- August 19, 1861
- Xerxes Knox joined for duty and enrolled for a term of three years as a Private in Company G of the Third Iowa Volunteer Cavalry at Keosauqua, Van Buren County, Iowa. Enrolled by Captain Emmanual E. Mayne, commanding officer of Company G. Xerxes is shown as being from Van Buren County. All the officers of Company G, including Captain Mayne, are from Keosauqua, Iowa. {Since he joined up in Keosauqua, is listed as being from Van Buren County, and all the officers of his Company are from Keosauqua, it's probable that Xerxes was from Keosauqua.}
- August 26, 1861
- Xerxes went "into Quarters" at Keokuk, Iowa.
- August 30, 1861
- Xerxes is officially mustered into Company G of the Third Iowa Cavalry at Keokuk, Iowa. Xerxes appears on the Company Descriptive Book as age 27, 5 feet 7 & � inches tall, with blue eyes and sandy hair. The entire regiment is mustered at Keokuk between August 30 & September 14, 1861.
- August 30, 1861 to April 3, 1863
- Xerxes is shown on the muster rolls of Company G, Third Iowa Cavalry as "Present".
- Summer of 1861
- The 3rd Iowa rode into Northern Missouri with guns "borrowed" from a shipment intended for another unit. They assisted in stemming an attempted rebel invasion of Iowa.
- November 4, 1861
- The 3rd Iowa is ordered to Benton Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri. At this time they are armed with only pistols & sabers, no carbines having yet been received.
- December 12, 1861
- The Second Battalion (including Company G) is ordered to Jefferson City, Missouri and remains on detached service from the regiment until October 1, 1863. The remaining narrative will concentrate on the Second Battalion's activity as it included Xerxes' Company. The Second Battalion moved through Booneville and Glasgow and captured 73 kegs of powder from the rebels.
- December 25, 1861
- The Second Battalion is stationed at Fulton, Missouri and engaged during the winter and following spring in scouting, capturing and dispersing rebels & rebel gangs and securing ammunition from the enemy.
- Spring, 1862
- Various detachments of the Second Battalion are stationed in the counties of Callaway, Audrain, & Monroe, Missouri.
- May 31, 1862
- Detachments of F & G Companies attacked a rebel camp on the Salt River in Missouri. "At the first intimation of our approach, the rebels fled precipitately: we wounded several, captured all their horses, camp equipage, and part of their arms." F & G Companies suffered 2 men wounded.
- July 22, 1862
- Detachments of F & G Companies (60 men total) encountered the rebel Colonel Joe Porter with 300 rebels at Florida, in Monroe County, Missouri. The detachment fought outnumbered for one hour & fell back upon the post of Paris, Missouri with 22 wounded and 2 captured.
- July 24, 1862
- One hundred men of the Second Battalion encountered Porter with 400 men in dense brush near "Botts" farm. Porter fled and was pursued into Callaway County, Missouri. The Second Battalion suffered 1 killed & 10 wounded.
- July 28, 1862
- A detachment of the Second Battalion along with other units again fought Porter near Moore's Mill in Callaway County, Missouri, suffering 4 killed and 20 wounded.
- August 6, 1862
- The Battle of Kirksville: Porter and 2,000 rebels were posted in the town of Kirksville, Missouri. The Second Battalion & other units attacked and completely routed the rebel force. The rebel casualties were 128 killed, 200 wounded, and 40 captured. Captain Mayne, the G Company commander, was killed at the head of his troops. Twelve others of the Battalion were wounded. Of the Union casualties from this battle, the Second Battalion sustained one third of the total dead, wounded, and missing.
- August 25, 1862
- Xerxes Knox is "Present" on a Special Muster Roll. {Perhaps taken to determine losses and survivors of the above battle and campaigns.}
- October 28, 1862
- The rebels were pursued until utterly routed and dispersed in that part of Missouri and the Second Battalion was posted to Lebanon, Missouri, 50 miles southwest of Rolla, MO. The Second Battalion protected long lines of communication. This service involved keeping down outbreaks {of rebel guerrilla bands} and covering the frontier from the Iron Mountains of Missouri to the Boston Mountains of Arkansas.
- January, 1863
- A detachment of the Second Battalion fought in the Battle of Hartsville. The regiment's history calls this only a "sharp battle", giving no further information.
- February, 18 1863
- James M. Knox dies at Rolla, Missouri. Buried in National Cemetery, Jefferson Barracks (St. Louis), Missouri. Section 38, grave 273. {Possibly a relative of Xerxes Knox. James M. Knox mustered into Company G on the same day as Xerxes did and is also listed as being from Van Buren County. It was common for relatives to serve together in the same unit. James M. Knox is reported to be 25 years old (2 years younger than Xerxes) at original muster.}
- April 3, 1863 to April 27, 1863
- Xerxes Knox reported "Absent" on a Special Muster Roll dated April 10, 1863: "Absent on furlough at Van Buren Co., Iowa from April 3rd to April 27th, 1863." {This furlough might be the result of the above James M. Knox's death. It's possible Xerxes was allowed to return home to notify the family of the death of James M. Knox if he was a relative.}
- May, 1863 to December, 1863
- Xerxes is reported "Present" on Company Muster Rolls. The May & June, 1863 Company Muster Roll contains a remark: "Pay due for use of horse & equipments from May 15, 1863." This note is continued on all subsequent Muster Rolls. {It's possible that Xerxes came back to his unit from furlough with his own horse and saddle.}
- Summer, 1863
- The Second Battalion joins the cavalry division of General Davidson in the campaign against Little Rock, Arkansas under the overall command of General Steele.
- September 10, 1863
- The Third Iowa "were the first troops to enter Little Rock. On the 10th of September of that year, the colors of this battalion were first spread over the capitol of that rebellious State." After the capture of Little Rock, the Second Battalion "engaged in movements in the direction of Camden, and performed services both valuable and brilliant."
While the Second Battalion, including Company G, was detached from its regiment (since December 12, 1861), the 3rd Iowa's the First & Third Battalions were involved in the following activities:
On March 7, 1862, the First & Third Battalions fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas. Some of the Third Iowa's dead were found to have been scalped by the rebel's Cherokee Indian allies. These Battalions were transferred to General Grant's army besieging Vicksburg, Mississippi and were present July 4, 1863 when that city surrendered. This was a turning point in the war in the West, opening up the entire length of the Mississippi river to Union control & navigation and thus splitting the rebel states in half. Vicksburg help make Grant's career as a general and he was soon recalled to fight the main rebel armies in Virginia. The 3rd Iowa kept watch along the Big Black river on the rebel General Johnston's relief force outside Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg, the First & Third Battalions moved against targets in Mississippi, including an expedition against Jackson, Mississippi. This brought the unit into a skirmish on Jefferson Davis' (the President of the Confederate States of America) plantation. On August 22, 1863, the First & Third moved through enemy territory to Memphis, Tennessee.
The Second Battalion was re-united with the remainder of the regiment when the First & Third Battalions were ordered to Little Rock, Arkansas and posted together at Benton, Arkansas where the Second was already posted. The Battalions continued to serve as a unit from October 1, 1863 onward.
- October 1, 1863
- The 3rd Iowa's duties at Benton, Arkansas were scouting expeditions and guarding daily forage trains (wagon trains-not railroad trains).
- November & December, 1863
- Xerxes is noted as "Present" on the Company Muster Roll with a remark: "Stoppage {of pay} for 1 picket-pin and lariat lost on the march from Pilot Knob, Missouri to Little Rock, Arkansas." Xerxes is also recorded on a Detachment Muster Roll for these months showing that he was stationed at Little Rock. {A picket pin was an iron spike with a iron ring attached to its flat end. It was driven into the ground and the cavalryman's horse would be tethered to the ring. Picket pins were often wrapped in the cavalryman's lariat and this pin and lariat combination would be hung from the saddle when riding. Its probable that this equipment fell off of Xerxes' saddle together on the road to Little Rock.}
- December 20, 1863
- The post at Benton was abandoned due to the forage being exhausted in the area. The 3rd Iowa moved to Little Rock, Arkansas.
- January & February, 1864
- Xerxes is listed as "Absent" on the Company Muster Roll with the remark: "Refused to enlist as Veteran and left {on detached service} at Little Rock, Arkansas."
- January 1, 1864
- Over 600 men of the regiment re-enlisted for another three year hitch. Of those who did not re-enlist: "Many of them were not in physical condition to be again mustered into the service."
- January 10, 1864
- Xerxes appears on Returns as follows: "Absent detached service. Teamster at Post QM {Quarter Master} Department, Little Rock, Arkansas."
- February 12, 1864
- A month long furlough was granted to the regiment's Veterans with transportation provided to Keokuk, Iowa. No furlough is recorded for Xerxes Knox on either the Company or Detachment Muster Rolls. He is listed as remaining in Little Rock, Arkansas. {It's likely that the men who did not re-enlist as Veterans were not rewarded with a furlough back to Iowa since their terms of service would expire soon anyway.} The following references to the Third Iowa's activities do not include Xerxes as he was no longer with his regiment, but was on detached service in Little Rock, Arkansas.
- March 12, 1864
- After re-assembling at Keokuk, the 3rd Iowa Veterans and new recruits proceeded to St. Louis, Missouri for re-equipping.
- March 23, 1864
- General Steele's "Camden Expedition" begins. Steele leaves Little Rock, Arkansas with 15,000 troops (including Xerxes Knox) to support General Banks' ill-fated Red River Campaign. Their joint objective is to capture Shreveport, Louisiana from the rebels and then to occupy eastern Texas. Steele was to draw rebel troops away from Banks' main thrust up the Red River with 30,000 Union troops plus a fleet of gunboats. The occupation of this part of rebel territory was deemed strategically important to prevent re-enforcements and supplies from reaching the rebels through French-occupied Mexico.
- April 8, 1864
- General Banks is stopped and forced back at the Battle of Sabine Crossroads by rebel General Taylor.
- April 9, 1864
- Steele's men, on half rations since leaving Little Rock, make slow progress and have only crossed the Little Missouri river by this date. Steele learns of Banks' retreat and redirects his thrust against Camden, Arkansas - a rebel base. General Steele starts referring to the movement as the Camden Expedition, dropping any hint that the original objective was Shreveport.
- April 15, 1864
- Steele takes Camden unopposed but is harassed all along his march by rebel cavalry and hindered by muddy roads. Rebel forces, released from Louisiana due to Banks' retreat, come up against Steele. Steele is besieged in Camden by a rebel force half his own strength. Union supplies continue to dwindle and foraging parties are pounced upon by the rebels, resulting in significant losses of men, wagons, and mules.
- April 28, 1864
- Steele sneaks out of Camden for a retreat back to Little Rock, leaving his campfires burning to fool the rebels, he uses a pontoon bridge to cross the Ouachita River. He carries the pontoons with him which slows down the rebel pursuit. Rations were low to the point that some soldiers were issued only 2 crackers of hardtack and half a pint of cornmeal to last them all the way to Little Rock.
- April 30, 1864
- Steele's men reach the Saline River and begin to rebuild their pontoons to bridge the last river between them and their strongly defended base in Little Rock. They fight off the pursuing rebels in the Battle of Jenkins Ferry, cross the Saline and burn the pontoon bridge behind them. Steele escaped complete destruction but his exhausted, starving, rain-soaked and mud-weary men still had a four day march to Little Rock. They continued to be harassed by small units of rebel cavalry and their rations were so low that a hardtack cracker sold for $2 and there was a report of two crackers being traded for a silver pocket watch.
- Late April, 1864
- The 3rd Iowa is stationed in Memphis, Tennessee
- Sunday, May 1, 1864
- Xerxes Knox was captured by rebel forces "on his return from" and "near" Camden, Arkansas. The March & April, 1864 Detachment Muster Roll {written in early May, 1864} shows him "Absent" with the remark: "Taken prisoner on the late expedition of the 7th A.C. {Army Corps}." The May & June, 1864 Detachment Muster Roll remarks: "Taken prisoner near Camden, Arkansas. May 1, 1864". Both Muster Rolls list the detachment's station as Little Rock. {If Xerxes was working as a teamster on Steele's Camden expedition, there is an excellent chance that the wagon he was driving got stuck in the mire during the retreat and he was captured with his wagon. Steele lost about 700 men killed, wounded, or captured between leaving Camden and arriving at Jenkins Ferry, abandoning hundreds of wagons in the process.}
- May 3, 1864
- Steele's remaining forces limp into Little Rock. One veteran soldier observing their return noted: "The most of them looked like they had been rolled in the mud, numbers of them were barefoot, and I also saw several with the legs of their trousers all gone, high up, socking through the mud like big blue cranes."
- May 10, 1864
- An affidavit by Thomas H. Pace (a private, Company G, Third Iowa Cavalry & a fellow prisoner with Xerxes), a resident of Beloit, Mitchel County, Kansas was sworn out July 30, 1888 regarding Xerxes Knox's application for an invalid pension. This affidavit states that Xerxes was brought to Tyler, Texas {Camp Ford} on May 10, 1864. Pace describes conditions at the prison: "The weather being very hot and our rations being corn meal and occasionally some fresh beef which we had to cook and eat without salt." Pace also wrote to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions on January 7, 1889 and stated that he and Xerxes were taken to Camp Ford with about 200 other prisoners.
- Camp Ford
Note: A comprehensive web page about the history of Camp Ford and information on the current archaeological activity at the Camp Ford site can be found at Camp Ford, C.S.A.
Camp Ford appears to have been one of the better Confederate prisoner of war camps for captured Union soldiers. It was the largest military prison west of the Mississippi, established in August of 1863, four miles northwest of Tyler, Texas. It was built as an open stockade - basically a timber wall surrounding an open area with the guards up on the walls looking in on the prisoners. The rebel warders provided no shelter so the prisoners originally built log huts. Later as captives from Banks' Red River Campaign and Steele's Camden Expedition (including Xerxes) forced the prison population from about 800 to over 4,000, men built half buried shanties or dug caves in the hillside. The stockade enclosed trees (until used for building and firewood), several springs, and a stream that ran through it. The prisoners collected water in wooden reservoirs, keeping it relatively healthful compared to the polluted waters of other prisons such as Andersonville. Food at Camp Ford included fresh beef, corn meal, and some bacon and baked beans. Prisoners with money could buy additional food and goods from visiting townsfolk. The prisoners use the slaughtered beef's hooves and horns to make products for sale to the townsfolk such as combs and chess sets. There was even a hand-printed camp newspaper produced by the prisoners. It has been claimed that the first game of baseball every played in Texas was played by the prisoners at Camp Ford.
Conditions were adequate until overcrowding began to exhaust local firewood and fresh food supplies. Sickness and a "great tendency to scurvy" from overcrowding required the building of a camp hospital in the Spring of 1864. No hospital had been required previous to the influx of new prisoners.
Escapes seemed to be infrequent due to the miles of rugged terrain through rebel and Indian country between Camp Ford and Union lines. Three large escape attempts were tried although most escapees were quickly rounded up. One escapee stayed at large for 3 months only to be caught by Choctaw troops and returned to Camp Ford wearing nothing but a barrel. It is estimated that only 1 in every 15 attempted escapes resulted in the prisoner returning to Union lines. Most escapees made their way towards Little Rock, Arkansas or Natchez, Mississippi.
Deaths at the camp were estimated to be between 232 and 286 prisoners with four cases of prisoners being shot by guards without provocation. This represented a mortality rate of under 5% compared to an average of 15.5% in all other Confederate prison camps and the death rate of almost 35% at infamous Andersonville. When the guards heard that Richmond had fallen at the end of the war, they simply went home. The remaining prisoners left in May of 1865 and made their own way to New Orleans. The stockade was burned by occupying Union troops in July of 1865. Today the site is marked by a sign.
- For more online information about Camp Ford, see the following web sites:
- June 13, 1864
- The 3rd Iowa returned to Memphis from a disastrous expedition to Guntown, Mississippi. Failure of this expedition is blamed on poor generalship by General Sturgis. The 3rd Iowa covered the other units' withdrawal with distinction. The unit's records contain a great deal of testimony from the regiment's officers and other officers refuting General Sturgis's report of the expedition which appears to be critical of the 3rd Iowa's performance in this rear guard action. Over 44 men of the 3rd Iowa were captured in the action at Brice's Crossroads, the location of the rear guard action.
- June 24, 1864
- Third Iowa left Memphis for an expedition against Tupelo, Mississippi. Participated in the Battle of Tupelo, suffering 1 killed and 17 wounded.
- July, 1864
- An affidavit by Elhanan W. Burks (a private, Company A, Third Iowa Cavalry & a fellow prisoner with Xerxes), a resident of Armada, Buffalo County, Nebraska, was sworn out September 20, 1886 regarding Xerxes Knox's application for an invalid pension. Burks says that he was held at Tyler, Texas {Camp Ford} and Hemstead, Texas {Camp Groce} as a prisoner with Xerxes {His statement does not specify if Xerxes was also held at Camp Groce}. Burks says that sometime in July, he helped Xerxes escape over the stockade {wall}. Xerxes was chased using bloodhounds and recaptured. Burks' letter to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions dated January 28, 1889 stated that Xerxes "made his excape (sic) towards the last of June, was recaptured and brought back."
- July 4, 1864
- Burks saw Xerxes chained down to a log in the guard house.
- July 25, 1864
- All cavalry units at Memphis Tennessee including the Third Iowa were re-organized into a cavalry corps of two divisions. The second division's second brigade consisted of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, the Third Iowa Cavalry, and the 10th Missouri Cavalry. This brigade was under the command of Brevet Brigadier-General Edward F. Winslow (commanding officer of the 4th Iowa) and was known as Winslow's Brigade. The 10th Missouri's commanding officer, Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Frederick W. Benteen, was at times in command of the brigade {possibly in Winslow's absence}. Captain (his regular Army as opposed to Volunteer rank) Benteen later became (in)famous as Lieutenant Colonel (Major-General of Volunteers) George Armstrong Custer's third-in-command at the battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Benteen's career subsequent to "Custer's Last Stand" was dogged by criticism that he failed to come to Custer's aid as ordered.
- August 5, 1864
- Third Iowa left Memphis for an expedition against Oxford, Mississippi.
- August 8, 1864
- Xerxes Knox made his successful escape from Camp Ford prison. Elhanan Burks' 1889 letter to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions states that "..about the 10th of August {1864}, I covered him {Xerxes} with another soldier named Brown in a dump cart {garbage cart} and saw it drive out of the prison. August 8th is the date of his escape that Xerxes gave in his letter written to James Tanner, Commissioner of Pensions. Dated March 31, 1889 at Exira, Iowa, Xerxes says: "...held prisoner of war and while making my escape from said prison. I left their prison on the 8th of August, 1864." A memorandum from Prisoner of War Records of this date states that Xerxes was "held until August 8, 1864 when he escaped to Union lines November 15, 1864."
- September 2, 1864
- Regiment ordered to St. Louis, Missouri.
- September 5, 1864
- Xerxes' 1889 letter states: "Arrived at our {Union} lines at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory {Oklahoma}" on this date. "My term of service expired while held prisoner." {To have gotten this far from Camp Ford, Xerxes had to travel about 234 miles as the crow flies through rough country with few roads. This territory was under rebel control and was populated by the Choctaw Indians who were sympathetic to the rebel cause and had provided troops to the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi. Even at Fort Gibson, he was a long way from his regiment which was in Memphis and even further from his home in Iowa. A note on Xerxes' return to Union lines: His Company mate Thomas Pace did not escape from Camp Ford but was paroled (exchanged) at Galveston, Texas on December 12, 1864 and was in Union-held New Orleans by December 20, 1864. Had Xerxes waited four more months (assuming he didn't die of disease in the meantime), he could probably have had a much easier return trip home. By staying put, Pace returned to Union lines about three months after Xerxes did!}
- September 19, 1864
- Xerxes Knox is shown on the Company Muster Roll for September & October, 1864 as "Discharged by reason of expiration of service." This discharge occurred even though Xerxes was a prisoner of the rebels at the time. The Company Muster-out Roll of this date has the follow remarks: "Furnished horse & equipments. Taken prisoner on his return from Camden, May 1, 1864." It notes that he was last paid through December 31, 1863. He had drawn $39.40 on Clothing account since July 28, 1863. He was owed a bounty of $100.00 {a bonus for enlisting}. No valuation of horse and equipments is given.
- October 5, 1864
- The 3rd Iowa arrives at Cape Girardeau, Missouri en route from Memphis, Tennessee to St. Louis.
- October 10, 1864
- Regiment arrives in St. Louis, Missouri.
- October 22 to October 25, 1864
- The regiment participates in the battle of Independence, Missouri, the battle of the Big Blue River, and the battle of the Osage River against the rebel General Price.
The Third Iowa Volunteer Cavalry continued operations against rebel General Nathan Bedford Forrest as part of Winslow's Brigade from Louisville, Kentucky and on to Columbus, Georgia and Macon, Georgia where peace found it in April, 1865. The move into Georgia was known as Wilson's Raid (after their divisional commander Brevet Major-General James H. Wilson) and was an important part of Grant's strategy to wage war on the resources of the rebels. From May to August of 1865, the regiment was stationed around Atlanta, Georgia for occupation duty. The entire regiment was mustered out of service at Atlanta, Georgia on August 9, 1865.
- November 16, 1864
- From the Office of the Assistant Quarter Master, Keokuk, Iowa to Commanding Officer, Company G, Third Iowa Cavalry: "I have this day furnished transportation from Keokuk, Iowa to Cairo, Illinois to Xerxes Knox, Private, of your Company who is on furlough. The amount of $7.90 is to be charged to him on this next muster and pay roll. {It appears that Xerxes went from Fort Gibson, Indian Territory back home to Iowa. This was most likely to recuperate from both his captivity and his escape. He then must have taken passage down the Mississippi river to rejoin his Company in Memphis in order to secure his honorable discharge. He probably had to show up in person to receive his back pay and bounty due.}
- November 19, 1864
- Remark on the Detachment Muster Roll dated December 6, 1864: Xerxes Knox "escaped from prison and reported to his Company on November 19, 1864."
- November 26, 1864
- Muster out date for Xerxes Knox from the above Detachment Muster Roll. This Roll is placed at Davenport, Iowa and it shows the $39.40 Xerxes owed as "an account for clothing in kind or money advanced."
- November 28, 1864
- Letter of this date at Memphis, Tennessee from Captain James S. Stidges, commanding Company G, Third Iowa to Major W. W. Morgan, Assistant Adjutant General, District of Western Tennessee requesting an order for transportation for Xerxes Knox from Memphis, Tennessee to Davenport, Iowa. "...to enable said Knox to be mustered out of the service." {After attending to his affairs to exit the Army, Xerxes was provided transportation back home.}
- January, 1865
- Pace's affidavit says that Pace rejoined the 3rd Iowa this month and that Xerxes as there. Inconsistency - Could this be his Militia service?
- March, 1865
- Xerxes says in a statement dated June 28, 1888 that he "was enroled (sic) in the State Militia of Audubon County and State of Iowa in March 1865 and the Company was disbanded in August 1866, was never called in active service." {This may mean that Xerxes came home from the war and enlisted in the Iowa State Militia to help protect his state and to earn some extra money. An experienced soldier like Xerxes would have had no trouble getting into the Militia. Records on Xerxes Knox's service with the Militia would be maintained by the State of Iowa, not the National Archives, since the Militia was not part of the national Army.}
- March 1, 1886
- Xerxes applied for an Original Invalid Pension stating that he had "contracted rheumatism, disease of liver and chronic diarrhoea (sic). Said disabilities were brought on while making his escape from prison." Xerxes written statement of April 25, 1886 says that "My disability was caused by exposure and starvation while a prisoner of war at Tyler, Texas and making my escape from said prison." In his March 31, 1889 letter to the Commissioner of Pensions, Xerxes states that he has "not been able to do but little work on the farm for a number of years." Xerxes had jumped through all the hoops to get a pension stating: " I was ordered before a medical Board of Examiners, and furnished all the proof that was called for, too (sic) comrades that was with me while held a prisoner of war at Camp Ford, Texas {the affidavits of Pace & Burks}." Xerxes concludes his letter: "...if you consider that I am entitled to a pension you would confer a favor on a suffering needy man letting me know." Xerxes comrades provide a before and after picture of Xerxes' health. Pace stated in his 1889 letter "...and I further state that Mr. Knox was a good and faithful soldier and ruged (sic) man when he entered the prison pen of Camp Ford in Smith Co. near Tyler Texas. Burks says in his 1889 letter that after internment at Camp Ford, Xerxes "looked as if he was not strong, was thin in the flesh. (He), together with most all of prisoners had the diarrhea."
- March 6, 1886
- Xerxes was granted a pension of $12 a month.
- May 26, 1898
- Xerxes requests an increase in his pension "...on the grounds that his present rating is incommensurate with the degree of incapacity" via the firm of Taber & Whitman, Attorneys at Law in Washington, D.C. His request is denied.
- February 14, 1907
- Xerxes' pension is increased to $15 a month due to a new payment schedule by an Act of Congress dated February 6, 1907. This Act provided to pay veterans over the age of 70 a pension of $15 a month. Xerxes was 72 at this time.
- April 19, 1909
- Xerxes' pension is increased to $20 a month based on the above Act. Xerxes turning 75 entitled him to a bump in pay of $5 a month.
- May 21, 1912
- Per another Act of Congress dated May 11, 1912, Xerxes is now entitled to and paid $30 a month.
- June 10, 1918
- Xerxes's pension is increased to $40 a month.
- February 24, 1920
- Xerxes is dropped from the pension roll due to his death February 24, 1920
How To Order Military & Pension Records for Union Civil War Veterans from the National Archives
