Submitted by Sid Stroupe and Mike Stroupe; Edited and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter
Joseph Franklin and Eliza Moore Stroup had nine children, including two sons—Robert M. Stroup and Peter Lafayette Stroup—who served in the Civil War. In November 1862, Joseph passed away, but before their father’s passing, Robert and Peter Lafayette enlisted in the Confederate States Army in Lincoln County, North Carolina. According to the Lincoln County’s Federal Census of 1860, Robert and Peter lived in the home of their parents along with their siblings and a farm laborer.
On March 25, 1862, twenty-year-old Robert Stroup volunteered to serve with the CSA at Shannon Station in Lincoln County. His military records described him as 6’1” tall and stated “farmer” as his occupation. Robert was a Private in Company H of the 52nd Infantry Regiment (“Spring Hill Guards”), North Carolina; he received $50.00 for his enlistment. In late April 1862, Robert and his company were mustered into service at Camp Mangum located in Duplin County, NC. He was present during the period beginning in October 1862 through February 1863.
On July 6, 1862, eighteen-year-old Peter “Lafayette” Stroup, Robert’s younger brother, volunteered for service with the CSA at Lincoln County, NC. Peter was also a Private in Company H of the 52nd Regiment (“Spring Hill Guards”).
On July 3, 1863, Peter was taken prisoner at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Several days later, on July 14, 1863, Robert was captured at Falling Waters, Maryland. The brothers were held as prisoners of war at the Federal Prison at Point Lookout, MD. On February 13, 1864, Robert died, and only four days later, on February 17th, Peter also died. Both brothers died of unknown causes while imprisoned, and both are buried at Point Lookout, MD; their grave numbers are unknown.
On March 14, 1865, about a year after the brothers’ deaths, their mother, Eliza Moore Stroup, filed a “Claim of Deceased Soldiers from North Carolina” in the Office of the Confederate States Auditor for the War Department. Their mother continued to live on the family’s farm, raising her other seven children to adulthood.