The Palmetto Riflemen
I've definitively identified 3 of 4 Earles that were supposedly part of the Palmetto Rifleman (B Company) of the 4th Volunteers: Captain Alexander Campbell Earle of Greenville, Lieutenant Charles Eugene Earle of Greenville, and George Washington Earle of Anderson. The First two were brothers and the third was a first cousin. A.C. went on to lead the Earle Cavalry after the 4th dissolved and moved to Alabama after the war. Charles Eugene committed suicide the day after commanding company B in the unexpected absence of its captain during the first battle of Bull Run. G.W. survived the war and returned to Anderson. The fourth Earle, Joe, is a bit mysterious. There is a Joseph Earle, cousin of A.C. and Charles Eugene and also from Greenville, but he joined the Charles Artillery Battery, not the 4th Volunteers. He survived the war and died as a sitting U.S. Senator. I've decided to write a fictional character to take his place. I'm going to place him as the ...