Civil War Veteran Questionnaire
 


 



 
 
Nat Mitchell

     
 TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR VETERANS QUESTIONAIRE

This is taken from The Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires, Vol 4, Compiled by Gustavus W. Dyer and John Trotwood Moore, Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1985, pp 1151-1152

Form number 1, which is what this one is, was mailed out by Gustavus Dyer in 1914-1915 to Veterans.

MITCHELL, NAT

1.  State your full name and present Post Office address:
...Nat Mitchell--McKenzie, Tenn, R 4

2.  State your age now:
...75

3.  In what State or county were you born?
...in Carrol County Tenn.

4.  In what State and county were you living when you enlisted in the service of the Confederacy, or of the Federal Government?
...in the same

5.  What was your occupation before the war?
...Farmer

6.  What was the occupation of your father?
...Farmer

7.  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.
...owned none

8.  Did you or your parents own slaves?  If so, how many?
...Parents owned six slaves

9.  If your parents owned land, state about how many acres:
...75

10.  State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened:
...$3000

11.  What kind of house did your parents occupy?  State whether it was a log house or frame house or built of other materials, and state the number of rooms it had:
...it was a log house with 4 rooms

12.  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:
...did all kind of work from cleaning out stables to sloping pigs

13.  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.
...father did in common what the rest of us done  he was too old to work wen i was a boy or young man   my mother did all manner of hous work and some in
the field

14.  Did your parents keep any servants?  If so, how many?
...they did not

15.  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?
...if did not work they never talked about a great eue (?) and not much thought of

16.  Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work?
...all kinds of work that come to hand

17.  To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others dod their work for them?
...I do not remember any such characters in my community

18.  Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves?
...there was no difference respectfull people

19.  At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality?
...So far as I know they did

20.  Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other?
...they were friendly

21.  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 know for sure  I new no defference

22.  Were the opportunies 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?
...Yes they did that

23.  Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders?
...So far as I know they were

24.  What kind of school or schools did you attend?
...Common old log house country schools

25.  About how long did you go to school altogether?
...My opituneties were better than my education

26.  How far was it to the nearest school?
...two one half mils

27.  What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood?
...Nothing but common old country school

28.  Was the school in your community private or public?
...We had no pulic schools in my boyhood days

29.  About how many months in the year did it run?
...We had school most of the year

30.  Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly?
...they did

31.  Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or a woman?
...Man

32.  In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the Confederate or of the Federal Government?
...I inlisted the Confederate army in March 1862 in the town of Tryenant(?) Tenn in Co. C

33.  State the name of your regiment, and state the names of as many mambers of your company as you remember:
...55th Tenn Regiment--Alic J. Brown was Colonel.  Robert Hurt was lieutenent, Joe Mcdonal, Captain Capt Ben Hallman was commanded by Colonel owens a good man.

34.  After enlistment, where was your company sent first?
...Union City Tenn.

35.  How long after your enlistment before your company engaged in battle?
...we were captured at No 10 _______ and went north for about five months

36.  What was the first battle you engaged in?
...first real battle was at new hope church ga.

37.  State in your own way your experience in the war from this time on until the close.  State where you went after the first battle--what you did, what other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were; state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to cold, hunger and disease.  If you
were in the hospital or in prison, state your experiences here:
...I was in the intire ga campaign was wounded on the 2nd of July 1864 and sent to the hospital at Forsythe ga  I got a sixty days furlough Spent with my uncle at Claton Ala  returned to army at Tuscumba ala from thence on the great campaighn to Nashville Tenn  I shall not undertake to mention the many hardships to which I was exposed but indured all

38.  When and where were you discharged?
...at Greenburough Noth Caralina with Johnsons army April 26 1865

39.  Tell something of your trip home.
...We marched over to Greenville Tenn and took train there that through Chatunoogar Nashville even down Johnsonville there we get a cross the river the best could  I happened to good luck  had a friend that was an oarsman he buled (?) us over

40.  What kind of work did you take up when you came back home?
...went to farming  have this ocpation as long i was able to work harvest been able to do manual labor in twelve years

41.  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 an 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:
...I have tried to live an honest uprite life  Been a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for fifty one years

42.  Give the full name of your father ___________; born __________ at __________; in the county of: ____________ state of ___________.  He lived at ____________-.  Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc.; books written by, etc.
...James A. Mitchell--do not know

43.  Maiden name of your mother: _______________; She was the daughter of___________(full name) ___________ and his wife ______________(full name) ________ who lived at ______.
...Lucinda Petty

44.  Remarks on ancestry.  Give here any and all facts possible in reference to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., not included in the foregoing, as where they lived, office held, Revolutionary or other war services; what country the family came from to America; where first settled, county and state; always giving full names (if possible) and never referring to an ancestor simply as such without giving a 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 father and Mother came from VA to tenn in 1845  I was born Oct 11 1846 I am the only Tennessean of the family  I know nothing of grand Parents  you have waited to long  i am not able to wite as you have already discovered So you will correct mistakes and forgive this bad writing  would have been glad to filled all the space but no able

45.  Give the names of all members of your Company you can remember: (If you know where the Roster is to be had, please make special note of this.)
----

46.  Give here the NAME and POST OFFICE ADDRESS of living Veterans of the Civil War, whether members of your company or not.
---

Submitted by LuAnn Lawton


BACK to Civil War Page


RETURN to Weakley County Home Page



webpage by MaryCarol