Reprinted here by special permission of the author, Cindy Beckman, a retired Conway High School history teacher who writes local history.

Riley Thompson Hankins enlisted in the 10th Alabama Cavalry on August 5, 1863, at the age of fifteen. He did not participate in any major battles but was in a few minor engagements before the end of the war. Returning home, he married in 1869 but his first wife died in childbirth. He later married again.

He and his second wife, Malissa, had twelve children, Continue reading →