Description
John Smith Cleveland was born on January 7, 1826 in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama. He was the son of Carter Harrison Cleveland and Mary Smith Cleveland. He graduated law school in Nashville, Tennessee. He married Mary Elizabeth Tipton. They had seven children: Julia, Margaret Ann, John Carter, William, Lula and a set of twins who died. By 1852 he was living in Polk County, Texas, now San Jacinto County, Camilla Texas. He was a large landowner and slaveholder, lawyer, politician, and school teacher. He served in the Texas legislature in 1857-1858. He died on March 4, 1874 at Coldspring, San Jacinto County, Texas.
Cleveland joined Texas state service and was elected Captain of Co. H, 5th Texas Infantry on July 15, 1861. On August 29, 1861 the unit joined Confederate service and travelled to Camp Bragg, Richmond, Virginia. Cleveland became ill in November 1861 while in the well-known Texas winter camps at Dumfries, Virginia. After recovering from his illness, he was sent in February 1862 to recruit in Texas. He returned in June 1862 with new replacements. Cleveland was wounded three times. His first wound came at 2nd Manassas on August 30, 1862. He was wounded again on September 20, 1863 at Chicamauga. His final wounding occurred near Chaffin’s Farm, Virginia around September 1864. One of the two Virginia woundings was described by his great-niece Willie W. Welch as a bullet being lodged under the skin at his collarbone and being rolled around by nieces and nephews. Cleveland was detached for light duty in Texas after his final wounding, and was retired from service March 16, 1865.
This stunning clear glass half plate ambrotype depicts Cleveland in his Confederate frock coat standing next to a chair. The image was identified by his great-niece Willie W. Welch on an old card. She is buried in a Cleveland family cemetery in Talladega, Alabama. A folder of Welch family documents relating to the Rev. Oliver Welch accompanies the image, including a pre-war diary. Willie annotated the diary inside the front cover in the same writing as on the card identifying Captain Cleveland. I cannot over-emphasize the historical importance of this image. Captain Cleveland served for the duration of the war with one of the most famous regiments in the Army of Northern Virginia, the “Bloody Fifth” Texas. The fighting history of the regiment and the captain are both impeccable. Captain Cleveland is mentioned a number of times in the two volume history of the Fifth Texas by John F. Schmutz, “The Bloody Fifth, The 5th Texas Infantry Regiment, Hood’s Texas Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia,” which accompanies the image. An additional binder of Captain Cleveland’s service records is also included. The image is housed in a complete leatherette case with repaired spine. Images of this size, quality and historical relevance are rarely seen for sale.
