Confederatevets.com

Joseph W. Woods, veteran of the Confederacy, died at his home in Athens, Ga., on July 8, 1922, in his eighty-third year. He was born in Madison County, Ga., near Paoli, the family going to Athens later on. For many years he was a loyal member of the Cobb-Deloney Camp of Confederate veterans in Clark County.

In 1861 Joseph Woods volunteered in Company D, 16th Georgia Regiment, under Capt. John Montgomery. He was in many hard-fought battles and never had a furlough. He lost his right arm at the battle of Knoxville, Tenn, in 1863; was also made a prisoner and taken to Fort Delaware, where he was detained for nine or ten months, suffering many hardships from hunger and cold.

A few years after the war Comrade Woods married Miss Emma Conger and settled on a large farm, which he successfully cultivated for many years. He was a deacon in the Presbyterian Church at Athens and was honered and respected by all who knew him. He had a special regard for his Confederate comrades and many times a dollar would pass from his palm to some needy old comrade. He loved truth, honor, kindness, and these beautiful qualities stand out as characteristics of daily life. He attended many reunions and looked forward to being with his comrades at Richmond again this year. In his illness, as his mind wandered, he thought he was with them in Richmond, and sometimes he imagined he was fighting the old battles over again. He told his beloved wife and children, who were constantly at his bedside, that he received his discharge as was ready to answer the last roll call.

His funeral was largely attended, and the many beautiful floral tributes attested to the love and esteem in which he was held by the community.