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More on a Pulaski war hero...jobs that required skilledworkmen.This week I want to expand on the article of last week about Pulaski war hero Henry Pulliam. A few years ago I wrote a series of articles on this man and, because I did not have complete information, I omitted several very important details of his life. At a later date I received a phone call followed by a letter from Mr. James Huffard of Fincastle,Va., a grandson of HenryPulliam, informing me of these important facts,. He requested that certain facts be added to the story if I wrote on the subject again, and I told him I would abide by his wishes as best I could. Some things will naturally be repeated in this article.William Henry Pulliam was born in Pulaski on Feb. 6, 1882, the son of blacksmith George W. Pulliam and Mollie C. Harrell Pulliam. Henry attended grammar school in Pulaski and at an early age dropped out of school, and started making his way in holding down several jobs in the world of physical work. In his late teens he decided to go west to seek his fortune. After several trips west, then back toAround 1904 Henry married Ollie Davis, daughter of Gus Davis of Wythe County. To this marriage two children were born, Georgia Augusta First, then two years later William ^ Noel. °Mr. Huffard. son of Georgian Augusta Pulliam Huffard, sent me copies of several pictures of his grandfather and his wife and children, and some newspaper copy from the Wytheville paper of the time which have given me a better understanding of the Henry Pulliam family. It was a fine looking family. Henry was said to be almost six feet tall.On Feb. 2, 1911, Pulliam was in Indianapolis, Ind., and onthat date enlisted in the U.S.vanced from an ordinary seaman to chief petty officer, fireman.Several years before his tragic death , Pulliam and his wife were divorced, and Ollie married Cameron Archer of Wythe County.Pulliam’s funeral service was performed in the Pulaski Courtyard and thousands of people attended. Old photographs show the Courtyard and a part of Main Street crowded with those who came to pay their last respects to Pulaski’s only victim of the Vera Cruz conflict.Another photo shows the funeral procession going up Prospect Avenufe toward Oakwood Cemetery for interment. Those who were theresaid the nrocession stretched allDignitaries from all over Virginia attended, as well as those from other states, and he was buried with full military honors. Seagle Brothers were the funeral directors.Henry was the eldest of six brothers and he had two sisters.On Sunday, May 30, on the eve of Memorial Day, 1999, my wife suggested that she and I go to Oakwood Cemetery and visit the grave of Henry Pulliam. We went in the afternoon and found the grave plot to be in good shape and well kept.Following my earlier articles, Post No. 1114, Pulaski Veterans of Foreign Ward went to the cemetery and straightened the stone and beautified the plot, and left a flag.Henry Pulliam’s last message to his children was a post card from Vera Cruz, datedFeb. 21, 1914. It read: uMy Dear Little Children, I will send you a card to let you know Papa is well, but is far away from his children and don’t know if he will ever see them again, for I am in Mexico where there isfighting at the time. Answer real soon. From Father”
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Sharon H.
NA, 20 Sep 2021
Other Publications Near ,
The Pulaski News
Pulaski Times Journal
Pulaski News Review
Pulaski Staunton News Leader
Pulaski Southwest Times
