Samuel L. Neely enlisted at age 19 on April 30, 1861, at Corinth, Mississippi, in Company A, the Tishomingo Riflemen, of the 2nd Regiment Mississippi Volunteers. He fought in 16 battles and was wounded in 7. He died on August 21, 1864, two days after being wounded in the Battle of Weldon Railroad. He was the most decorated Confederate soldier, having been named to the Roll of Honor a record five times, for the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Bethesda Church, Tally's Mill, and Weldon Railroad.