SUBMITTED BY: JD Mayo (edited and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter)
Photo of Charity Rose Womble. Click photo to enlarge.
I have four ancestors who joined the Confederate Army during the Civil War. My great grandmother’s mom was Cherry Rose Robbins Sears (1867-1939). Her parents, my 3x great-grandparents, were Wiley [Willie] Hayward and Sallie Rose Robbins. Wiley, called “Willie H. Robbins” in his military records, was thirty-two years old when he enlisted on September 10, 1861 as Corporal. He served in Company I, 30th Infantry (North Carolina). He went on furlough on October 9, 1861. According to his military records, Wiley was “reduced to Private on Dec. 14, 1861,” then “dropped from rolls” because he “never returned from furlough” (North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster, 1993). Perhaps Wiley did not return because Sallie was pregnant at that time: Their son, named Jesse Battle Robbins, was born April 17, 1862.
Sallie Rose Robbins had a sister named Charity Rose Womble, my 3x-great-aunt. The picture I’ve attached with this story is of her. Charity Rose Womble was married to Isaac Womble, making him my 3x-great-uncle. Isaac was a farmer residing in Nash County when the war started. On April 26, 1861, when Isaac was eighteen years old, he enlisted in Company D, 20th Infantry (North Carolina). In July 1862, he was promoted to Sergeant. Isaac was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863 but returned in November to serve again. According to his military records, he was promoted to First Sergeant on Feb. 1, 1864. Isaac surrendered with his regiment at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865 (North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster, 1993). He is buried in the Womble Burial Ground at Nashville, N.C. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47305169/isaac-womble)
Like his brother Isaac, William Womble also enlisted in Company D, 20th Infantry (North Carolina) on April 26, 1861. He was twenty-nine years old at the time and a farmer. William was wounded on July 1, 1862 at Malvern Hill, Virginia but was able to return to serve that autumn. He was promoted to Corporal on Nov. 26, 1862. In May 1863, William was taken prisoner at Chancellorsville, Virginia but was exchanged just a few days later. On July 1, 1863, William was wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Gettysburg. He died of a fractured skull on July 9, 1863.
Isaac’s other brother, Benjamin Womble, served in Company I of the 17th Infantry (North Carolina) and was wounded at Petersburg, Virginia. He died from those wounds at a hospital in Richmond on July 10, 1864. (Source: North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster, 1993)
