Feature Article on Byron Joslin.
Topic: CIVIL WAR & PEOPLE
Written by Rich Wallace in
November, 1998
| LAST SHELBY COUNTY CIVIL WAR VETERAN RECALLED | |
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Above at left is Byron Joslin in his younger days...at right, Byron is decorated with Civil War medals years later. |
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| A great trivia question for true students of history would be to name
when the last person to draw a Civil War pension
died. It would have been a trick question, as I learned when I picked up a copy of the Atlanta
Journal Constitution for October 18, 1998. That great war, which ended 133 years ago, helped to define our collective national character like no other event. The recent decision of City Council to remodel the second and third floors of the Monumental Building, the county's tribute to its Civil War dead, has awakened interest in the sacrifices of the 3,000 or so county men who served in the war. Southerners are revisiting their Civil War heritage as well with the revelation that Alberta Jasper Martin lives. Author Rheta Grimsley Johnson tracked down the story for the Atlanta paper of the 91 year old Elba, Alabama widow. She became the December bride of Civil War veteran William Jasper. The year was 1927. Jasper was 81 and Alberta was 21. She cared for him until his death in 1932. Local historians cannot think of the marble tablets containing the names of the 320 men who died, which mark the centerpiece of the Monumental building, without remembering our last human connection with the Civil War. Byron Joslin died at the age of 98. December 26, 1998, will mark the 55th anniversary of his death, but many area residents still recall 'Comrade Joslin,' as he was affectionately known. [ Back ] [ Next ] [ Up ] [ New Search ] |
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