So What Happened to John Latham?

View from the upper walkway near memorial.

When visiting Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia, one of the things you can do is walk around an upper deck that circles the fort on the interior. There are several cannons strategically placed, giving you an idea as to how things were during the early part of the Civil War before the surrender to Federal troops. Along the walkway, I saw this plaque:

This memorial commemorates the act of Lieutenant Christopher Hussey
of the Montgomery Guards and Private John Latham of the Washington
Volunteers, the first volunteer regiment of the state of Georgia.
While under fire during the bombardment of April 11, 1862, they
recovered the Confederate colors which had been shot down and raised
the flag on this parapet.

Subsequent research lead me to the Historical Record of the City of Savannah (pub. 1869). Page 85 gives a bit more detail about the incident described above:

The asterisk by Lt. Hussey's name lead to this:

Entry to Catholic Cemetery.
Photo by Linda Wallis via
FindAGrave.

A search of FindAGrave revealed "A List Of The Known Confederate Sailors And Soldiers Buried In [Savannah's] Catholic Cemetery." There are no markers, only office records. A Capt. Christopher Hussey was included with "Co. E, 22nd GA Hvy. Arty." -- the Montgomery Guards. A John Latham is also listed, but there is no identifying information such as the unit with which he served. I wonder, is this the same Pvt. Latham who rescued the Confederate colors? If so, what was the ultimate cause of his demise? Anyone out there know?

Top 2 photos © 2010 S. Lincecum.

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