Cpl. Raiford E. Autrey was born in 1842 in South Carolina to Phillip and Elizabeth Autrey. The family resided in Walker County, Georgia, in 1850.
Raiford Autrey enlisted July 14, 1861, in Co. H, 26th TN Infantry, then transferred to the Lookout Artillery July 1, 1862. He was promoted to Corporal Dec. 1, 1863, while on duty at Ways Bluff, MS. During one of the battles of the Atlanta Campaign, “…the enemy ran in our picket in my immediate front. We reinforced the picket and charged. We were cheering our forces and laughing at the quick retreat of the enemy; one of my men Awbry [Autrey], had his mouth open when a Minnie ball passed through his cheeks without touching a tooth; but it stopped his laughing” [Capt. Barry’s recollection]. Raiford Autrey was captured with other members of the Battery on September 2, 1864, in Atlanta, and was imprisoned at Camp Douglass, Illinois. On March 24, 1865, he enlisted in the 6th U.S. Vol. Infantry and went West to fight Indians. He is described as having hazel eyes, black hair, dark complexion, and being 5’8” tall. He was appointed Sergeant on May 25, 1865, and promoted to 1st Sergeant May 1, 1866. He was discharged Oct. 10, 1866.
Upon his return to Walker County, GA, Autrey married Mary E. Garrett, younger sister of Rap Garrett. The couple moved to Tarrant County, Texas, around 1876. They were the parents of 13 children, 11 of whom survived to adulthood. Raiford Autrey died November 17, 1922, and is buried at the Smithfield Cemetery in what is now North Richland Hills, Texas.
Autrey family marker at Smithfield Cemetery, North Richland Hills, TX
Fort Worth Star Telegram, 1922 Nov. 17
OLD RESIDENT OF COUNTY DIES AT HOME HERE – R. E. Autry, for 48 years a resident of Tarrant County, died early Friday morning at his residence, 2417 West Twenty-seventy Street, North Side. Autry was 80 years old. He resided at Smithfield until 12 years ago when he moved to Fort Worth. There are eight children, 21 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren surviving. The children are: Mmes. J. E. Hukill, G.M. West and M. Terry, Fort Worth; Mrs. H. L. Shaw, Phoenix, Ariz., and L. W. Autry of Childress, R. A. of Quanah, C.E. of Fort Worth and J. W. of Phoenix. The funeral will be held in Smithfield Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Rev. J. F. Murrell conducting the services, and the funeral party will leave from the North Fort Worth Undertaking Company’s chapel at 1:30 p.m.
Additional biography: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txtarran/military/autrey_rayford_e.pdf
The Lookout Artillery, CSA 
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