Rocky Lockley emails that he and Jason Hinton were relic hunting when they made this extraordinary find near Brucetown, northeast of Winchester, Virginia, where the 13th camped in October, 1862, after the Battle of Sharpsburg. He explains:
“An Enfield bullet was recovered that at first glance seemed just like all the others except it had its nose cut down to be more like a snub-nose. When this bullet was being cleaned up with water and a toothbrush the engraved letters started coming out.
“After calming down a little [he saw that] the letters formed a name and a message. G.M. Mott was carved from bottom to top on one side and “To Old Abe” was carved on the other!! After searching the internet for less than 5 minutes I had a hit that showed George M. Mott, Company E [The Alamutcha Infantry], 13th Mississippi, had been a part of the entire war.”
Mott, according to his tombstone, was a medical doctor when he died in 1906 in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. Grady Howell’s muster listing shows Mott entered the war as a private and was a 2nd Sergeant when it ended. Independent historian Jess McLean found that Mott was a 21-year-old student living near Marion, Mississippi, when he joined in 1861 as a sergeant, being later demoted to private before rising again. He is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, two miles south of Converse, Louisiana, which is south of Shreveport.
13TH MISSISSIPPI INFANTRY REGIMENT 
My ancestors are Hugh and John Cameron, respectively captain and 1st lieutenant of Co E for most of the war. I live in Winchester and would love to know where that site is. Can I contact Mr. Lockley?
Thanks for the comment, Winston. Of course I remember you from previous comments and Captain Cameron commanded the regiment when it was surrendered at Saylor’s Creek. I emailed Rocky Lockley to see whether he wants to contact you. I’ll let you know.
Thank you very much, Dick. It appears that 21 year old Captain Hugh Cameron,due to the heavy attrition among officers, may actually have been in command of the brigade there in the final bitter moments
So it seems, at Sayler’s Creek, anyhow, according to J.S. McNeily, who reported that to the Mississippi Historical Society. McNeily, a Mississippi newspaperman, claimed to remember things General Barskdale said at Gettysburg and they have often been quoted by historians and novelists. McNeily also claimed to have been the last sergeant major in the brigade’s 21st Regiment, but Howell’s muster listing for the brigade has nothing on him. Which is strange because Howell’s list is often said to be definitive.
Hello Dick. Rocky and I visited two 13th Mississippi campsites today. Thank you for introducing us. I look forward to your book and will account for several copies. By the way, over the past few years I have commissioned Don Troiani and Keith Rocco, who I think are the two best military artists working, to paint small paintings of 13th Mississippi officers.
Thanks, Winston. Glad it worked out. How about sending jpegs of the two paintings (of Hugh and John, I presume) so I can post them here?
What a great find! George Monroe Mott’s second wife, Susie Hembree, was my 1st cousin 4x removed. According to her pension application, George died from a blood clot to the brain.