Samuel Archer Moss

Born: 21 Apr 1822 in Buckingham County, Virginia

Died: 1 Oct 1906 in Smith County, Tennessee

Sergeant, Company E, 4th Tennessee Infantry, USA

23 Oct 1847-31 Jul 1848

Samuel was the son of John A. Moss and Elizabeth Scruggs.  The family migrated to Smith County, Tennessee from Virginia in 1836. After the war with Mexico, he married Julia Ann Sadler, daughter of Philip Sadler and Mary Ann Jones on 9 Jan 1851 in Smith County, Tennessee.  They had seven children between 1852 and 1863. The oldest daughter, Virginia, married Cornelius Fisher whose descendants migrated to Putnam County and intermarried with families in the Roberts Switch and surrounding communities. 

Samuel enlisted at Nashville on 23 Oct 1847 and was mustered-out in Memphis on 31 Jul 1848. His service records show that he was left sick in Perote, Veracruz, Mexico on 13 Jan 1848. After landing in Veracruz, the company was making their way to Mexico City. Many of the soldiers got sick along the way and many died before reaching their destination. Samuel obviously survived and made it home. Evidently he had recuperated by Mar 1848 when he was promoted from 3rd Sergeant to Sergeant.

Sandy Adams has the following report of Samuel's pension application on her family tree at ancestry.com

On 22 September 1852, Samuel Archer Moss requested an invalid pension because of health problems resulting from his service in the Mexican War. He reported that after he volunteered in Nashville, he was transported to New Orleans, Louisiana, then to Veracruz, Mexico.  From Veracruz, he marched to Jalapa, then to Pueblo where in January of 1848, he was attacked with diarrhea.  In his request, he stated tht the diarrhea, ". . . so prostrated him as to render him incapable of performing military duty and in consequence of which he remained till about the 12th of February 1848 at which time he became so improved that he went with the Illinois Regiment to the city of Mexico thence to Molenodelra and returned to his company from thence to St. Augusti;ne with his company but was unable to perform military duty in consequence of said disease thence to Ausaro where on or about the 24th day of June 1848 said disease became so bad upon him gthat he was hauled to Veracru thence was transported to Memphis, Tennessee, with his  company where on the last day of July 1848 he was honorable discharged....."

Samuel further stated in his request, ". . . that said disease was contacted while he was actually in service aforesaid and in the line of his duty that since his return home he has never been well nor free from said disease which has become chronic in its character and which now disables him from obtaining his subsistenance from manuel labor" Two doctores testified that he was suffering from chronic diarrhea. 

It appears that his request was denied because of a conflict between his statement and  his war records with regard to where he contacted the disease.  However, in later years, he did receive a pension for his military service in the Mexican War and was last paid $14.00 for the period ending on 4 August 1906.  This pension was dropped because of his death.

Samuel and his wife are buried in the Moss Cemetery in the Moss Bend Community near Lancaster, Smith County, Tennessee.