Tracing Genes through Generations By: Brooke Baglietto
- Brooke Baglietto
- Sep 30, 2025
- 4 min read
The ability to conduct genealogical research has proven to be a rollercoaster of adventures over the past decade, ranging from highs to lows and from open highways to roadblocks. When one side of one's family is from a culture that did not keep consistent records, it makes finding the truth of where one came from even harder. This has been the writer's adventure since the age of seventeen. The past twenty years have been spent trying to uncover the secrets of a family that descends from either the Cherokee or Creek tribe. More is known about the English side of the family, and while conducting a thorough genealogical research, it came to fruition that the writer's great-great-great-grandfather participated in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Throughout her undergrad and her master's, this was never learned until taking time one day to analyze each ancestor, then, when plugging in the name Reverend Joseph George "Joe" Dupree, a biography was provided. Joe fought for the Confederacy and experienced the true pains of the war by having to have his arm amputated, but he went back into battle after healing.
Joseph Dupree was placed on the roll of honor for the battle of Chancellorsville. In July the same year he was wounded in his left arm during the second day of battle of Gettysburg. Joesph's arm was amputated four inches below his shoulder. After healing from his wounds Joseph rejoined his regiment, unable to fill his duties as a Sargent he was given fourth corporal, Joseph was placed on the color guard. Joseph was assigned the regiment flag. The Confederate battle flag he carried is in place at the Georgia state capitol building. The flag of my Fathers.[1]
Additionally, he made the honor roll and received his regiment's flag, which still resides within the Capitol building in the state of Georgia. Below is an image of the flag that is still being preserved at the Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia.
Figure 1.1 – 14th Georgia Infantry Regiment, 1905.[2]
14th Infantry Regiment was organized by Colonel A.V. Brumby during the spring of 1861 with men recruited in Jasper, Johnson, Pierce, Dougherty, and Worth counties. Ordered to Virginia the unit served under General Floyd in the Kanawha Valley, then was assigned to General W.Hampton's, J.R. Anderson's, and E.L. Thomas's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It was active from Seven Pines to Cold Harbor, endured the battles and hardships of the Petersburg siege south of the James River, and ended the war at Appomattox. The regiment had 379 effectives in April, 1862, and sustained 138 casualties during the Seven Days' Battles, 28 at Cedar Mountain, and 52 at Second Manassas. It lost 8 killed and 67 wounded at Chancellorsville and twelve percent of the 331 engaged at Gettysburg.[3]
Despite the losses that the South endured, Joe still placed his faith at the forefront by becoming an ordained pastor. This means from the mid-1800s to now, this family has remained devoted to their faith in God.
Continuing down the Dupree (Dupré) lineage, when coming to Josias Joseph Dupré, is where another moment in the genealogical pool comes to interest. Josias was a Huguenot. He was born in France but had to leave during the time of the Edict of Nantes due to his Protestant Christian beliefs to avoid persecution.
Possibly the most famous event in Louis XIV’s long reign (1643-1715) was the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, issued by the French king on 17 October 1685 and registered five days later by the parlement of Paris, a sovereign judicial institution having jurisdiction over approximately one-half of the kingdom. The Edict of Fontainbleau (the Revocation’s technical name, derived from the palace southeast of Paris where Louis had signed the act) declared illegal the public profession of Calvinist Protestantism and led perhaps as many as 200,000 Huguenots, as French Protestants were known to flee their homeland.[4]
Lastly, going back to more modern days, the writer’s great-grandfather detailed when to plant certain fruits and vegetables in Georgia. For genealogical reasons, this is an amazing piece of writing to look back on, knowing that Clyde Clifton McBrayer knew to notate for future generations when the best time was to plant most edible plants in Georgia. Below is a picture of a copy of the directions given by Clyde Clifton McBrayer. He also owned the first telephone in Paulding County (no concrete evidence to prove this, but it was orally passed down to the younger generations) in Georgia. All businesses, including the Post Office, would have to come to his home to use it. Clyde followed the ways of God by writing down traditional practices for those who lived far beyond his years. “And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever” (Isaiah 30:8, English Standard Version).
Figure 1.1 - Clyde Clifton McBrayer’s Georgia Guide to Farming. n.d.[5]
Bibliography
Golden, R.M., ed., The Huguenot Connection: The Edict of Nantes, its Revocation,
and Early French Migration to South Carolina. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 1988. Google Scholar.
Jeffries, Kevin. “Rev Joseph George ‘Joe’ Dupree.” Memorial at Find A Grave. Last
modified January 13, 2014.
McBrayer, Clyde Clifton. Georgia Farming Guide. n.d. Photocopy of handwritten
farming instructions. Pam Thomason.
National Park Service. “Battle Unit Details: Confederate Georgia Troops: 14th
Regiment, Georgia Infantry.” Civil War. Last modified 2025.
The U.S. War Department. 14th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Photograph of
Regiment Flag, 1905. Georgia Capitol Museum, University System of
[1] Keith Jeffries, “Rev Joseph George ‘Joe’ Dupree,” Memorial at Find A Grave, January 13, 2014, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18616444/joseph_george-dupree.
[2] The U.S. War Department, 14th Georgia Infantry Regiment, Photograph, 1905, Georgia Capitol Museum, University System of Georgia, https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/flag/id/92/.
[3] “Battle Unit Details: Confederate Georgia Troops: 14th Regiment, Georgia Infantry,” Civil War, National Park Service, last modified 2025, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm#q=%2214th%20Regiment,%20Georgia%20Infantry%22.
[4] R.M. Golden, ed., The Huguenot Connection: The Edict of Nantes, its Revocation, and Early French Migration to South Carolina (Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1988), 1. Google Scholar.
[5] Clyde Clifton McBrayer, Georgia Farming Guide, n.d., photocopy of handwritten farming instructions, Pam Thomason.
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