Dawson Grays, Co. C, 3rd Georgia Regiment

Penfield, Greene County, Georgia is the ancestral home of many of my ancestors—Lankford, Hobbs, Janes, and Wilson to name a few. All were prominent families who lived there during the mid-1800s. I have been researching these families for years and in my quest to learn more, often research their neighbors, hoping to find new information.

When the Civil War started in 1861, my 3rd great grandfather, James Meriweather Lankford, answered the call to arms. On April 24, 1861, he enlisted in Penfield as a Private with Company C of the Third Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as the Dawson Grays. In 1862, he transferred to the Georgia State Troops, leaving behind a group of soldiers that included his brother, cousins, and neighbors. As part of my research, I started tracking some of these soldiers and that eventually led to a complete review of the Company C roster. During my research, I found tidbits of information directly related to the Dawson Grays so started a timeline specific to Company C. In November 2020, I compiled my Penfield research onto one page of this blog for a one place study. It only made sense to add this research, gleamed from books, historical newspapers, other published rosters, and a review of military records for every soldier I could find who served with Company C, to this study. To see the results of that work, click on the link below. If I’m lucky, someone will find this information and be that person who holds a missing link or photo. It’s happened before … it could happen again.

Company C,
Third Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
also known as the Dawson Grays

Photo: Henry House, Manassas Battlefield, Manassas, Virginia

© Denise Murphy