I'm not sure "casualty" is the correct word as young Hurley died of disease. But because he was in the service of the Confederate Army at the time of his death, I consider him a casualty of war. A hideous war in which more men died from illness than did by battle. You may recall nearly 620,000 men/women perished during the War Between the States.
Caswell died March 8, 1862--just six months after enlisting with the 34th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, Company C, on September 9, 1861. Here's a copy from his military file downloaded from Fold3.com/
Caswell was the first of eight children of Daniel and Melissa (Gibson) Hurley of Montgomery County, North Carolina. Daniel had died in July of 1859, and missed seeing his first and his third sons go to war. Caswell didn't actually go far from home with his regiment, but trudged around nearby counties. Poor rations and miasma left many ill. I found a couple of paragraphs (below) describing his last couple of months. Due to critical health, several in their regiment were left at Williamston while the unit continued on towards Roanoke. It was in Williamston that Caswell died. Was he lying in a tent or shelter? Was this 18 year old exposed to the elements his last day in March?
"This regiment was organized at Camp Fisher, near High Point, where it was mustered into state service on October 25th, 1861, for twelve months' service. The regiment was ordered to Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, and was transferred to Confederate service on January 1st, 1862. On January 14th the regiment arrived at Goldsboro, where it went into camp while awaiting the distribution of arms. It's strength was reported as thirty seven officers and seven hundred and nine men present out of an aggregate of nine hundred and ten. Arms were issued on January 22nd. At about the same time, the regiment was reported, without further elaboration, to be 'becoming more and more unhealthy daily.'
On February 8th, 1862, a Federal amphibious force under General Ambrose E. Burnside captured Roanoke Island, and a Federal fleet began moving up the nearby coastal rivers. The 34th Regiment was ordered to Halifax, where it arrived on February 13th; it was then sent, in succession, to Jamesville, Weldon and Tarboro. On March 1st the Regiment moved to Hamilton under orders to prevent the enemy from ascending the Roanoke River."
I found an 1862 North Carolina map along with a charming photo of General Burnside's chops. Click to open the gallery:
Caswell's younger brother, George Freeman Hurley, served in this same regiment. He fared better, but spent time at one of the harshest Yankee prisons: Hart's Island--just off New York City, from April 7, 1865 to June 17, 1865. Records indicate he was fair complected, red headed, 5'7" with gray eyes. He swore an oath of allegiance to the United States on June 17, 1865 prior to his release. --NC Regiments, Walter Clark, Vol Z, p 589.
"On April 1, 1865, the regiment with the brigade, occupied a position on the right, south of Hatcher's Run. We learned soon after daylight that the Confederate lines between us and Petersburg had been broken. After this saddening news the regiment repulsed a force of Federal cavalry and then retreated to Southerland's Station, where a portion of Heth's and Wilcox's divisions hastily constructed breastworks from a rail fence behind which we repulsed two desperate assaults of the enemy, killing and wounding a large number and capturing a stand of colors and many prisoners. Discovering that we were vastly outnumbered we fell back to the Appomattox River. There was no way of crossing the river except in a small boat which was scarcely sufficient to carry the higher officers. The regiment marched all night and reached Amelia Court House the next day. At this time the ranking officer was LTC George Norment, of the 34th Rgt, from Mecklenbery County. Here we joined the main army and General Lee provided for us the much needed rations." T. C. Lattimore, Shelby, NC, April 9, 1901.
Meet Caswell Hurley's younger brother and my 2xGGrandfather, George Freeman Hurley, in a photo taken in 1902. Texas has a bit of a political biography on my populist red-headed ancestor:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhuae