David Parker and food's connection to morale in the Army of Northern Virginia.

I've been reading a lot of Confederate letter collections the past few weeks, and I have discovered something interesting in the letters of David Parker. Parker, from Yancey County and a member of the 54th North Carolina Troops, writes home about food (many soldiers did that), but ties in the morale of the army. We know that morale was tied to food, but it does not get mentioned very often.

In November 1862, Parker writes that all they are getting to eat is "dry crackers and beaf meat." He then confesses that he has lost weight in the past few months, and

David Parker

concludes: " I don't think I can stand the scarcities much longer." (45) Parker became lucky in January 1863. He was detailed to cook for the officers in his company. "I get plenty to eat. Thank god that is one good consolation and that is more than any of the rest of the Privates can say," he wrote home in February. (62)

It is unclear just how long these arrangements lasted, but by late summer 1864, Parker appears to be back in the ranks. His command was in the Shenandoah Valley and while rations were scarce, there were opportunities to supplement with apples and other fruits just coming ripe. In December of 1864, things were not so good. Writing from the trenches around Petersburg, Parker believed that "It is the hardest time in this army that I have saw since I have been out in the service and if it does not get better the soldiers will not stand it long. They are all threatening to run away if they don't give them more to eat." A few days later he wrote that the rations were a little better. We are faring very well at this time though I do not know how long it will last. What we get now we can live on very well. If it will only continue. I have not thought to run away yet though when I wrote last I was very much tempted. If they had not given me more to eat I do not know what I should of done though I do not expect to run away while I can help it for it never was my notion to run away. You know that I all ways was opposed to it but hunger will make men do that they do not want to do. So long as Jefferson Davis does feed me as he is at this time I will stay with him." (136)

Of course, we know that the North cut off supplies coming from the Deep South, and from the Shenandoah Valley, and that thousands did run away. David Parker held out until the end. He was wounded, probably on April 2, 1865, and admitted to a hospital in Richmond the next day. Parker succumbed to his wounds on April 14, 1865; he is buried in Richmond, a long way from his home in the mountains of western North Carolina.

If you want to learn more of David Parker's story, check out Pen in Hand: David Parker Civil War Letters, edited by Riley Henry. 

William Wallace Rollins: Confederate Captain - Yankee Major.

   He probably started off as a Confederate soldier, deserted, joined the Union army, and even had a fort named for him. But when it comes to the life of William W. Rollins, plenty of questions remain.

   It appears that Rollins was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on July 14, 1838. He was the son of a L. J. Rollins, listed as a preacher in the 1860 census. By 1860, the family was living in Madison County, North Carolina.  From available online resources, it is unclear if Reverend Rollins was connected to the new Mars Hill College prior to the war. In the same census, William Rollins was listed as having $1000 of real estate and $250 of personal property.  

W. W. Rollins, in Federal uniform. 

  On August 13, 1861, Wallace W. Rollins enlisted in Company D, 29th North Carolina Troops. I believe that William W. Rollins and Wallace W. Rollins are the same person. There is no other Rollins with similar initials in the 1860 Madison County census. The enlistment cards list Wallace W. Rollins as being 23 years old when he enlisted in 1861, consistent with an 1838 birthday. Rollins was mustered in as a First Sergeant. On an unknown date, he was promoted to sergeant major of the 29th Regiment and transferred to the field and staff. On May 2, 1862, Rollins was elected captain of Company D and transferred back to the company (Capt. John A. Jarvis was defeated for reelection when the regiment reorganized.)

   It is really unclear what happens next (the records of the 29th North Carolina are some of the worst. One card lists that he was in the hospital in Atlanta on August 20, 1864. Another card reads "By Presdt G. C. Martial this man was on furlough and was ordered to remain in N C to attend the Court Martial." In a letter written on January 17, 1865, Maj. Ezekiel H. Hampton, 29th North Carolina,  asked that Rollins be dropped from the rolls of the regiment. "Capt W. W. Rollins... who deserted from Hospital in August, GA on or about the 12th of Aug. 1864... went to the enemy [and] took (20) twenty men with him, and is now commanding troops in the enemey's lines in East Tenn." Rollins is listed as being dropped as an officer in the 29th North Carolina on February 17, 1865.

   On March 14, 1865, William W. Rollins was appointed major in the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US). His compiled service record tells us that he was 26 years old in 1865. The cards do not tell us where he was from. When Col. George W. Kirk ordered part of the regiment to Blowing Rock in Watauga County in April 1865, the earthworks they constructed were named Fort Rollins in his honor. Rollins did get a leave of absence in July 1865 to return to North Carolina and help the Governor (W. W. Holden) reorganize the civil government. Rollins was mustered out on August 8, 1865. One item I do not have that might clear up a question or two is his pension application, which was filed on January 23, 1893.

   In the 1870 Madison County, North Carolina, census, there is a "Wm Wallace Rollins" age 31. He is listed as a lawyer, with considerable wealth ($12,200/20,500). He is married to Elizabeth and they have one son, Wallace, and three servants. He is listed as living in Marshall, Madison County, in the 1880 census. Rollins is a farmer and lawyer. Eliza is listed as his wife, with four children, one nephew, and three servants. By 1890, Rollins has moved to Asheville. He is listed in the 1890 veterans census as a major, but no regiment is given. The 1900 census lists him as widowed, living in Asheville, and working as the postmaster. Wallace Rollins appears in the 1910 census in Asheville as a postmaster. And finally, W. W. Rollins, 1920 census, retired, still living in Asheville.

   Rollins ran for the state senate in 1866, representing the counties of Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Yancey, but appears to have been defeated by Leander S. Gash of Henderson County. (Arthur, Western North Carolina, 449)

   According to William C. Harris's bio on William Woods Holden, Rollins was first tapped to lead the force that Holden wanted sent into Alamance and Orange and surrounding counties. Rollins declined, and upon Rollin's recommendation, George W. Kirk was given the job. This would eventually lead to Holden's impeachment.

   Looking through local newspapers, one can find that Rollins was involved in the railroad, serving as president of the Western Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad (Asheville Weekly Citizen April 11, 1878); some of his dealings with the railroad wound up in litigation for years (Asheville Weekly Citizen April 22, 1880); there were other court cases as well - "W. W' Rollins vs. Eastern Band Cherokee Indians (Asheville Weekly Citizen January 5, 1882); Rollins was one of the organizers of the Western North Carolina Fair (Asheville Weekly Citizen October 23, 1884); he was one of the directors of the First National Bank of Asheville (Asheville Citizen-Times December 15, 1885); a stockholder in the Asheville Gas and Light Company (Asheville Citizen-Times June 15, 1886); president of the Asheville Tobacco Association (Asheville Citizen-Times September 3, 1889); president of the Asheville Branch of the Building and Loan Association (Asheville Democrat March 27, 1890); collector of internal revenue for the fifth North Carolina District (Asheville Weekly Citizen October 2, 1890);

   Rollins was also very involved in local Republican politics, was a member of the G. A. R. Post 41; and was considered one of the largest growers of tobacco in Western North Carolina.

    When he died in 1925, his obituary mentioned his service as major of the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US), but failed to mention his three years of Confederate service.

    So that is my question: is the Wallace W. Rollins, captain in the 29th North Carolina Troops, the same as Maj. William W. Rollins, 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry? Maybe that pension application will tell.

Marking graves

If you have not figured it out by now, I'll go ahead and let you in on a bit of my life: I really like cemeteries. I actually teach a class on cemetery iconography. Over the past twenty years, I've been in hundreds of cemeteries, from Florida, to Massachusetts, to Missouri. Very few things give me greater pleasure than setting stones for veterans, especially Civil War soldiers.

This past Saturday, I was honored to help set a stone on an unmarked grave of a Confederate soldier - one that I had been hunting for a long time.

Henry Cozzens (Cousins) or at times, William Henry Cozzens, and his brother, Franklin Cozzens, both voluntarily enlisted in Watauga County in what became Company B, 37th North Carolina Troops, on September 14, 1861. Both were mustered in as privates. Both were from Randolph County. Henry was 21 and living at home; Franklin was 28 and married, with an infant daughter.  Franklin Cozzens was killed in action at the battle of Second Manassas on August 29, 1862, and lies buried in a mass grave.

Henry served most of the war as a teamster. He was captured on April 2, 1865, after the break through below Petersburg, Virginia. He was confined at Point Lookout and released after taking the Oath on June 10, 1865. After returning from the war, he moved southwest to Yancey County, where he married Alex Beaver King, the widow of a Confederate soldier. He eventually applied and was awarded a pension for his service in the Confederate army.

I've believed for many years that he was buried in the King Cemetery in Yancey County. A few months ago, after persistent questioning, we finally found a family member who confirmed this. A stone was ordered from the VA and placed on his previously unmarked (or fieldstone marked) grave.

But there is more to this story (something I've been researching for over a decade): Henry and Franklin Cozzens were "free persons of color."  They and their families are listed as either being negroes (1850) or mulatto (1860) on the Watauga County census. They considered themselves melungeons, or, of mixed blood, part Indian, part Portuguese, part Black. Regardless, they were not required (or even eligible) for Confederate service.  Yet they did serve, voluntarily. It cost Franklin his life. I've always wondered what happened to his widow after the War. She simply disappears. Oh well, the search goes on.

Old town, new stone

Yet another busy and great weekend - I love fall in western North Carolina. I got to spend Saturday in Old Salem, signing books at T. Bagge’s with Joe Mobley (Confederate Generals of North Carolina). We (my family) then spent the rest of the afternoon touring the town and visiting the shops. If you have not been to old Salem, you need to visit. It’s well worth the time and money. One story I will relate - we were standing on the porch of the old tavern reading the menu when my wife recognized a lady and her daughter whom we have not seen in 10 years.  So, you never know who you will run into.

On Sunday, we were headed to the far western parts of North Carolina. Several weeks ago, I posted about raising money to purchase a replacement stone for Brig. Gen. John W. McElroy, the commander of the 1st Brigade, North Carolina Home Guard. Our local SCV Camp raised the funds, and purchased the stone, and we were off to install the marker. McElroy is buried in the Old Mother Cemetery in Robbinsville, Graham County. The stone was installed, and I had a chance to address those gathered with a few words concerning the life of this man. Thanks to the Col. John B. Palmer Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, for making this happen.

Interestingly enough, I got an email this morning from a McElroy researcher who said that all of my research was wrong - that John W. McElroy was in Arkansas in 1864. Oh well, I guess all the copies of letters I have between McElroy and Vance, written in 1864 about the conditions in western North Carolina, are incorrect....

“Me and my pards” were then off to Cherokee County - being so close, we decided to do a little more cemetery crawling. After about 45 minutes on the road, we arrived at the Hanging Dog Baptist Church Cemetery. Like the Old Mother Church Cemetery, this burial ground is rather large - over 1,000 graves. We came across the graves of numerous Confederate and a few Federals. The grave we were hunting was that of Montreville Ray, a Yancey County resident that served one year in the 16th North Carolina Troops. After serving one year (to the day), Ray deserted. In April 1864, he helped lead a raid on the town of Burnsville. Because he led the raid, some have claimed that Ray was a Unionist. However, there is no record that Ray ever joined the Union army. He was in the column often labeled "other."

Overall, a great weekend, but I am glad to have a few days off.

In the Toe River Valley Saturday

Has five days come and gone? Still trying to get the manuscript off – all this "editing and writing captions for pictures and editing and picture placement and editing and indexing and editing" is taking a considerable amount of time.


This Saturday, I’ll be helping with the Confederate Memorial Day activities in the Toe River Valley. We’ll be reading the names of men who died in Yancey County and firing a salute on the grounds of the courthouse in Burnsville at 9:00 am on Saturday. Saturday, about dusk, I will be participating in the candlelight memorial service at the old Bakersville Cemetery in Mitchell County. Everyone is encouraged to join us and bring a friend.

Names from the 1863 Yancey Baptist Report

After I posted about the resolution Brother Collins had reported on, expressing my desire to know their names, Keith Snipes wrote back. Here are the names. I was hoping to get time to look these men up and see what regiment they served in and how they died. But alas, I just do not have time. I am really behind in my work on the 58th. I am hoping this week and next week to get those last little research trips finished. Then, it will be time for some serious writing. To be honest, the writing part is not hard. Making sure that you’ve got everything (and you never have everything) out there is the time-consuming part.

One other bit of information before we get to those names. When I wrote the history of the Thirty-seventh, if was pretty straightforward when it came to enlistment. For example, William R. Rankin helped put together the "Gaston Blues." On September 24, 1861, 111 men enlisted in his regiment, which would become Company H, 37th North Carolina Troops. Yes, other men would join later on, after the passage of each conscription act, and a few junior reserves. Today, I was working on Capt. John Keener’s Company, which would become Company E, 58th North Carolina Troops. About half a dozen men joined the company before Keener formally began raising a company. On June 25, the day he officially started, 41 men joined. Then, on June 27, another 32 joined. There was one on June 28, seventy-six on July 5, three on July 7, three on July 16, seventeen on July 21, one on July 23, and one on July 25. And, they came from three different counties. My theory is that Keener started recruiting in Mitchell County, then, after he was unable to finish his recruitment goals (largely due to the fact the two other companies had come out of Mitchell County in the two previous months) he went to Caldwell County where he finished recruiting for his company.

Oh well, now to that list of names. These are men from Yancey County who were Baptists that died prior to August 1863:

A. Hollifield; William Collins; J. McKinney; William Woody; William Byrd; G. W. Byrd; Daniel Quinn, Ansel Randolph; Bartlett Wilson; E. J. Buchanan; William Grindstaff; J. M. Robertson; John Robertson; J. D. Howell; Thow McKinney; James Willis; James Harris; H. Willis; John Beaver, and Milas Hollifield.

CW sites in western North Carolina, part 1

Mike Ables, from Apopka, Fl (by the way - did you know that your hometown newspaper was started by a Confederate veteran from North Carolina?) recently wrote asking about Civil War sites in western North Carolina. There are not many. While George Stoneman did come through with a sizeable force of Federal cavalry in March 1865, which did result in several minor skirmishes, there were no large-scale pitched battles in the area. There are also no battlefield parks. But there are a few sites in western north Carolina worth checking out.

Fort Defiance, in Caldwell County, was built by the Lenoirs in the late 1700s. It was visited by Stoneman. While Stoneman's men burned many structures, Fort Defiance was saved. It has been restored, and is well worth the visit. While also in Caldwell County, visit the Caldwell Historical Museum in downtown Lenoir. It is a wonderful museum and has some good information about the War.

In Burnsville, in Yancey County, you will find the Rush-Wray Museum of Yancey County History. It is located in the ca. 1840 McElroy House. McElroy was a pre-war militia colonel, and in the summer of 1863, became brigadier general of the first brigade of North Carolina Home Guard. It is believed that he used this structure as his headquarters while he was in Burnsville. It is also believed that the house was used as a hospital after a skirmish in the town in April 1864. McElroy's daughter, Harriett, married Brig. Gen. Robert Vance, and McElroy's son, John S. McElroy, was colonel of the 16th NCT.

The Avery County Historical Museum in Newland also has a small Civil War display. A few miles from Newland (towards Linville) are the graves of Keith (McKeesan) and Malinda (Sam) Blalock, one-time members of the 26th NCT, and later Unionists who operated an underground railroad for escaped Union prisoners in western North Carolina. Their graves are in the Montezuma Community Cemetery.

While in the area, don't forget to visit the Carson House, just west of Marion, in McDowell County. The home, constructed in 1793, survived a burning attempted in the last days of the war.

More to come....