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Subject: [FLJACKSO] Camp Boyington
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 10:53:36 EDT

Cindy,

I am quite familiar with the name Camp Boyington. My ancestor Benjamin
Langford was one of a great many who deserted Company K of the 11th Florida
Infantry from that camp. I can't say that I know where it was for sure, but
here is my suspicion. Lt. Evan Brock resigned from that company 8/29/63 at
"Boynton Bluff" (according to Hartman). In going through the records of the
men in Co. K, it appears that the unit was stationed at Camp Boyington from
about 5/16/63 to about 9/25/63, at which time they moved to Camp Scott.
According to a Civil War map I have of the area, Boynton Bluff was located on
the east side of the Choctawhatchee River just south of where Holmes Creek
empties into it. On present day maps the cutoff north of there connecting
the Choctawhatchee with Holmes Creek is called "Boynton Cutoff." On my Civil
War map, the spelling is "Boyanton" at least that is my best guess from a
fuzzy image.

There were numerous enlistments and desertions from Camp Boyington, so it
seems likely to me that it was close to home for these boys, who were mostly
Washington County lads (they mostly enlisted in Vernon). For anyone
interested, the company appears to have been located first at Fort Scott,
until about 5/16/63, then back to Fort Scott from about 10/2/63 to about
12/13/63, then to Fort Stonewall from about 12/10/64 to at least about
5/20/64. Thereafter, they were in Virginia. In fact, Fort Stonewall might
have been in Virginia, but from the number of enlistments and desertions from
it, it seems more likely to have been close to home.

The big mystery is why there were so many desertions. I haven't counted
them, but I suspect more than 75% - 80% either deserted or where just dropped
from the roles. In the case of my ancestor, he had already deserted from the
1st Florida Infantry before joining the 11th. After he deserted the 11th, he
rejoined the 1st, and ultimately was granted a pension based on his service
in the 1st (although he did have to overcome a charge of desertion).
Although I don't know if it was the cause, I note that Benjamin had never
been paid when he deserted the 1st, and had never been paid when he deserted
the 11th, but was paid when he returned to the 1st.

Duke Vickrey

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