Civil War Veterans in Australia and New Zealand:

A Litany of Errors.

by Terry Foenander.

The numerous errors and assumptions included in a large number of biographies created by James Mason Gray, a member of the American Civil War Round Table of Queensland, include the names of persons, buried in Australia who had never served in the Civil War, who were in totally different units, and who were never in the specific service they are indicated to have been in.   Other biographies include incorrect data, altered information and geographical, as well as chronological errors.   I have found errors and assumptions in every biography at the web site, but will concentrate, for the present, on incorrect assumption of Civil War service, as well as persons shown as serving in the wrong unit, and the case of a second Veterans Administration grave marker. I will also include comments on a statement, by Mr. Gray, relating to the supposed murder of a brother of General Robert E. Lee.

The following pages include evidence gathered from various official and unofficial sources proving the inaccuracies in the biographies of the persons mentioned, especially that most of them were never in Civil War service, or were in a different unit altogether. It is now very clear that the errors, assumptions, and even straight downright fabrications at Mr. Gray's biographies run into the hundreds, if not thousands. Some of these are just plain simple errors, showing his total incompetence, or even lack of knowledge of the Civil War. Errors include statements that whaling ship crews were considered as veterans belonging to the United States Navy, even though these crew members never serviced the United States Navy or even the Army, and were in far off whaling grounds, during the war, as well as ignorantly placing a photo of the USS Shenandoah at one of his biographies, even though the biography actually relates to the Confederate cruiser of the same name, yet every novice is aware that these two vessels were completely different, and belonged to two different Navies. Many of these errors and assumptions will be discredited with proper research and shown in official documentation. Yet it seems totally incredible that this man and his web site are relied upon by many, but obviously those without any knowledge of the Civil War, otherwise they would see through his errors. Thankfully, since the appearance of this web site, exposing his fraudulent activities, this author has received a number of messages of support, and frequent urges to insist on proper and thorough research. Thank you to those who are in support of this kind of full research, which is all too often lacking in many of the web sites now being created by others eager for glory and especially trying to obtain finances for the research of others. The uploading of evidence relating to this mess, created by Gray, will continue, albeit at a much slower pace, due to other research commitments, mainly relating to the recent discovery of quite a large number of veterans of the Civil War in Australia, including one brevet brigadier general, and a Confederate Navy commissioned officer, of some importance.

Charles Wells Banks, who is buried in the Cook Islands (and not in New Zealand, as claimed by Gray); there was impropriety involved in the application for a Veterans Administration grave marker.

Francis Marion Bates, buried in Melbourne; Bates was an actor and was in the Southern states during the war; information from his agent indicates that he may have continued his acting career right through the war, and was most certainly not in any Alabama unit.Once more Mr. Gray shows his ignorance, or else his inability to view documents with a proper focus. If he did he would note that Bates' proper place of birth, as well as residence is shown in the documentation for his enlistment. Mr. Gray recently, after I had discredited his statements that Bates had served in an Alabama unit, placed queries at the Rootsweb.com query page, requesting data on Bates' service in the Georgia unit I named, and indicated Bates to be a "former resident of Houston County, Georgia". If Gray took the trouble to read these documents properly, he would see exactly where Bates mentioned he was from, and where he had lived. The "Responsibilities of a Researcher" include proper perusal of documentation, and an ability to decipher the data shown therein.

Thomas Stuart Blythe. There was a Thomas Stuart Blythe who had served in the Confederate States Navy, and was married in Australia; however, there is absolutely no evidence, whatsoever, that Blythe is buried in Australia, if at all.

Alfred F. Bedwell, buried at Sydney, New South Wales. There is no possible way that this gentleman was in military or naval service during the Civil War - the evidence was clearly stated in newspaper obituaries, yet this evidence was totally ignored by the presumptious Mr. Gray.

John Orr Boag, buried near Echuca, Victoria. Mr. Gray did not do any research on this person, whatsoever, as, if he took the trouble to do so, he would have found that there are several sources showing much additional data, and including the fact that John Orr Boag was not married at all, was definitely not living in New York in 1880 (his passport application, in 1900, gives the places he lived at, and shows he was not married), and he was already retired at the time of his death, having been a bookbinder up to his retirement the year before his death. Additionally, Heather Rendle of the Echuca Historical Society has never sent Gray any material on any Civil War veteran, and refuses to correspond with the charlatan Gray, yet he uses her name without permission, knowing that the material he has is plagiarised from the work of other researchers. A large number of other statements in Gray's biography of Boag are totally incorrect, and much documentation will be shown to prove these inaccuracies, once more proving that Gray is totally useless in any sort of research, if he ever does such research. John Orr Boag, who died at Echuca, was never married, and never had any children or descendants (his never being married is stated in several documents - in his death certificate, in his U.S. passport application, and also in U.S. census records, all of which, very obviously, Mr. Gray failed to consult). His sisters whose descendants would have gone under their married surnames, and were therefore not Boags, thus could not have had any descendants with the surname of Boag. Just a matter of plain common sense. Thus, the drapery business that Mr. Gray rambles on about, has nothing to do with John Orr Boag or his sisters. The Boag surname would have ended with his death in 1910. Once again, common sense, something which is foreign to Mr. Gray or his so called "research", shows that John Orr Boag, who died in Echuca in 1910, could never have had any descendants with the surname Boag, since he never married and never had any children - pure and simple common sense. It is also a well known fact, and research will show any amateur researcher that there were other non-related persons with the surname of Boag, living in Victoria and Australia long before John Orr Boag or his sisters came to Australia. But Mr. Gray fails to realise that the persons who owned the drapery business in Melbourne were obviously descendants from other persons with the surname of Boag. Once again, pure and simple common sense.

Joseph Woodville Bolles, buried at the Townsville Cemetery in Queensland.

Michael Brennan, buried at the Yea Cemetery, in Victoria.

William Cardwell, buried in Victoria. As usual, Gray has made another major stuff up, claiming that William Cardwell was in the 3rd Connecticut Infantry. The person who served in that regiment was William Cadwell, and he resided, post war, at Washington State, where he died about 1890 or 1891, as his wife, Clarissa, collected a pension from that state, commencing in that year.

David Cassin - Just goes to show the desperate measures Gray is now adopting, like a cornered rat, when his work has been shown to be totally presumptious and false in most respects. He now wants to include David Cassin, who was never in the Civil War, but who had served in the United States Army long before the war. Even more incredible is the fact that Gray does not realise that Cassin was researched decades ago, and found to have fraudulently obtained a United States government pension, as he had also served a second term in the United States Army, and deserted only nine months after this second re-enlistment. By not stating this fact, when applying for a pension for his first term, he was able to dupe the U.S. government into providing him with a pension.

James Cawte, died and buried at Port Pirie, in South Australia. Indicated to have served in the Civil War, but no evidence exists, and no proof has been found, as yet.

James Coffey, buried at the Dunwich Cemetery on North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. Although there was more than ample evidence to show that this person could not have been the same person who served in the Confederate States Navy, this evidence was totally ignored, and a Veteran's Administration plaque was obtained for the gravesite of the person buried at Dunwich.

Alfred Galen Crawford, buried at Kew, Victoria. It would seem that those in Queensland are playing musical grave markers, as the current marker at Crawford's grave, had replaced another similar marker, either placed there by the same group, or else a descendant of Crawford. If it replaced one installed by a descendant, and without that descendant's knowledge, then there will be some explaining to be done. Research is continuing on this one.

Bernard Cunningham, buried in an unmarked grave at the old Pentridge Prison graveyard, and not, as indicated in Mr. Gray’s biography, at the Old Melbourne Gaol, in Victoria.

Edward Charles "Ned" Davies, who died in Melbourne. This person's oral history, together with several others, including that of Theodore John Meredith, is a perfect example of why good researchers should never take family or "oral" history, as gospel fact. Documentation should be obtained to prove such claims, and if these documents are not forthcoming, then such claims should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. Yet there are so many documents confirming that these persons never served at all, or were in a different place at the time they were supposed to have served in the Civil War Unfortunately, the "Father of all Incompetents" continues to believe such oral history, without even bothering to obtain any documentation. Thus we will continue to see grave markers obtained for persons who never even served in the Civil War, such as James Coffee and John Henry Graydon.

John Joseph Davies - his service record shows that he was never in Confederate service at all, but served in the United States Cavalry; his full name is shown, in the official documentation, filled out by Davies himself, as Joshua John Joseph Patrick Netterville Davies, and he is buried on the east coast of Australia. He and his father had been, after the Civil War, in Fenian service, and were arrested, thus his move to Australia. Much new evidence has recently come to light, indicating that Davies had assumed several names (but held his surname, though in at least one other variation), and had served in the English army, United States Army, a couple of New South Wales military and government services, and then in Queensland government service. His rather confusing life is further complicated by the fact that persons buried in Western Australia, had also used his name, and obviously created fake medals to show battle service during the Civil War. The medals are known to be faked because the date of at least one battle mentioned, that of Antietam, is given as a few months before the actual battle was fought. Unravelling this entire mystery may take a lot more serious research than is currently possible. Evidence has now been located which conclusively shows that John Joseph Davies, of Perth, had never served in any Army, let alone the Confederate Army. In a court case in 1898, he specifically indicated that he "had never been a soldier." This was stated in a court of law, and gives the final verdict to any so called service in the Confederate Army.

Netterville Routledge/Rutledge Davies, buried in West Australia. If Mr. Gray had perused the photo of this individual's medal, and attempted to verify his service record, he would have noted that the photo shows several inconsistencies that suggest it was a fake, and that no service is recorded for a person of this name. Additionally, if facts had been verified, it would have been shown that no such medal was ever awarded during the Civil War. The diligent research of the late Roy Parker, during the 1980's, brought to light these very facts - facts which Mr. Gray, as usual, could not be bothered to check out.
Some additional evidence has now come to light to indicate Netterville did not serve. [See the note at the end of this Davies article.]

James Dwyer, brother of Michael Dwyer, both of whom were born in Australia. James Dwyer was never in the United States Navy, but had served in the United States Army, as did their father. All three are buried in South Dakota, and this is one of the unusual situations where nearly the entire family had served, during the war. Mr. Gray has, as usual, assumed, quite incorrectly, that James was in the United States Navy.

John Fearn/Francis, who died at Mansfield, in the state of Louisiana, United States of America, was no more an "Australian" than was the famous Union general, Thomas Francis Meagher. Additionally, evidence has now come to light to show that both Fearn, and Ellen Malley, the mother of his children, may have left Australia under a cloud, and certainly not as man and wife.

Andrew Creelman Fulton, buried at Stawell, in Victoria. Once again, assumptions galore, with no evidence whatsoever of any service in the Civil War, even as a blockade runner. Much additional evidence now located on this person, to indicate no service at all. Amazing what persistence can reveal.

Robert D. Fyffe; another person who was assumed, by James Mason Gray, to have served in the American Civil War, and buried in Victoria.

John Henry Graydon, buried at Yarragon Cemetery, in Victoria. Now with an important postcript.

Frank B. Hean, buried in Australia. It would seem that Mr. Gray, despite his claiming that he was given information on Hean (the first names are actually somewhat different, and which Mr. Gray is obviously unaware of), was only, thankfully, provided with the basics, and not the subsequent massive amount of data we now have on Hean, and his exact date of death, and place of burial. The original researcher on Hean, Mr. Barry Crompton, of the American Civil War Round Table of Australia, based in Melbourne, did an admirable job in his research of Hean, and never ever gave Gray permission to use this material, as with about 99 percent of our research work on the Veterans buried in Australia, but, typically, Gray just ignores any pleas not to use this data, and misappropriates it as his own, and tries to claim full credit for all these veterans. We all know Gray to be the major crook that he really is.

Charles Henry Hill, buried at Williamstown Cemetery, in Victoria.

John Darling Huntress, buried at Dubbo, in New South Wales. If this so called "researcher" Mr. Gray, had done his own research, and never plagiarised the work of others, as he indicated he had done, he would have found out that John Darling Huntress was never in the 27th Maine Infantry, as claimed. The John Huntress who had served in the 27th Maine had been born in Hiram, Maine, lived there just about all his life, and died there. A photo of his headstone, in Hiram which includes his military service details will be shown, as evidence. Mr. Gray continues to make error after error, passing his incompetent research around the Internet, and throughout the world. Hard research never hurt anyone. It is fairly obvious that Gray is keeping tabs on this web site, as, within a day of this data on Huntress going up, he has placed a query message on John Darling Huntress, indicating that Huntress had been in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. However, once more, Gray shows his utter incompetence in these research matters, because, if he did any proper research, he would have found that the Huntress who was in the 2nd Massachusetts was collecting a pension as a resident of Illinois, and died there. Evidence on this will also be shown to prove the truth of all this. Gray needs to get his head out of his comfort zone and do some hard slogging - research, research and more research, before he ever becomes anything more than a 'wannabe' researcher. Information was given to Mrs. Virginia Crocker, that Huntress had served under a different surname.

Richard Jones, buried at Rookwood Cemetery, in Sydney, New South Wales. No concrete evidence to show that this person had served in a Wisconsin Regiment.

Henry Lainson, buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery - an account of how, through sheer incompetence, a second headstone was ordered and received, from the Veteran's Administration, in Washinngton, D.C., more than a dozen years after the first one had been installed at the grave.

James Latimer, buried in Queensland. There is no doubt, indeed, that this person was a Civil War veteran. In his United States pension application, he claimed to have been involved in the killing of a brother of "General Lee," but the assumption that it was the brother of General Robert E. Lee was made by none other than Mr. Gray. [Thankfully, the article written by Mr. Gray has now been removed from the web site it was placed on. The administrators of the web site must have realised how totally ridiculous Gray's statements and claims were, and decided to expunge such trash.]

James McGuire: a proper examination of all the documentation would have shown that the person of this name, buried at Mittagong Cemetery in New South Wales was most definitely not the same person who served in the 5th California Infantry. Recent conclusive evidence does indeed confirm that although the Civil War veteran, James McGuire did reside in Australia, he is most definitely not the one buried at Mittagong Cemetery. Doesn't take much, but common sense to locate the easily available evidence.

John McBride; how could a Civil War soldier, who was killed in action at Bull Run, in 1861, be buried in New Zealand? This could only be possible in the realm of fantasy that exists in the so called "research" work of James Mason Gray.Despite what Gray or any other member of the ACWRTQ want to suggest, the evidence is clear, from every available official source - there was only ever one soldier named John McBride who served in the 38th New York Infantry. Simple and basic research is all that is needed to confirm this, but some seem incapable of such research. Page now includes a photo of the offensive and improperly obtained grave marker.

Theodore John Meredith, buried in New Zealand. A thorough check of complete Royal Navy records, as well as existing Union and Confederate Records, shows no service of any kind in these forces.

Edward Mosby, buried off far northern Queensland.

Frederick Ernest Noble, buried at Kew, Victoria. In their eagerness to obtain a grave plaque for the grave of this veteran, the American Civil War Round Table of Queensland, whose initials are proudly inscribed on the bronze marker, inaccurately gave the unit that he served as lieutenant in as the 7th Indiana Infantry, when in fact Noble had actually not been commissioned while serving in the 7th. He was commissioned after he was transferred to another Indiana unit, namely, the 20th Infantry.

Patrick O'Leary, buried in the state of New South Wales; claimed by James Mason Gray to have served in the 47th Georgia, but several factors indicate that this was most certainly not the same person.

John Charles Pelham, buried in New Zealand. Family lore may state that Pelham had served aboard the USS KEARSARGE, but, like the well known "Gettysburg Syndrome", there is no evidence for such service at all.

William Speakman Potts, buried at Blayney, New South Wales. Gray has a number of errors on this veteran, some rather glaring. He also states that nothing is known about when or why Potts arrived in Australia, but if Gray took the trouble to do research, instead of plagiarising the work of others, he would know that Potts arrived in Australia aboard the same vessel, and sharing the same cabin with another Civil War veteran who is also buried in Australia. Additionally he would know that Potts had been in the Police Force, but was then imprisoned for embezzlement, and a letter was sent to the local newspapers, by ex-Confederates living in Australia, putting down Potts for this crime. A little bit of proper research, instead of plagiarism, goes a long way to dispel inaccurate assumptions that nothing is known of the veterans. Hard work never hurt anyone, but reveals a lot about one's research subject.

John B. Quiggin - If Gray would take the trouble to do even a tiny amount of research, he would realise that Quiggin never ever served in the Confederate Army, and was producing children in Canada and Australia at the time of the war years. But it is obvious that he would need an iron lung to even do a small percentage of research. If family history states a person was a Confederate soldier, but there is absolutely no evidence anywhere, it is pointless trying to change history by stating that someone who had never served had served. All part of the "Gettysburg Syndrome."Mr. Barry Crompton's original research indicated clearly that John Quiggins (there was no middle initial B. in his name, but this was just added by Gray, in an attempt to indicate that he was the same John B. Quiggins who served in a Virginia unit) was a thoroughly Union sympathiser, who flew the Union flag over his mills, and had his sawmill in St. Louis burned down twice by Confederate sympathisers, thus forcing Quiggins to flee back to Canada. Yet Gray foolishly jumped to the conclusion that Quiggins had served in a Confederate unit. Gray has no idea whatsoever about the strong sentiments that were occuring in those border states, prior to the war, and that Quiggins, a Union man to the core, was involved in this.

Henry Sladek, an Austrian, inaccurately assumed to have been an Australian; when caught out, Mr. Gray chose to conveniently place the blame on someone else.

John Corneille Smith, buried at St. Arnaud Cemetery, Victoria.

William J. Smith, buried in the Northcote Cemetery, in Victoria.

Charles Flay Tapscott, died and buried in Victoria. Categorically stated by Mr. Gray to have served in two units of the Confederate States Army, despite the fact that Tapscott was a resident of the Northern states, throughout the war, and despite the fact that Tapscott's own great grand-daughter had proven that there was never any such Confederate service.

Francis Tuft, buried in New South Wales. Despite Mr. Gray's indication that he was correcting and verifying, he seems unaware of Tuft's proper birth name, as well as several other facts about Tuft, including the fact that Tuft had also served in the Naval service of another nation.

William Henry Wildes, buried in Victoria. Claimed by Gray to have been in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, but documents will be shown to indicate that the Wildes who served in that unit was born, lived, and died in Massachusetts, and was still living in the 1920's. Once more, Gray has chosen to make wild guesses, and not realise that, without any proof of Civil War service, family history cannot be proven to be correct. Documentation is the key to proper research - a fact that Gray still seems to be unaware of.

William Yeatman, buried in Colac Cemetery, in Victoria.

Additional names will be added as evidence and accurate data comes to hand.

Page Created, March, 2008 (updated October, 2008).