J.B. Maness told me a story on January 20, 1979 of meeting a man named White, about 1925, who had known John R CAUDLE during the Civil War.  Mr. White was a Confederate soldier who had been wounded and was convalescing at his home near Martin, Tennessee.  Receiving word that Northern troops were nearby, he decided to rejoin his regiment before he was totally recovered from his injury.  As he reached the area that later was to become  Greenfield, he realized that he could not continue due to his weakened  condition.  He discretely sought information about Southern sympathizers in the area, and was given the name of John R Caudle.  John R and Nancy  (Nannie) hid him and took care of his wounds for 2 months, until he was  strong enough to travel.  John R carried him on a horse south through the South Fork of the Obion River bottoms into Gibson County, Tennessee where he successfully continued on to his regiment.  Mr. White was excited to meet John R's grandson (J.B. Maness), and stated that he owed his life to John R.

Jim Boaz Caudle and Ray Caudle told me this post Civil War story.  A band  of renegades heard that John R had some gold.  (He was known to always have money.)  They came to the Patterson Hill home site and held the family at gunpoint while searching for it.  He had anticipated such an act and had hidden the gold in a hollowed-out fence rail.  During the search the renegades actually disassembled the fence, exposing the gold.  Pretending to be totally disgusted with his situation, he angrily kicked the fence rail, turning it over, concealing the gold before it was seen by the outlaws.  The renegades were unwilling to accept his story of not having gold, so they took his oldest son, William E. as hostage.  They took Will to McKenzie, Tennessee with his hands and feet tied to the horse.  Luckily 
it was his own horse and during the night he escaped while the renegades slept.  The horse carried him back to his own home, still tied hand and foot.  John R took part of the gold and bought a pistol which has been passed down to J.C. Caudle.

In addition to farming, John R was a carpenter, specializing in coffin making.  Orelle Caudle told me a story of how he would often be summoned to come measure a very sick person, while they were still alive.  In those days, proper burial procedures were unavailable, so they had to have a funeral service and bury them fast, hence, the coffin was needed quickly after death.

I (Donald Mack Caudle) am fortunate to have a table that John R made as a wedding gift for his son, James Clayton (Jim) Caudle."

Submitted by Shirley A. Caudle Miller