confederate veteran, one of our best citizens and was beloved by all who knew him.”

That week’s edition of The Monroe Journal had even more to say about the death of Portis. On their front page that week, under the headline “B.D. Portis, 94, Is Dead in Wilcox,” it was reported that “B.D. Portis, 94, a Confederate veteran, more than 50 years justice of the peace, died at his home at Lower Peach Tree last Wednesday after a short illness. Funeral services were held at the Portis graveyard.”

The Journal reported that he spent his entire life, except for four years during the war, in the Lower Peach Tree community and that he was one of Wilcox County’s best-known citizens. The Journal noted that Portis served in Co. C and Co. I of the 6^th Alabama Infantry during the war and that he was severely wounded a Boonsboro Gap. Portis eventually recovered from his wounds, rejoined his regiment and was present at Appomattox when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered in April 1865.

According to his tombstone, Portis was born on Feb. 22, 1843 and died on June 21, 1937. Sources say that there were 1,400 men in the 6^th Alabama when it was organized in Montgomery in May 1861. From there, the regiment traveled to Virginia and was assigned to the storied Army of Northern Virginia.

The regiment fought at Williamsburg, Cold Harbor, Seven Pines, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and other engagements. The regiment was hit hard at Seven Pines, losing 59-percent of the men involved in the fight. When the regiment surrendered in 1865, only 80 enlisted men and four officers were left in the unit.

The Battle of Boonsboro Gap, where Portis was wounded, is more popularly known as the Battle of South Mountain. That battle took place on Sept. 14, 1862 near Boonsboro, Maryland. That battle involved 28,000 Union soldiers under the command of George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside and William B. Franklin. On the other side were 18,000 Confederates under the command of General Lee and D.H. Hill.

The battle, which is considered a Union victory, resulted in heavy losses on each side. Union forces suffered 443 killed, 1,807 wounded and 75 missing. On the Confederate side, 325 were killed, 1,560 were wounded and 800 were declared missing.

In the end, Portis and his wife, Lucy, had at least eight children. Their last surviving child was Maria Portis Curtis, who died in 1963 and was buried at Lower Peach Tree. With that many children to their credit, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Portis has numerous descendants still living in and around Wilcox County today.