Submitted by Sid Stroupe and Mike Stroupe; Edited and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter
Daniel Matthew Stroup, the youngest son of Christopher “Christy” Stroup, was born in 1844. He lived in White Pine (now Cherryville) in Cleveland County (now Gaston Co.) North Carolina. On October 25, 1861, Daniel Matthew enlisted in Cleveland County at the age of 17 years and 8 months. He was a Private in Company F, 34th Infantry Regiment, “Floyd’s Rifles,” North Carolina and described as 5’8” tall with blue eyes.
On June 27, 1862, Daniel, now eighteen years old, was wounded during the Battle of Gaines’s Mill in Virginia. Unfortunately, the young man died of his injuries several days later—July 5, 1862—in Richmond, Virginia.
Upon hearing the news of his son’s life-threatening injury, Daniel’s father Christy Stroup rode his horse several hundred miles from Cherryville to Richmond, Virginia to visit his dying son; he arrived too late – Daniel had died prior to Christy’s arrival. Daniel M. Stroup was buried at Oakwood Cemetery, west of Richmond City.
On April 2, 1863, Christy Stroup filed a claim in the name of his son Daniel against the Confederate Government. Nine months later—on January 5, 1864—the grieving father was paid $98.05.
