Sunday Search: Confederate Service

Following my records request that I filed with the National Archives a few weeks ago I decided to do a little more digging into the service of George William Clapsaddle during the Civil War. It seemed odd that he would have been discharged less than a year after enlisting in the 28^th Virginia Infantry. This was especially intriguing as there was little information on ancestry.com including the vague details found in his application for assistance from the Federal Government that he filed on 10 November 1902. 

While I am still waiting on the documents from the National Archives, the next logical step was to reach out to the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. With the few details that I had been able to record, I posted my query to their Facebook page and, through the assistance of a very helpful member of the group, I was able to learn about a few more details about my 3^rd great grandfather. Following our discussion, I turned my focus to fold3.com (I have a membership but, too often, I neglect to search this site) and was able to get a much more complete picture regarding his service in the Confederate Army.

George William Clapsaddle was born on August 29, 1834 to John Jacob Clapsaddle (who also served in the Confederacy even at his advanced age at the time) and Catherine Rinehart. One of four known children, he grew up on a farm in Botetourt County, Virginia. According to records, he enlisted in the 28^th Virginia Infantry (Company K) in Amsterdam, Virginia by Lieutenant Robertson on 20 July 1861 (one day before the regiment’s participation in the First Battle of Bull Run (Battle of First Manassas) and, despite originally enlisting for a period of one year and having not received any pay, he was “Discharged from military service… by Secretary of War” at Fairfax County Court House in Virginia on 30 September 1861. Later documents recording the receipt of back pay show that he was discharged on December 28, 1861.

While there is no supporting documents from 1862, it is likely that, after having received compensation for his previous service, he immediately reenlisted in the Confederate Army this time serving in the 12^th Virginia Calvary (Company E and D). It is possible that, during this time, George Clapsaddle participated in what would late be called Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign in the spring of 1862. However, it was while in service of this company that he was captured by Union forces at Charleston, Virginia on June 15, 1863, charged with assisting in the capture of cavalry officers and sent to Fort McHenry, Maryland and later Fort Delaware, Delaware.

After being included in a prisoner exchange on July 30, 1863, he returned to the 12^th Virginia Calvary where he was once again discharged. In early 1864, he enlisted for a third time this time serving as a private in Captain W. Hays Otey’s Company of Virginia Light Artillery in charge of local defense and assigned to the Confederate Arsenal Ordinance Depot in Danville, Virginia as a machinist where he served until the end of the war.

After the war, George Clapsaddle returned home, resumed farming, and married Margaret Ann Bowyer (daughter of Joseph Brown Bowyer and Elizabeth Betsy Stevers) on November 30, 1865 in Fincastle, Botetourt County, Virginia. They would go on to have eleven children including my 2^nd great grandmother, Sallie Betty Clapsaddle, who was born June 20, 1870 and married Roy H. Teaford on June 21, 1892.  

Late in life, while living with his oldest surviving son, Ray, he did apply for assistance from the Federal Government which he filed on 10 November 1902. While it is unknown whether he ever received assistance, what we do know is that he passed away on December 16, 1916 at the age of 82 not from old age but rather “epithelioma of upper lip, nose, and cheek”. While not specified, it is likely that it was a cancerous growth from which he has been living with for two years prior to his death. He was laid to rest, along with his story, in the cemetery at Galalia Church in Gala, Virginia.

Sunday Search: A Second Marriage

On June 21, 1892, my great great grandfather, Roy Teaford, married for the second time to Sally Bette Clapsaddle. Roy, who can also be found under many other names, had lost his first wife, Mildred McNulty, earlier in the year and had employed Sally to care for his three young children. It is unclear exactly how the relationship developed over the months but, by summer, the two married and soon after began having children of their own. This included my great grandfather, Harry Gilmore Teaford, who was born just over three years after they first married on September 28, 1895.

Both Roy and Sally had deep roots in Virginia with both families predating the Revolutionary War. Roy had spent his life to that point laying track for the railroads through the Appalachian Mountains while Sally, 13 years his junior, was only just beginning her life beyond the walls of her childhood home. Roy came from a long line of farmers, from his great great grandfather Jacob Teaford who arrived in the colonies on October 27, 1764 to his grandfather, Jacob Teaford, who served in the War of 1812 and his father, John Wesley Teaford, who was the first to move the family out of Augusta County.

Sally’s family was long a mystery to me but the lines that have been explored in recent years are rather fascinating. Sally’s parents, George William Clapsaddle and Margaret Ann Bowyer, married shortly after George returned from serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and settled in Botetourt County. Ironically, both of her parent’s families trace their roots back to Pennsylvania having migrated down to Virginia around the same time that Roy’s family was arriving on the continent with both the Clapsaddle and Bowyer families intermarrying throughout the 19^th century and during parts of both the 18^th and 20^th centuries. Many of these records can be found in “The Related Families of Botetourt County, Virginia”.

When all the other lines from both Roy and Sally’s families are taken into consideration it is astounding how far the family tree stretches throughout Virginia as well as many of the other colonies. Some of those surnames include Cook, Bailey, Riggins, Pemberton, Stinson, Belcher, Snider, Wilfong, Veitheim, Stever, Brown, Schmucker, Steel, Hester, Rinehart, Mankey, Niday and Caldwell. Of course, there are alternate spellings for just about each one as well. Basically, if you scan the pages of the history books you are bound to find at least one of these surnames somewhere in the pages. All of these names tracing back to two people, my great great grandparents, Roy Teaford and Sally Clapsaddle.

Firearms Friday: Revolutionary Run And Gun

It always comes back to Botetourt!

I was wondering what I was going to write about this Friday for my usual firearms centric post as I wanted to tie it into my current travels in Virginia. I really was at a loss for any idea connecting the two until earlier today when we stumbled upon ‘militia training’ while walking down one of the long gravel paths behind the main thoroughfare in Colonial Williamsburg. As we got closer to the encampment I was welcomed with the familiar aroma of gunpowder hanging in the humid air.

The presentation began with a brief introduction about the living history display and what we can expect when exploring the different station at the camp including drum corps, artillery, and light infantry. From the cool cover of this briefing tent we ‘marched’ over to a large tree where we were instructed to take a “rifle” (i.e. large stick) and place it on our left shoulder. At this point we conducted a series of simple drills to simulate loading, aiming, and firing the weapon. And then there was the bayonet drills which my mom seemed to thoroughly enjoy.

Once we cleaned the rack, we had a choice as to which station we would like to experience. Given both family history during the revolution and my own interest in run and gun, it was an easy decision for me to immediately head over to light infantry. After a quick refresher of what we had just learned and a little more detail as to the role the light infantry played in the militia it was time for volunteers. No surprise, my hand was the first one up at which point we watched the demonstration of the course I was going to run.

First stage was at the 10 o’clock position where I was to load and fire. Bang!

Second stage, forward and at the 2 o'clock position from the first stage, was a repeat of the same procedure with the addition of throwing both a tomahawk at the silhouette and a grenade over the wall (disappointingly made of wood in both instances of course). I decided to go for the headshot. Bang!

The third and final stage was to return to where I started and provide cover fire for the next ‘soldier’ running the course. Bang!

Given the blisters that I had developed over the last few days and my overall un-athletic physique, I was rather surprised by how quickly this fat man can still move (without being winded at the end by the way).

From this station we moved over to artillery. It was interesting to watch a few volunteers go through the steps the first time around but it was much more entertaining when the demonstrators took their turn and put an actually, albeit light, load in the cannon.

I had no interest in drums so the best way to conclude this experience was with the fresh smoke and smell of gunpowder swirling in my nose.

Sunday Search: Our Towns

With the reunion having concluded yesterday, we filled Sunday with a variety of stops and places that I wanted to see during our extended vacation in Virginia. We filled much of our morning with a few trips to some local cemeteries but that is a post for another day. This post is about where our family lived both in the early part of the 20^th and latter part of the 19^th century.

Before moving up to Pennsylvania, my grandfather was born and raised in Eagle Rock, Virginia. This is where all of my great aunts and uncles were born as well. I guess you could say that it all started at the Eagle Rock Baptist Church where my great grandparents, Harry Teaford and Nettie Love, were married in 1917. For the first time, I was able to see the church thanks to my great uncle serving as our tour guide for the morning.

Of course, before we received this guidance, we were left on our own to explore the small town. While it is clear that it was once a nice little mountain community, the town seems to have never recovered from the depression that drove my family north.

While the train station still looks like it is in good working order…

…the car dealership has obviously be lacking that new leather smell for some time.

This is obviously not a touristy type stop but it where we come from and it is the first time that I have been able to walk the streets and probably the first time that my father had been there in about 50 years. While pictures and documents make up much of work in genealogy, places are also an important part of the process. Walking the same streets and seeing the surrounding mountains gave me a much better understanding of the generations of my family that called this small town home.

Later in the day we met up with a cousin in Fincastle (as well as my aunt and uncle who also joined us for the afternoon). Surprisingly, we were the only ones that took her up on her offer yesterday for a tour of the capital of Botetourt County. Many of our family documents can be found in this building so I was looking forward to finding out a little more about the town itself. We all convened at the local museum and proceeded to walk the town as the humidity continued to rise.

Just in front of the museum was the county courthouse…

…which served as the gateway to the west when this now modest county extended far beyond its current boundaries and deep into the Midwest. It is because of this distinction that the courthouse is recognized for its place in the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

From the courthouse we walked up and down the main and back streets of Fincastle…

…passing numerous historic sites and old houses…

…and quite a few churches including the one below which dates back to before the Revolutionary War.

The town tour ended where it began and our generous host concluded the afternoon with a walk through the museum. Of course, the path around the building lead us directly to the research room where we couldn’t help but pour through a few of the volumes stacked on the shelves. While we didn’t uncover much, it was nice to be back in the stacks sifting through all of the names. And, obviously, it was once again nice to have my feet on the same soil and stones that were once walked by many in my family decades ago.