SUBMITTED BY: Cara Barker Hadfield (edited and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter)
My 3rd great-grandfather was William Nicholas Rose Jr. His great-grandmother was Ms. Lucy Harper and his great-grandfather was Benjamin Rose, of Virginia: They moved to the Falling Creek area of Johnston County, North Carolina, sometime between 1780 and 1792. The Roses took up a homestead in what we know now as Bentonville, North Carolina.
William Rose Jr. was a Confederate soldier in Company E of the 24th N.C. Infantry. According to his military records, Rose was about nineteen years old when he enlisted on May 31, 1861 as a Corporal. He was his regiment’s secretary during the war: He documented the movements, actions, and emotions of his fellow troops in great detail. He was promoted Sergeant on Feb. 28, 1863, and in 1864, he was promoted again to 1st Sergeant.
On Oct. 16, 1864, his father, William N. Rose Sr., enlisted at Camp Holmes, Raleigh, N.C. and served in the same company as his son, Company E, N.C. 24th Infantry. According to his military records, Rose Sr. was about forty years old at the time. Both father and son were taken prisoner on March 25, 1865 at Fort Stedman, Virginia. They were confined at Point Lookout, Maryland, and both men were released in June after taking the Oath of Allegiance.
William Rose Jr. is the ancestor who started my genealogy addiction! The way he spoke of the war was so interesting: He wrote that if they had been allowed to speak to the “yanks,” they could have had peace and been home inside a fortnight. His record of accounts is published and is also available to the public. Link here >> https://civilwarindex.com/armync/reghist/24th_nc_infantry_reghist.pdf