The effort to record Civil War veterans’ experiences, during the conflict and before and after it, started in 1914. Dr. Gus Dyer, Tennessee State Archivist, developed a questionnaire and contacted all known living Tennessee Civil War veterans, asking them to return the questionnaires to Nashville.
In 1920 the project was continued by John Trotwood Moore of the Tennessee Historical Commission and also State Librarian and Archivist. The 1,650 completed forms were returned by 1922 and were made available for historical research. They are on file in the TSLA and have been microfilmed for security and ease of use (Microfilm #484).
The responses are rich in detail about pre- and post-war life, as well as military experiences. They include personal and family information; opinions about class and race distinctions; and details of agricultural, business and educational opportunities for the young in nineteenth century Tennessee.
Click here for more information, a sample questionnaire, and an index to existing questionnaires at TSLA.
This is a transcription of the Questionnaire returned by Leander T. Billingsley. (Submitter unidentified.)
| 1 | State your full name and present post office address: |
| Lee T. Billingsley, Pikeville, Tenn. R. #1 | |
| 2 | State your age now: |
| 78 yrs. Oct. 1921 | |
| 3 | In what State and county were you born? |
| Bledsoe County, Tenn. | |
| 4 | Were you a Confederate or Federal soldier? |
| Confederate | |
| 5 | Name of your company? |
| Co. F-Second Tenn. Voluntary Cavalry. I have the blade I received when I enlisted | |
| 6 | What was the occupation of your father? |
| Farmer | |
| 7 | Give full name of your father: |
| John Billingsley; born In the County of _________ State of North Carolina. He lived at______ | |
| Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc; books written by him, etc: | |
| He came to Bledsoe county with his bride in 1806 and lived here the rest of his life. He was a member of the legislature for several years and Justice of Peace 24 years | |
| 8 | Maiden name in full of your mother: |
| Jane Hoodenpile; she was the daughter of: Philip Hoodenpile and his wife: Jane Hoodenpile; who lived at: near Pikeville. She was my father’s second wife | |
| 9 | Remarks on ancestry. Give here any and all facts possible in reference to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., not Revolutionary or other war service; what country they cam from to America; first settled – county and State; always giving full names (if possible), and never referring to an ancestor simply as such without giving the name. It is desirable to include every fact possible, and to that end the full and exact record from old Bibles should be appended on separate sheets of this size, thus preserving the facts from loss. |
| My Grandfather Samuel Billingsley came from England to North Carolina when he was a small boy ? he was a captain in the Revolutionary war. My grandmother, Mary Billingsley, came from Ireland to N.C. when she was about 15 years old. My grandparents were married and reared their family in N.C. but came to Bledsoe county in 1809 to be with my father. | |
| 10 | If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property as near as you can: |
| I was a boy when the war began and only owned a little personal property | |
| 11 | Did you or your parents own slaves? If so, how many? |
| My parents owned 40 slaves, 23 males and 17 females. I owned a negro boy who was my personal slave. | |
| 12 | If your parents owned land, state about how many acres: |
| 1500 acres in valley, 7000 acres on mountain | |
| 13 | State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened: |
| My father died in 1856, the property was undivided when the war began and managed by my mother, It was valued at $85,000. | |
| 14 | What kind of house did your parents occupy? State whether it was a log house of frame house or built of other material, and state the number of rooms it had: |
| In 1830 my father finished and moved into a 12 room brick house | |
| 15 | As a boy and young man, state what kind of work you did. If you worked on a farm, state to what extent you plowed, worked with a hoe and did other kinds of similar work. (Certain historians claim that white men would not do work of this sort before the war.) |
| I did some farm work but not much | |
| 16 | State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember — that is, cooking, spinning weaving, etc.: |
| My father looked after the negros and farm work. He did very little if any manual work. Mother saw that each negro woman did her part of the work and did it right. Almost all the cloth used was made at home. Father raised cotton and owned about 400 sheep. Shoes for the negros were made at home | |
| 17 | Did your parents keep any servants? If so, how many? |
| Father kept a manager or an “overseer” too (two?) of the other servants were kept | |
| 18 | How was honest toil — as plowing, hauling and other sorts of honest work of this class – regarded in your community? Was such work considered respectable and honorable? |
| For ten or fifteen years just before the war the larger land and slave-owners did not regard manual labor as respectable for a gentleman altho the laborer was not expected to live in idleness | |
| 19 | Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work? |
| Most of them worked for there were only a few men who owned sufficient property to live without working | |
| 20 | To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them? |
| There were very few men who were idle all the time. Men who did not have to work on the farm usually were employed in public service. | |
| 21 | Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slave holders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves? |
| I do not remember whether just not owning slaves caused a man to be treated as an inferior, but I do remember hearing some families referred to as “poor white trash” | |
| 22 | At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slave holders and non-slave holders mingle on a footing of equality? |
| The more prominent men whether slave holder or not attempted to interest the poor people in school and church | |
| 23 | Was there a friendly feeling between slave holders and non-slave holders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other? |
| With few exceptions I think they were all friendly most of the leading men were interest in church work | |
| 24 | In a political contest, in which one candidate owned slaves and the other did not, did the fact that one candidate owned slaves help him in winning the contest? |
| I do not think owning slaves would have been a help or a hindrance in this county. Very poor men seldom entered a political contest | |
| 25 | Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself? |
| The poor young men who really tried was helped and encouraged in every way. I recall several who came to this county with almost nothing and in ten years owned considerable property | |
| 26 | Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slave holders? |
| I think slave holders encouraged ambitious young men this was and is yet a farming and stock raising community, so about the only way a young man could get along was to rent a farm till he could buy land of his own, or be a stock dealer. | |
| 27 | What kind of school or schools did you attend? |
| Both public and private. The schools here before the war were only run 2 or 3 months each year by the county | |
| 28 | About how long did you go to school altogether? |
| About 4 years before the war and 2 years after the war closed at Sequatchie College | |
| 29 | How far was it to the nearest school? |
| 2 1/4 miles | |
| 30 | What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood? |
| The public school and 2 or 3 months subscription or pay school | |
| 31 | Was the school in your community private or public? |
| Both | |
| 32 | About how many months in the year did it run? |
| In all about five or six months | |
| 33 | Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly? |
| Some did. Some did not | |
| 34 | Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or woman? |
| I had both men and women as teachers | |
| 35 | In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government? |
| On June 16, 1861 I was mustered into service in the Confederate Army at Knoxville, Tenn. | |
| 36 | After enlistment, where was your Company sent first? |
| To Cumberland Gap, Tenn. | |
| 37 | How long after enlistment before your Company engaged in battle? |
| I do not remember exactly but it was several months before we fought any | |
| 38 | What was the first battle you engaged in? |
| The first regular battle was at Mill Springs, we were in several small battles or skirmishes before the battle of Mill Springs | |
| 39 | State in your own way your experience in the War from this time on to its close. State where you went after the first battle — what you did, and what other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were; state how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to cold, hunger you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how and disease. If you were in the hospital or prison, state your experience there: |
| I was in battles at Fishing Creek, Stubensville, Ky., Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and several other places. Our command was in Kentucky to relieve Morgan and we rode eleven days and nights not stopping longer than two hours at one time. I have eaten raw corn – green pumpkins and most anything else on these raids. | |
| 40 | When and where were you discharged? |
| At Morgantown, North Carolina, May 1865. We were under Gen. Joe Wheeler. I am sending you his farewell address. | |
| 41 | Tell something of your trip home: |
| I came home horseback down through: the mountain of N.C. I did not come straight home at once. Was several months making the trip | |
| 42 | Give a sketch of your life since the close of the Civil War, stating what kind of business you have engaged in, where you have lived, your church relations, etc. If you have held any office or offices, state what it was. You may state here any other facts connected with your life and experience which has not been brought out by the questions: |
| Farming. When I reached home the fences had all been burned, the negros all gone except two. The only stock mother had left was a steer. | |
| 43 | What kind of work did you take up when you came back home? |
| I have been a farmer and stock raiser all my life and have lived in Bledsoe county. Most of the time was spent on the farm I returned to from the war. Twelve years ago I moved to my present home about four miles from that farm. I have been a member of the Church of Christ for 45 years. I was Justice of the Peace 12 years and coroner 8 years and now am a Notary Public. I have been married twice. My last wife is still living. I have eleven children. | |
| 44 | On a separate sheet give the names of some of the great men you have known or met in your time, and tell some of the circumstances of the meeting or incidents in their lives. Also add any further personal reminiscences. (Use all the space your want.) |
| _______ | |
| 45 | Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember. (If you know where the Roster is to be had, please make a special note of this.) |
| This list of the Company was printed in a Knoxville paper soon after the close of the civil war | |
| Tullos[s] Rangers, known as Company F 2nd Tenn. Cal.: |
| John M . Bridgeman | Capt | |
| James W. Walker | 1st Lt | |
| A.R. Couk (Cook?) | 2n. Lt | |
| James W. Fraley | 3rd Lt | |
| Non-Commissioned officers: | ||
| William Smith | 1st Orderly Serg | |
| W.W. Henson | 2nd O.S | |
| L.T. Billingsley | 3rd O.S | |
| John R. Robertson | 4th O.S | |
| James Dyer | 5th O.S | |
| Maj. P. Swafford | 1st Corp’1 | |
| James Abbet | 2nd Cpl | |
| R.W. Brown | 3rd Cpl | |
| J.W. Cunningham | Wagon Master | |
| Anthoney Griffith | bugler |
| Private Soldiers: | |||
| James Abbet | James Acuff | J. S. Acuff | |
| Frank Burger | John Austin | Reuben Brown | |
| D. S. Brown | V. A. Beanerett | J. A. Card | |
| Andy Card | G. N. Campbell | James Cain | |
| G. W. Cain | John Carrick | Tim Daviss | |
| Will Douglas | O. P. Durham | H. C. Deatherage | |
| Gav. (?) Eppison | G. W. Ellete | George Frazier | |
| John Frazier | G. A. Findly | C. A. Ford | |
| James Freeman | J. M. Greer | Richard Guess | |
| John Gollihor | A H. Gollihor | T. H. Hinch | |
| S. P. Henderson | Thomas Hawkins | John Hawkins | |
| W. F. Hutcheson | Wm. Hatfield | Goins Hatfield | |
| R. H. Hatfield | W. H. Hatfield | John Hodgkiss | |
| James Hearn | Wm. Highenbottom | Aaron Hughes | |
| Sam Hughes | Dr. J. A. Hacker | John Jones | |
| Josh Jentry | John Knight | C. L. Lewis | |
| Thomas Laster | Houston Lamb | A. J. Larrimore | |
| Thomas Loyd | W. H. McCulley | J. C. McDowell | |
| James McCunah | G. W. McDonald | John Mitts | |
| James Nale | P. J. Norwood | T. ?(R. )H. Napp | |
| S. B. Panter | Leander Pope | L. L. Pope | |
| John Pollard | Adam Roberson | Isaac Roberson | |
| G. W. Rogers | Alvin Reid | Sam Robertson | |
| James Rankin | Reuben Rankin | W. A. Smith | |
| Alfred Swafford | Thomas Swafford | S. C. Stone | |
| Thaddous Simms | J. R. Smith | James Smith | |
| Dr. R. A. Stone | W. F. Simmons | W. L. Standifer | |
| L. L. Standifer | James Scott | Andrew Sherill | |
| Thomas Sherill | John Sherill | Sam Sherill | |
| I. N. Thomas | G. W. Taylor | Henry Tollett | |
| James A. Walker | G. W. Walker | A. J Walker | |
| I. E. Walker | Clay Wimberly | J. C. Worthington | |
| James Worthington | W Worthington | S. P. Worthington | |
| W. F. Worthington | Houston Wheeler | A. D. Williams | |
| Colored or negro servants for the Company: | |||
| George Tulloss | James A. Birch | James Ned | |
| James Taylor | Bird Terry | George Close | |
| Samuel Gallimore | |||
| 46 | Give the NAME and POST OFFICE ADDRESS of any living Veterans of the Civil War whether members of your Company or not; whether Tennesseans or from other States: |
| A.K. Swafford Pikeville, R. 1, Tenn. | |
| W.R. Pope Pikeville, Tenn. | |
| Bud Wheeler Pikeville, Tenn. | |
| L.L. Standifer Mt. Airy, Tenn. | |
| Captain W.M. Allen Dayton, Tenn. | |
| Frank Knight Pikeville, Tenn. | |
| Newspaper clipping: WHEELERS FAREWELL ADDRESS TO CAVALRY – Original Copy is Treasured Possession of the Family of Lee Billingsley -Yellowed with age, worn in two or more parts through constant handling, one of the proud and treasured possessions of this family of Lee Billingsley, a gallant soldier of Forest’s cavalry, is the farewell address of General Joe wheeler to his comrades, issued on April 29, 1865, It was dated at “Headquarters Cavalry Corps” and addressed to “Gallant Comrades”. It follows: | |
| You have fought your fight. Your task is done. During a fours years struggle you have exhibited courage, fortitude and devotion. You are the sole victors of more than two hundred stubbornly contested fights you have participated in more than a thousand conflicts of arms; You are heroes. You have done all that human exertions could accomplish. I desire to express my gratitude for the kind feelings you have seen fit to extend toward myself and to invoke upon you the blessings of our Heavenly Father, to whom we must all look in the hour of distress. Brethren in the cause of freedom, comrades in arms, I bid you farewell.” Joe Wheeler Major General | |
| Note: This is a copy of Gen. Joe Wheelers address. If I have not made all the questions clear or if there should be any other information I could give you please let me do so. I would like to see a good history of The Old South and I want to see your book when published. Yours truly, L T. Billingsley | |
| (N.B.: BILLINGSLEY, LEE T., Pension No. 10718) | |