Jacob W. Herndon has a small historical distinction—in every source you read about him, he was a courier for General John Bell Hood. General Hood, of course, is famous for his exploits as the leader of the famed Texas Brigade. After his wounding, he was brought back to the John Edward Plank farm where he died. According to historians, he was “buried at or near John Edward Plank’s farm under a locust tree toward John S. Crawford’s farm, and near road to Bream’s Mill; also, ‘back of barn.’”

Nearly all burials in this area were taken to Hollywood Cemetery. Yet Jacob does not show up there. Where could he be? Still on the Plank farm? Ancestry genealogists have messed this up, it appears, conflating him with someone else entirely who, according to them, was 37 years old, married with three kids. Except that our Jacob’s service record has him joining at age 20.

We might have our best candidate buried in Calvert, Robertson County, Texas—the Virginia-born son of Joseph Herndon who relocated to eastern Texas, the heart of Texas Brigade recruiting, in 1857. According to Find-a-Grave, this Jacob was 18 years and 5 months old—much closer to the 20 years old reported on his enlistment record where he very well might have lied to ensure he was admitted to the service.

Jacob is a classic case of what we see in the Civil War and war in general—the majority of men who died were young, unmarried, and thus had no offspring. Within a generation, they are forgotten and nearly untraceable, even when they have brushed elbows with famous people.