I just learned this week that my great-great-grandfather fought in the
Civil War:
Major Battles of the 43rd North Carolina Infantry (1863–1865)As part of Daniel’s (later Grimes’s) Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, Tank's G-G-F's regiment fought in these core campaigns:
The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863): Attached to Rodes' Division, the 43rd North Carolina was heavily engaged in fierce assault operations, most notably attacking the heavily fortified Union right flank at Culp's Hill. The regiment suffered severe casualties, losing roughly 26% of its engaged force.
The Plymouth Campaign (April 17–20, 1864): The regiment returned briefly to its home state to help Confederate forces successfully siege and recapture the Union-held garrison at Plymouth, North Carolina.
The Overland Campaign (May–June 1864): His unit saw brutal, close-quarters combat against General Ulysses S. Grant's forces at the Battle of the Wilderness, the Spotsylvania Court House (specifically the infamous "Bloody Angle"), and the Battle of Cold Harbor.
Early's Shenandoah Valley Campaign (July–October 1864): The regiment participated in Jubal Early’s bold march toward Washington, D.C., fighting at Snicker's Gap (Cool Spring), Charlestown, and the decisive Battle of Cedar Creek.
The Siege of Petersburg and Appomattox (1864–1865): The remnants of the regiment manned the trenches defending Richmond and Petersburg. Though his active roll presence cuts off in February 1865, his unit fought to the very end, participating in the final skirmishes leading to the surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
14 Replies
2mo
Came back to VA and found out someone had stolen his beehives and land, and he exacted mortal revenge on him. He left VA and hid out in the hills of E KY after he assumed a different name.
I heard he may have converted a gator into artillery, but that's just speculation.
(In response to this post by Tank)
2mo
My allergist for many years was the junior partner in an office with Dr McCausland, who was a very old gentleman when I first went to the practice in the 90's. Dr. McCausland was primarily raised by his grandfather, John A. McCausland, who was a brigadier general in the Confederate army.
For a lot of the early years of that allergy office operations, all the staff would get together at lunch and would get literally 2nd-hand Civil War stories that Dr. McCausland was told by his grandfather. My doc retold a couple of those stories to me over the years I went to that practice.
(In response to this post by Tank)
2mo
He fought over the entire four years of the war, was wounded once and returned to the fight. The arc of his original unit's battles took them through dozens of skirmishes and major campaigns and battles. At the end his unit had lost close to 80% of their original enlistments, and they had been continually absorbed by other commands. I couldn't pinpoint it exactly but it appears his unit had eventually been cobbled together loosely under Sherman's command. Just before Appamattox he was in a skirmish at Bentonville, NC, generally regarded as one of the final armed combats of the war. He was mustered out in Alexandria VA and sent home. Family legend describes the effect on him as being nearly deaf and having lost his mind.
** Edited by PhotoHokieNC at 5/29/2026, 7:52:50 AM
** Edited by PhotoHokieNC at 5/29/2026, 7:54:56 AM
(In response to this post by Tank)
2mo
He was 22 when the Civil War ended. He’s front row center. His wife, Rhoda is to his left. Behind him to the right of the young man in the long tie is my great grandmother, Stella. My grandmother, Clara, is the hot young item perched on the bench left arm, dressed in white. GW must have been at least in his 70s when this was taken.
** Edited by PhotoHokieNC at 5/29/2026, 10:05:24 AM
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
2mo
...so my daughters are now eligible to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Yep, my ancestor was on the side of the right rebels.
But as my direct line is from North Carolina and Georgia, I'm sure a few served the wrong rebels, too. /shrug
(In response to this post by Tank)
2mo
Like finding out you're descended from Nazis, no thanks. 😬
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2mo
I hate Illinois Nazis...
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2mo
(In response to this post by Freddyburg Hokie)
2mo
After the war, to regain citizenship, he had to lay down his arms and kneel before a Union Major on the steps of the Orange County, Va courthouse steps.
He refused. So he died not being a US citizen.
Took a mini ball to the eye and the foot.
** Edited by Spudnut at 5/28/2026, 9:44:55 PM
(In response to this post by Tank)
2mo
treaures his daughter, my great grandmother, kept in a wooden box in her bedroom at my mom's parents home. That, his service revolver, his mustering out papers and a slice of polished wood. Totally unconfirmed yet deep in the story of his war history, the wooden piece was something he had taken with his knife from a pew in the chapel in Alexandria after he was mustered out. They had told my ancestor, George Washington Lucas, that President Washington had prayed in that chapel and Lucas somehow justified exacting a relic of kinship from a pew seat GW might have occupied.
I was bequeathed his mustering out papers and have since passed those on to my nephew, my only immediate family member left on earth.
(In response to this post by Spudnut)
M
MikeVT85
2mo
what they had to say while he was a kid. He grew up near Marion VA at the turn of the 19th century. I had once asked him when he saw his first airplane. He said they were working in a field and heard this noise overhead and they all looked up to see one for the first time.
(In response to this post by Tank)
