Submitted by Sid Stroupe and Mike Stroupe; Written and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter
Alfred A. Stroup (1842-?), the son of Joseph P. Stroup, was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina but moved by 1860 to the Stroup homelands in what was then Gaston County. Alfred enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army on April 26, 1861 in White Plains, Surry County, N.C. He was twenty-two years old at the time. He served in Company D, 14th Infantry Regiment, North Carolina. Alfred was described as 5’8” tall with a dark complexion, dark hair, and gray eyes.
The 1860 Census reveals that Alfred was working for Mr. Briggs, an “iron manufacturer.” In his military records, Alfred was listed as “present and accounted for” until transferred on February 19, 1862 to the Confederate States Navy for duty on the Confederate Steamer C.S.S. Virginia (earlier the U.S.S. Merrimack), one of the first ironclad fighting ships of the Civil War. On February 22nd of the same year, he received $62.63 pay, $11.00 per month service and clothing allowance. He signed the voucher “A.A. Stroup.” No further muster rolls can be located.
Side note: Alfred Stroup’s cousin, Moses Stroup [1794-1878], was a “Stroup Ironmaster” who made some of the iron plate for the U.S.S. Merrimack.
