Pvt. Thomas Lewis Rider, Co. B, 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles served as a Confederate Military courier (mail carrier) for Gen. Stan Watie and Gen. Douglas H. Cooper, CSA, during 1861-3 until he died on August 17, 1863. Pvt. Rider was buried at Carriage Point (Fisher Station). Pvt. Rider apparently served as a staff mail carrier from CSA HQs to troops operating in the field, or camped for a time resting and foraging. His 16-year old son took his place in the mail service after he died and claimed that the "work was dangerous."

Pvt Thomas L. Rider is an ancestor of Hugh Formhals, Gen William R. Scurry Camp 1385, Albuquerque, NM.

March 12, 2013 Enlarge  Detail-1  Detail-2. Grave of Pvt. Thomas Lewis Rider (b April 3, 1814, d August 17, 1863). The grave is a few yards north of the Fisher's Station cabin site. View looking northeast

March 12, 2013 Enlarge Pvt. Rider grave. View looking east