US Coastal Artillery Officer Uniform Group

W.H. Felton Jr. of Macon, Georgia

Above: This Tunic is part of a Macon, Georgia group marked to W.H. Felton. Apparently this is William Hamilton Felton Jr.'s uniform. He and his wife Luisa Macgill Gibson Felton lived in the Johnston-Felton-Hay House, often referred to simply as the "Hay House", which is one of Macon's most well known historic residences.

Above: The two Overseas Stripes indicate one year of service in France

Above:"Capt W.H. Felton" marked in the label of the tunic

Above: W.H. Felton's hat

Above: Inside the W.H.Felton hat it is marked "W.H.F"

Above: The bed roll was marked earlier in W.H. Felton's military career "LIEUT. W.H. Felton U.S.A."

 

 

William Hamilton Felton Jr. was born 20 September 1889 in Macon, Georgia. His parents were Mrs. Mary Ellen Johnston Felton and Judge William H. Felton Sr. who was Georgia’s youngest appointed Superior Court Judge at age 36. William H. Felton Jr. attended elementary school in Macon and graduated from Lawrenceville Prep School. He went on to college in Virginia attending University of Virginia for one year and joining Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. He was a member of the UVA Track Squad, Relay Team in 1912. William volunteered for service in World War 1 and was commissioned as a Coastal Artillery Lieutenant at Fort Monroe, Virginia. He served at least one year in overseas service and was promoted to captain. After the war, he returned to the Macon area and managed the family farms. These were the “Hope Farm” in Marshallville and “Mossy Hill” in Perry until his retirement in 1952. He was married to Louisa Macgill Gibson Felton who served as a Red Cross Instructor in WW1. William and Louisa had one son named George Gibson Felton. William was a member of the Christ Episcopal Church and a charter member of the Macon Lions Club. He died of a heart attack in May 1956 and is buried at Macon’s Rose Hill Cemetery, a short distance from the Hay-Felton home on Coleman Hill.

On his Mother's side he is related to two noteworthy senior Confederate Officers. His Mother was Mary Ellen Johnston Felton. Her Mother was the sister to Brigadier General Edward Dorr Tracy and Colonel Philemon Tracy. General Tracy was killed in May 1863 in battle at Port Gibson, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg Campaign, while Colonel Tracy was killed earlier at the Battle of Sharpsburg in September 1862. After the war, General Edward D. Tracy's remains were returned to Macon for burial in Rose Hill Cemetery.
Colonel Philemon Tracy's body was retrieved from the Maryland battlefield by his uncle of the same name, a Batavia, New York resident, who had his nephew's body disguised as a Union officer and transported to Batavia for burial. While Colonel Philemon Tracy is buried in Batavia, his wife and baby daughter are buried at Rose Hill here in Macon. (From the Middle Ga. Archives, Washington Memorial Library, Macon, GA)

Below: Early Childhood photograph of William H. Felton Jr. (from the Georgia Trust/Johnson-Felton-Hay House Museum)

Below: Childhood photograph of William H. Felton Jr.(from the Georgia Trust/Johnson-Felton-Hay House Museum)

Below: Close up of William Hamilton Felton as a member of the University of Virginia Track Squad, Relay Team in 1912 from the "Corks and Curls 1912" which is the University of Virginia year book

Below: William Hamilton Felton in the UVA Track Team in 1912

Below: William Hamilton Felton Jr.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston–Felton–Hay_House

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