"My South Carolina Confederate Cousins"

A History by Harold W. Mills, Jr.
c. 2014 All rights reserved.


Three of my first cousins, six times removed, all brothers, were Confederate officers.
They hailed from the Fishing Creek Community of Chester County, South Carolina.

Captain Edwin Ruthvin Mills
Company "D" & "E", 17th Regiment, Carolina Rifles,
South Carolina Volunteer Infantry,
& 5th South Carolina State Troops
C.S.A.
  
17th SC Infantry
Major Thomas Sumter Mills
Company G, 1st Regiment (Butler's) ,
South Carolina Volunteer Infantry,
& Fourth Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
C.S.A.
  
1st SC Infantry
Major Julius Mills
Company A, 17th Regiment SC Volunteer Infantry,
& Company K, 5th Regiment of SC Cavalry
& Company K, 23rd Regiment SC Infantry
C.S.A.
  
5th SC Cavalry

My ancestors:

Captain Edwin Ruthvin Mills, CSA (1828-1899) served with the 5th South Carolina State Troops and Company D and E, 17th South Carolina Infantry Regiment. Family tradition says that he was named "Ruthvin" for an indian chief who was a friend of his father, Major Robert Gill Mills. He was married twice and produced three children. Edwin attended Davidson College entering in 1844 and graduating in 1847. He was an elder in the Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Church of Rock Hill. He was a member of the Eumenian Society. Captain Edwin Mills is buried in the Laurel Wood Cemetery in Rock Hill, SC.

Major Thomas Sumter Mills, CSA (1830-1897) served with Company G, 1st (Butler's) Infantry Regiment and later as Assistant Adjutant General to Lt General R.H. Anderson, Commanding General of First and later Fourth Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. He was educated at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. He was a fiery, courageous soldier and was wounded several times in combat. At the Battle of Seven Pines, his horse was shot from under him. Major Mills was a prosperous cotton buyer in Chester. He is buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Chester, SC.

< Major Julius Mills, CSA (1839-1889) served with Company A, 17th SC Infantry Regiment, Company K, 5th Regiment of SC Cavalry and Company K, 23rd Sc Infantry Regiment. He went to the York Military Academy and from there to The Citadel. He joined the Confederate Army in April 11, 1861. He was wounded twice and once shot across the head over the ear at the Battle of Seven Pines May 31, 1862. On April 11, 1865, he was captured while scouting for General Lee and was sent to prison at Johnson's Island on Lake Erie. He was released on June 19, 1865. In Chester, he operated a successful farm and mill business. He became very active in community affairs serving as county treasurer, and founder and president of the Chester Fair Association. Julius was the first president of what became the Chester and Camden Railroad. He is buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Chester, SC.


Laurel Wood Cemetery
Rock Hill, SC.

Edwin R. Mills
- C.S.A.-

Evergreen Cemetery
Chester, SC.