Individual Details

James never married. He was Colonel of the 10th Alabama and was killed while in command of his regiment at Petersburg, VA, 22 Jun 1864. His remains are said to be the in family lot at the cemetery, Talladega. [If so, they must have gone to Virginia to recover the body after the War.]

A copy of a letter from J.J.D. Renfro to W.P.Shelley, 23 Jun 1864, written at Petersburg, VA, was published in The Democratic Watchtower, 2 Aug 1864. It reports of the death of "your noble son, Lt. Col. J. E. Shelley, you fell at the head of his regiment on yesterday, the 22d inst, at 4 o'clock P.M. near this city. The letter relates that James was leading his troops with sword uplifted when a minie ball struck him in the left eye and passed out above and behind the left ear. He lived only a few minutes and spoke only, "O God have mercy". They could not obtain a metallic coffin so used a wooden one. The enemy had cut the roads leading South, so it was impossible at that time to take his remains home. They buried him at a new burying ground, because the city cemetery was full of shot and shell. The cemetery is near the asylum for the poor and the Fair grounds, at the west edge of city, and his grave distinctly marked next to Lt. Worthington, his Adjutant.

Birth	2 Sep 1831	Hawkins County, Tennessee
Death	22 Jun 1864	Petersburg, Virginia

Father	William Parke Shelley (1801 - 1874)
Mother	Margaret F. Etter (1803 - 1874)
Sibling	Nathan George Shelley (1825 - 1898)
Sibling	Elizabeth M. Shelley (1827 - 1827)
Sibling	Sarah Jane Shelley (1829 - )
Sibling	Charles Miller Shelley (1833 - 1907)
Sibling	Mary Cunningham Shelley (1836 - 1874)
Sibling	William E. Shelley (1838 - 1853)
Sibling	Henry E. Shelley (1841 - )
Sibling	Harriet M. Shelley (1843 - )
Sibling	Margaret F. Shelley (1846 - 1855)
Sibling	Martha H. Shelley (1846 - 1855)