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| - Although the photo is authentic, serious doubts have been raised about the man's age and claims of military service.
In October 2024, a photo circulated online allegedly showing "a 116-year-old U.S. Civil War veteran on his deathbed with a cigar in his teeth." The caption of one X post said the picture was taken in Houston, Texas, in 1959, although the photographer's name was not included.
As of this writing, the post has amassed more than 7.8 million views and 32,000 likes.
A 116-year-old U.S. Civil War veteran on his deathbed with a cigar in his teeth. Houston, Texas, 1959. pic.twitter.com/XS9k6Wuk0k
— Wars (@wars) October 26, 2024
Some X users questioned the claim made in the post. One person said "doubts have been raised about the veracity" of the alleged veteran's claim to have fought in the Civil War, while others said the facts were "not true" or even "totally wrong."
The image did authentically depict a man named Walter Williams, who claimed to be a Civil War veteran. However, journalists and historians have raised serious doubts regarding his claimed military service and age at the time of his death. Therefore, we have rated this claim as unproven.
An article in Life Magazine's May 11, 1959, issue titled "The Last Survivor of the Civil War," described the photo and Williams' claimed service. The beginning of the article (on page 49) read:
Flanked by the two flags he has loved and a dress version of the Confederate uniform, the last living veteran of the War between the States lies in an uptilted bed, sleeping mostly, waking to eat and puff an occasional cigar. When John Salling of Virginia died this spring, Walter Williams, 116 years old, became the last survivor of the war. Blind and feeble, he lives with his daughter in Houston, Texas.
Ninety-five years ago Williams enlisted under General John B. Hood and was given the job of foraging for food and horses. After the war he went to Texas to farm. "I wasn't discharged," he says, "we just broke up."
The magazine displayed the image in question across a full page (on page 48), with the caption: "Williams rests among mementos that he can no longer see."
(Life Magazine)
Other photos accompanied the picture, including two of Williams lying in bed with a cigar propped between his teeth.
How Old Was Williams When He Died?
In September 1959 — a few months before he died — Scripps-Howard journalist Lowell K. Bridwell
(The New York Times)
Using the veteran's pension records, Bridwell found that Williams himself listed his age as 86 in 1932, which would make him 113 in 1959. This application was made available by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. In response to "What is your age?", Williams wrote: "86 years of age."
(Texas State Library and Archives Commission - Ancestry.com)
The New York Times article (two images above) says: "[The Texas records] also indicate that he will be only 104 on his next birthday and, therefore, too young to have fought in the Civil War."
Snopes searched the 1860 Census records of Itawamba County, Mississippi (Williams reportedly wrote that he was born in "Adawanda County, Miss.," an apparent misspelling), and found the records Bridwell may have been referring to. On row 30, a Walter G. — son of George and Nancy Williams — is listed aged 5. Williams appeared to have alternated his middle initial between a "G" and a "W" throughout his life.
As stated in the New York Times story: "Officials point out that there is no absolute way of knowing if the records refer to the same Mr. Williams."
(familysearch.org)
We also unearthed correspondence between the Texas comptroller of public accounts, Robert S. Calvert, and people who wrote to him, questioning Williams' age.
In one such letter, dated 1960, Calvert wrote that he "did not know whether any other evidence was secured that indicated Mr. Williams to be 117 years of age other than the statement of some members of his family." Even this age, 117, is inconsistent with the age in the claim, 116.
(Texas State Library and Archives Commission - Ancestry.com)
Is There Proof Williams Was a Soldier in the Civil War?
In one 1959 story published in Houston Post, a reporter claimed an assistant archivist found a muster roll of Hood's Brigade — the one Williams claimed to have served in — which listed a W. W. Williams as belonging to Company D, with the notation "discharged, underage."
We found the muster rolls of soldiers who served in Hood's Texas Brigade through the Library of Congress and discovered two people called Williams. One, W.W. Williams, did serve in Company D, but we did not see any note indicating he was discharged or underage. Another possibility, a W. Williams, was listed as having served in Company H, but Williams himself said on his 1932 pension application that he served in Company C.
(Library of Congress)
In spite of the doubts Bridwell and others raised regarding Williams' age, the U.S. government maintained its conviction that Williams was the oldest surviving veteran of the Civil War.
A memorial statue honoring soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy stands in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with the inscription: "Walter Washington Williams, who was recognized by the government of the United States as the last surviving Confederate veteran, died 1959 at the age of 117 years." Again, this age contradicts the age in the claim, 116.
The Bottom Line ...
However, there are serious doubts that he was a soldier in the Civil War, or that he was 116 when the photo was taken.
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