Submitted by Mike Stroupe; Edited and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter
On September 11, 1861, nineteen-year-old Rufus Lott Stroup volunteered for the Confederate Army at Buncombe County, North Carolina. For unknown reasons, he enlisted again on May 13, 1862, in the same county. He served as a Private in Company H of the 29th Infantry Regiment, North Carolina. At the time of his enlistment, Rufus was married to Nancy Johnson Stroup and had a young son named James Zebulon Stroup.
On November 12, 1862, Rufus died at Loudon County, Tennessee. Loudon County was of strategic importance to the Confederacy: The railroad traveled through this area of eastern Tennessee, connecting the upper and lower parts of the Confederacy. Rufus Lott’s personal effects were “turned over to legal representative” a year after his death, on December 1, 1863.
Rufus and Nancy’s son, James Zebulon Stroup, became the Police Chief of Rosman, North Carolina, which was a small community adjoining the Pisgah National Forest in Transylvania County. James married Minnie E. Edney, and they raised 10 children—seven sons and three daughters—together.
