William S. Browning was a native Virginian who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He fought in Virginia’s Sixth Cavalry, but unfortunately met an untimely demise. His life was cut short during the Battle of Cedar Creek, where he was killed on October 19th, 1864.

William S. Browning was born in the early 1830s in Rappahannock, Virginia, in either 1834 or 1835. There are different sources for each date. Browning was one of the five children of Mason and Catharine Browning. He is recorded to have been the oldest of all of his siblings. His other siblings were Henry, who, in 1860 was twenty-six, and might have also been enlisted in the Civil War, David, who was nineteen at the time and could have also been enlisted, Virginia who was fifteen, Lucy who was twelve, and John who was ten. Before enlisting in May of 1861, Browning was a farmer and was most likely going to follow, or already following in his father’s footsteps.

During Browning’s time in the civil war, he was absent during the company muster roll numerous times. This might be due to Browning’s poor health, because records show that Browning was sick somewhat frequently during his time as a soldier. This was common for the time, as proper plumbing and sanitary practices were not put into place. Despite his illnesses, Browning survived to October of 1864, roughly six months before the war in ended in May of 1865. There are no other records that detail his time in the Sixth Cavalry in specifics, but perhaps that is a good thing. Browning is not recorded to have caused any trouble amongst his fellow soldiers, which leads one to infer that he led a somewhat normal military life.

Browning’s final battle was the Battle of Cedar Creek. The Union victory of this battle resulted in the Confederacy’s inability to further northern invasion, and also led to the reelection of Abraham Lincoln as the president of the United States. The battle resulted in about 320 casualties, 1540 wounded, and 1200 missing or captured, all from the Confederate side. Overall, there were more than 8,000 casualties for both sides during the battle. Two future presidents of the United States also fought in the Battle of Cedar Creek: Hayes and McKinley. Browning most likely died from a battle wound, which would have been either a gunshot or sword wound. Some reports state that he died at Middletown, Virginia, while others state that he died at Strasburg, Virginia. Regardless, Browning died during battle, bravely fighting for his home.

Despite his life being cut short, William S. Browning still loyally fought for the confederacy. It is unknown whether or not he agreed with the Confederacy’s reasoning for succession, or his opinion of the Union, but his patriotism to his home is nevertheless admirable. William Browning might have had a short-lived life, but his memory will forever live on in civil war records and biographies such as these.

ancestry.com. 1860 Virginia Census. Web. 24 May 2016.

civilwar.org. “Battle of Cedar Creek.” Web. 1 June 2016.

fold3.com. Civil War Confederate Service Records, Sixth Virginia Calvary. Web. 21 May 2016.

William Browning

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