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John Wright Bowen enlisted in Duplin County in 1861
John Wright Bowen was born in rural Duplin County in 1846. He enlisted in 1861 as a private in the 18th NC Regulars. Little is known of his assignments until he was wounded and captured on May 12, 1864 during the battle at Spotsylvania Court House, VA when he was only...
Amos Lee was a neighborhood tooth-puller
Amos Lee lived in the town of Willard in Duplin County. He was a private in the 8th Senior Reserves during the Civil War. After the war, he was a farmer, bridge-builder, and tooth-puller. If anyone had a bad tooth, they would come see Amos Lee. He would give them a...
Russell Daniel Lord enlisted at age 23
Russell Daniel Lord enlisted at age 23 on 26 Sep 1861 as a private in Company A, Georgia, 38th Regiment. He fought in many conflicts from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor and was active around Appomattox. He received a head wound at the Battle of Fredericksburg...
Moses Waddell Dobbins enlisted 24 March 1863
Dobbins enlisted as a private and served in Virginia in the medical corps of the 64th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company I. My family history states that he was in the medical corps at General Lee's headquarters and attended to him once when called upon. Dobbins was...
Justinian Evans, age 17, served with Cobbs Legion in Georgia
He joined Company B&G as a private, serving as a scout with Stonewall Jackson. He rode a black horse named Bullet. They both were small, fast, and unafraid, and both returned from the war without a scratch. After the war he met and married Martha Cunningham Polk. They...
Brigadier General William Henry Sebring
William Henry Sebring was born December 25, 1840 in St. Louis, MO. His early years were spent on a farm before he enrolled in an academy in St. Louis. At 18 years of age he became a resident of Memphis, TN where he read law under Thomas D. Eldridge. During the War...
Wilkes County native fought, then made it home
My paternal great-grandmother, Eliza Jane Lail, had a brother named Liler Monroe Lail. Monroe was born about 1843 in Wilkes County, North Carolina to Cynthia and Daniel Lail. At age 18, Monroe was working as a farmer in Burke County when he decided to enlist as a...
The Hidden Confederate
My great-aunt, Julia Haughton Bryan, recounted how during the War Between the States a female family member was asked to hide a Confederate from the Yankees in her house. The lady rolled the young man up in a rug and stuffed him under a bed. When the Union command...
Benjamin Franklin as a “Doc”
On March 1, 1863, at age 36, my great-great-great-uncle, Benjamin Franklin Earney (Arney) enlisted in Burke County, North Carolina as a private in Company K, N.C. 35th Infantry Regiment. This company was known as the “Burke & Catawba Sampsons.” He mustered out...
Gettysburg claims a brother
Two brothers of my great-grandmother, Susan Young, died while fighting in the Civil War. One was Peter E. Young, who was born in 1834 to Henry and Lavenia Martin Young in Catawba County, North Carolina. Peter enlisted in Burke County on May 10, 1861 as a private. He...
William Henry, the third soldier son
William Henry Pitts, my great-great-uncle, was born to John Henry and Sarah Lolly Rogers Pitts in 1841 in Catawba County, North Carolina. He joined two other brothers, Conrad and Abel, fighting the war. William enlisted in Company C, N.C. 28th Infantry Regiment, on...
Soldier deserted but returned to fight at Bentonville
Logan A. Ridge was the great-great-great-grandfather of my wife Flora Jeanette Ridge. He was the original owner of our farm and a member of Company A 10th NC Heavy Artillery. He deserted at the Battle of Savannah, went home to Randolph County, but returned to fight at...
Union soldiers robbed the Grey family farm
Someone came running through the woods to tell my family that the Yankees were coming. We think these were the soldiers who captured New Bern. The whole family--multiple generations--ran through the house and yard, grabbing what they could, and hid under the house in...
Wiley Moore fought at Fort Fisher
Wiley Moore joined the Confederate Army and was sent to Fort Fisher as an artilleryman. When his enlistment ended, he joined the Cavalry and was present when Lee surrendered to Grant. He came home to North Carolina on a poor horse, walking most of the way. When he...
Senator James Knox Polk of the Georgia Legislature
Born 3 Nov 1805, Polk was serving in the GA legislature before, during and after the war. As the family story reads, he moved to Dekalb County GA in 1862, where he purchased the "Old Samuel House" on Peachtree Road in Atlanta, GA. The house was built using slave...
Thomas Mitchell Evins, 38th Regiment, Georgia
Evins was a 1st Lieutenant and served in Texas. He enlisted in 1862 at the age of 42 in the 33rd Texas Cavalry, Duff's Partisan Rangers, 14th Battalion, Company H. His rank was 1st Lieutenant. When the war was over, he remained in TX and returned "home" some 50 years...
Yankee Raider learned a lesson
"When the Union cavalry's supplies ran short, Captain William Kent and his command foraged the plantations of Major ... Bell and James Scott: both of the plantations were on Body Road (southwest of Elizabeth City)." (Elizabeth City & the Civil War, by Alex...
A Railroad Soldier from Burke County
My great-grandfather, John Martin Butler, was born to William Hall and Jane Saphronia Kibler Butler on Dec. 14, 1844 in Burke County, North Carolina. John married Harriett Ann Simpson (1849-1921) in 1869 in Burke County. On Feb. 15, 1862, at age 17, John enlisted in...
William Hall Butler earned his promotions
William Hall Butler, my great-great grandfather, was born July 24, 1825 in Burke County, North Carolina to John and Rachel Butler. Hall Butler married Jane Saphronia Kibler in 1842 in Rutherford County. He and Jane had ten children, Hall enlisted as a private on Feb....
Soldier’s life ended in a Union prison
David Carpenter was born to Jonathan and Barbara Kistler Carpenter in Lincoln County, North Carolina, on March 18, 1826. As a private he enlisted in Company I, NC 11th Infantry Regiment (the "Bethel Regiment") on May 26, 1862. David was wounded during battle on July...
One of many who didn’t come home
Henry Carpenter, brother to David Carpenter, was born to Jonathan and Barbara Kistler Carpenter in Lincoln County, North Carolina on Aug. 22, 1824. Henry joined the army as a private, enlisting on March, 26, 1863 at age 40 in Company. I, N.C. 11th Infantry Regiment...
Catawba sent its own ‘brave’ to war
Phillip E. Arney was born to R. Henry and Elizabeth Carpenter Arney in Catawba County, North Carolina, in January of 1843. Phillip worked as a farmer during non-war time. At age 19 Phillip enlisted in Co. K, N.C. 46th Infantry Regiment on March 13, 1862. This company...
Catawba family gave three sons to the Confederacy
John Esley Arney, my great-grandfather, was a twin to Jonas Franklin Arney. The two of them, along with another brother, Phillip, all served in the Civil War. John was born to R. Henry and Elizabeth Carpenter Arney on Oct. 29, 1845. He enlisted in Company K, 46th...
The Twin who went to war
John Esley Arney, my great-grandfather, was a twin to Jonas Franklin Arney. The two of them, along with another brother, Phillip, all served in the Civil War. John and Jonas were born to R. Henry and Elizabeth Carpenter Arney on Oct. 29, 1845. Jonas enlisted in Co. K,...
Soldier’s service ended in prison
Abel Reid Pitts, my great-great-uncle, was born to John Henry and Sarah Lolly Rogers Pitts on August 30, 1826 in Lincoln County, North Carolina. Abel later lived in Burke County. He enlisted in Catawba County into Company K, N.C. 35th Infantry Regiment as a private,...
From Catawba County, Another Sacrifice
Conrad Pitts, a brother to Abel Reid Pitts, was born in 1832 to John Henry and Sarah Lolly Rogers. Conrad enlisted in Company C, 28th Regiment of North Carolina Infantry as a private on Aug. 13, 1861, in Catawba County. Conrad was not to survive the war. He mustered...
Buffalo soldiers’ raid had incidental casualties
When a party of Buffalo soldiers raided the family farm in 1863, my mother's two great-uncles were sent into the swamp to hide. Both of the teenage boys died soon after as a result of exposure. This story was told to me by my mother, Margaret Reed Small, who was told...
The Jennings Brothers in “The Pasquotank Boys”
My husband's great grandfather was one of three brothers who joined the Pasquotank Boys to serve in the Civil War. He was James Monroe Jennings (1830-1900), who served along with his brothers, William Harney Jennings (1838-1864) and Decader Cader Jennings (1844-1911)....
Civil War Letter Identified another Relative
My husband's great-grandfather, James Monroe Jennings, left behind a letter written during the Civil War to his mother, telling her of the death of his brother, William Harney Jennings. We discovered it in 2011 in an old chest. In the letter , which describes the...
Those Carpenters answered the call
Jonas Carpenter, brother to David and Henry, was born to Jonathan and Barbara Kistler Carpenter in Lincoln County, North Carolina on June 23, 1820. Jonas enlisted in Co. D, 1st N.C. Infantry Regiment as a Confederate private. It is noted that this regiment fought on...
Five Brothers in the Civil War
Submitted by: Brenda Kay Ledford and Barbara Ledford Wright The shadow of the Civil War loomed over Clay County, North Carolina. Thomas and Eliza Ledford worried that their five sons would enlist and get killed fighting for the Confederacy. Tillman enlisted at...
He Didn’t Have to Go, but
This story was told to me as a youngster in the 1950s by my great-aunt, Kate Dixon Murdock. When I was older I verified it through these soldiers' individual Confederate Army records and other research. Aunt Kate said that when the Civil War broke out her grandfather,...
Jacob Dixon was True Blue
Jacob Dixon was born near Snow Camp (now Alamance County) December 15, 1842. The son of Quakers Caleb and Mary Snotherly Dixon, he was opposed to the war, as were all members of the Society of Friends. The family story passed down from generation to generation was...
Confederate Veteran and Jack of Many Trades
Drury Alston Putnam, my great-great-grandfather, was born Dec. 23, 1830, in Cleveland county, North Carolina, to Roberts Putnam and Lucinda Weaver. He was a “jack of many trades.” The various censuses from 1850 until 1910 show him as a wagon maker, farmer,...
Serving with the 22nd North Carolina
A.J. Dula, of Caldwell County, shared in almost all of the Army of Northern Virginia's travails during the Civil War. After joining the 22nd North Carolina Regiment in Caldwell County in April of 1861, he served in almost all the battles of the Eastern...
David Oliver of Belgrade enlisted July 1, 1861
David Oliver was born in Onslow County where he resided as a farmer. He enlisted on July 1, 1861 at age 21. He was killed in Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862. Want To Work With Us? Get involved with our exciting project. [do_widget...
John Humphrey enlisted at age 14
My great-grandfather joined the Confederate States Army in June, 1861. He was assigned to the 10th Heavy Artillery at Fort Lane in New Bern. It was noted in family lore that when he enlisted he was only 14 years old. To get around his age, he wrote "18" on a slip of...
Louisburg resident nursed an ill Union soldier until his death
Union General William T. Sherman met with Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston on April 26, 1865 at Bennett Place near what is now Durham, N.C., and Johnston surrendered his Army of Tennessee. At this time, Gen. Sherman headed back to Washington, D.C. His troops,...
William Moses Loftin walked home after the War
William Moses Loftin was at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. He shook the hand of Gen. Robert E. Lee. His parole paper is still in our family. He walked home from the war. He was a county commissioner in 1868. His ancestor Col. William Loftin was a...
Nelson and Ava Tift volunteered their shipbuilding services to the Confederate Navy
Nelson Tift, my great-great-grandfather, was born in Groton, CT on July 23, 1810. In 1826 he moved to Key West, FL with his brother Asa for business exploration ventures. In 1830 he moved to Charleston, SC to test Southern culture, and in 1835 he moved on to Southern...
William Sharpe marched with Gen. Sherman from Atlanta to the sea
William Sharpe was my great-great-great-great-grandfather. He was born August 26, 1842 in Hendricks County, Indiana. He enlisted in Company C, 70th Regiment, Indiana Infantry Volunteers, on July 22, 1862 in Clayton, Indiana. He served in the 20th Corps, 1st Brigade,...
Pvt. William Townsend of Robeson County
William Townsend was born in 1842 in Robeson County. He was 6 feet, six inches tall and a private in the 18th North Carolina Regiment, 8th Volunteers, Branch and Lane Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. After the war he farmed, and lived to age 86 in the town of St....
Pvt. William Baxter Tucker, Company I, 54th NC Infantry, CSA
William Baxter Tucker, great-great-grandfather of William Herbert Martin Tucker, was from Guilford County, North Carolina. He enlisted in Wake County on April 1, 1864. He was wounded at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia about May 22, 1864. He had a bad ankle wound and was...
50-year-old soldier served with three of his sons
John Duckworth Morrison (1813-1892) was my great-great-great-grandfather. He married Fannie Epley (1813-1914) and they had eight children, all born before the beginning of the Civil War and his enlistment. He had four sons who fought for the Confederacy. Three...
Iredell Cavalry Officer Saw Action
My great-great-grandfather, Hugh Caldwell Bennett (14 Dec. 1832 - 3 March 1907), was the son of George Stepto Bennett and Elizabeth Newland Bennett of Iredell County, N.C. He enlisted in Company F, North Carolina 3rd Cavalry Regiment as a corporal on 07 Oct. 1861...
Ancestor served, but had little to say
"My great-grandfather was named William Cahoon, but my grams called him Bill. He served in the Confederacy but my dad said he never heard him talk about it. My great-grandmother did receive money for a while after the war, and that helped them keep up part of the...
gun found on Hatteras
I once knew a man who had a gun he swore was found on the beaches of Hatteras, washed up after the Yankees came through the inlet. I never knew if he was pulling my leg, but he was proud of his gun! Want To Work With Us? Get involved with our exciting project....
A Novelist’s ties to Hyde County
Taken from stories written by William Stryon: "I've always been surprised by my direct link to the Old South -- the South of slavery and the Civil War. Many southerners of my vintage, and even some of those who are considerably older, can claim an ancestral connection...
Romance Kindled During Union Occupation of Fayetteville
As characteristic of the military presence in the Fayetteville area throughout the years, soldier boys met, fell in love with, and married local girls. This was true not only in the case of my parents, but also in my family's history. It was not long after General...
Grandmother’s locket
There are no records of when my grandmother was born, but her father was away fighting for the Confederacy. When he received news of her birth, he used that month's payment to buy a locket inscribed with the date 1864. That was the only record of her birth, and she...
A Deserter’s Story
George Deans (1831-1839), a Wayne County farmer, was a loyal Union man and bitterly opposed to the war between the states. In May 1862 he was conscripted by the Confederate army and taken from his home by about 15 armed men and sent to Richmond, Virginia. He was...
Pvt Drewry A. Mewborn made it home to North Carolina
Drewry Aldridge Mewborn, son of Parrott Mewborn and his wife Mary Aldridge, was born June 14, 1840. Drew was declared unfit for duty twice due to poor eyesight. However, on October 21, 1862 he was enlisted as a private in Company C, 47th North Carolina Infantry...
Pvt. Thomas Lafayette Morrison: farmer, soldier, POW, survivor.
T.L. Morrison, my great-great-grandfather, enlisted as a private in Company A of the 6th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, on Sept. 22, 1862. Between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12, 1863, he was captured during a battle near Brandy Station in Virginia and taken to Point Lookout,...
Tried to hide his son from the Draft Board
Daniel Christenberry Kirk, my great-great-great-grandfather, was a farmer on Morrow Mountain along the Pee Dee River. When the war broke out, Daniel's two oldest sons, James and George, enlisted in the Confederate Army. Daniel was sick and crippled. We don't know the...
The Soldier’s Choice
A Confederate soldier is given an assignment to lie in wait for a Union courier who is carrying important papers. The Confederate is, "at all costs," to bring those documents back with him. The Union courier is singing a beloved hymn as he unknowingly approaches the...
Confederate POW Died on Johnson’s Island
Levi Branson Williams, was the son of Ezekiel Randolph and Agnes Williams, of Guilford County. Born on November 13th, 1837, at an early age, he was left an orphan and in the care of his grandfather, Nathan Williams, passed the happy days of childhood. Of an earnest...
Family stories of the Underground Railroad
Excerpted from "Ramblings of a Country Boy," by Stephen Arthur Cohagan (my grandfather), written 1953. (Private papers) "Grandfather (John Pugh Jay) and Grandmother (Rachel Commons Jay) maintained a station in 'the Underground Railroad' and back of the fruit bins...
Killing Yankees in the Hog Pen
My great-great-grandfather, James B. Vause, served with the "Lenoir Braves." He was captured at Hatteras Island and held as a prisoner of war at Fort Warren, Massachusetts, until his release in a prisoner exchange in 1862. His brother, Robert B. Vause, was killed at...
Jacob Wagner’s Civil War
Jacob Wagner, my great-great-grandfather, was a member of Wiedrich's New York Light Artillery from Buffalo, NY. He came alone from Germany at age 16 and joined the battery on his 21st birthday. His first battle was Gettysburg, where he fought the three days on...
Wounded at Appomattox
John Murphy Walton, son of Col. Thomas George Walton and Eliza Murphy Walton, was born at the family home "Creekside" in Morganton in 1844. When war was declared in 1861, he left military training at Hillsborough Academy at age 16 to enlist in the 6th Regiment, North...
Phone: 910-824-7282
Email: info@nccivilwarcenter.org
824 Branson Street
Post Office Box 53865
Fayetteville, NC 28305
Phone: 910-824-7282
Email: info@nccivilwarcenter.org
824 Branson Street
Post Office Box 53865
Fayetteville, NC 28305