Heartsill, W. W. (William Williston), 1839-1916

William Williston Heartsill (1839-1916) was born in Louisville, Tennessee. He came to Marshall, Texas, in 1859, and joined the Confederate Army in 1861. he was taken prisoner by Union soldiers at Arkansas Post, January 11, 1863, and was held at Camp Douglas, Illinois, until he was exchanged in May 1863. In the 1870s he published his diary, with photographs, as Fourteen Hundred and 91 Days in the Confederate Army. In 1881 he was elected alderman and later served as mayor of Marshall. He died in Waco, Texas, July 28, 1916.

From the guide to the William Williston Heartsill Papers, 1863-1865, 1908-1916, 1953, (Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

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