Embry, William Brittain

by Patsy Bowers

William Brittain Embry was born October 27, 1832 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. He moved with his father to Calhoun County. His father was Wiley Embry, born January 19, 1805 in Wake County, North Carolina and died in Calhoun County in 1874. His mother was Wiley's second wife, Polly Sanders, born April 25, 1804 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, daughter of William and Elizabeth Beatty Sanders.

William Brittain married Sarah Anne McKee, daughter of Alexander and Isabella H. Vance McKee. They had three children: Mary J. Embry, who married Jesse Andrew Gregg; Wiley Alexander Embry, who married Elizabeth Roberts Winningham; and John William Brittain Embry, who married Lourah Doolittle, daughter of Samuel Meek Doolittle and Sarah Anne Elizabeth Hammock Doolittle.
William Brittain enlisted with Gaston's Rifles at Benela, MS. He fought in several battles but was captured the first day of battle of the Battle of Gettysburg. He was held prisoner of war at Fort Delaware, Delaware, where he died March 4, 1864. He was buried in a common grave with a number of other prisoners. His name is on a monument dedicated to Confederate Soldiers buried at Fort Delaware, Delaware.