Last Confederate Veteran

William Murphy Loudermilk, the last Confederate veteran living in Arkansas, is buried in Keller’s Chapel Cemetery. Born Oct. 17, 1847, he joined a North Carolina regiment in the Army of Tennessee at age 16 and fought at Chattanooga, in the Atlanta Campaign, and at Nashville, serving as a water boy, bugler, and finally as a sharpshooter. He remained with the army until its surrender in May 1865. In 1886, he married Elizabeth Bruce, and the couple moved to Craighead County and started a farm. He died Sept. 18, 1952, at age 104.

Jonesboro, Arkansas · United States