5th US Artillery

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Brigadier General Thomas R. Williams was born on January 10, 1815 in Albany, New York. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1851 and was commissioned an officer in the 4th U.S. Artillery in the Mexican War. At the start of the Civil War, he was a Major in the 5th US Artillery. Then he was promoted to Brigadier General in command of the brigade at Fort Hatteras, North Carolina in September of 1861. In the early summer of 1862, General Williams' 3,000-man infantry brigade began work on the channels across the Mississippi River to enable Union transports to bypass the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg. In August of 1862, Confederate forces attacked Union defenses at Baton Rouge in an effort to retake the state's capital. While leading the defense of the city, General Williams was killed by a shot in the chest at the Battle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana on August 5, 1862.

James G. Hughes Born County Armagh Ireland 1836 in the town of Barklee. Left Ireland 1n 1855 via Liverpool England to go to Boston Mass. - Enlisted in the Fifth Artillery U.S. Regular Army on May 5, 1861 for three years, age 25 in Boston, Mass. Re-enlisted at Camp Marshall 1864 for 3 more years. Discharged March 8, 1867 Quatermaster Sergeant. Was credited to Boston as a native son.Was with Battery F 5th US Artillery the entire war. Wounded September 30, 1864 in action at fort harrison near Richmond while commanding the left guns was shot in the right elbow. Moved to Marietta Ga. after the war and was the first superintendent of the National Cemetery Marietta Ga and later appointed by President Benjamin Harrison as Postmaster General of Marietta Ga. 17 August 1889. Died 10/05/1894 from gunshot wound to the heart by a hired hand working at his home. James G. Hughes is buried in Marietta GA National Cemetery.