Sketch by Andrew Bond, August 1996
Kilgore Fort House, Copper Creek, Scott Co. Va.
Sketch by Andrew Bond, August 1996
Rank: Pvt.
1860 Census: Shoemaker, Smyth Co., age 30
Enlistment: Seven Mile Ford, Smyth Co., age 33, 5/18/61.
Photograph of Freeman at a reunion in Smyth Co., Virginia.
Born 4/25/28. AWOL in Smyth Co. with wife who was "needing his attention daily." 7/13/61 thru 7/18/61. Remained "until the 'frolic was over.'" Present in unit 8/31/61. Hospital, sick, by 10/15/61 thru 10/23/61 when he asked company commander to "send me some money for Im suffering for something to eat or let me go home for I cant get to the regt I have nothing to cover me with...since Ive been sick I cant stand anything the least mist of rain or cold make me sick." Absent thru 10/31/61. Furloughed, sick leave, Winchester, 2/22/62 to 3/30/62 when declared AWOL. Died, Marion, Smyth Co., 6/9/1907.
Cecilia Huff, cwahoff@aol.com , provided the following:
James Hardaway Freeman was born April 25, 1828 in Nottoway County, Virginia, and died June 09, 1907 in Smythe County, Virginia. He married Nancy Catherine Blankenbeckler April 21, 1865 in Marion, Virginia, daughter of Andrew Blankenbeckler and Eleanor St. John.
Children of James Freeman and Nancy Blankenbeckler are:
i. Virginia Catherine Freeman, b. February 19, 1867,
Marion, Virginia; d. December 27, 1942, Marion, Virginia
ii. Claiborn Freeman
iii. Vicie Freeman, m. Charles Neitch, Marion, Virginia
iv. Lanna Freeman, m. Lundy Blevins, Yard, West Virginia
v. Cora Freeman, m. Tom Litz, Morristown, Tennessee
vi. Tom Freeman, m. Mary Snow, Marion, Virginia
Cecilia also writes:
I know that James Hardaway Freeman was married twice, once before the war and once after. During the war, he left to take car of wife #1. Chapla's 48th VA Infantry book says:
Others, like James Freeman, had family problems. Freeman's
'wife is needing attention daily - I agreed he might remain till the 'frolic'
was over,' Dungan wrote.
Also:
Hays and Freeman both wrote Capt. Greever for their pay and adischarge...Freeman
was 'suffering for something to eat...I have nothing to cover me since [John]
Franklin Williams [Co D] [took] my coat I have no Blanket and since I've been
sick I can't stand any thing the least mist of Rain or cold makes me
sick.'...Freeman, who went AWOL in July to attend to his wife, would go AWOL
again, never returning from a sick leave in February.
My paternal grandmother, Virginia Tilley Wolfe, said that James had been listed as AWOL for not returning on time - - but that this was not uncommon. She also said that when James returned from the war for good, his wife had died and his children were scattered among relatives. I don't know what her research regarding his service records yielded, but she was a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy via James. I also have a copy of a letter she received indicating that his records may have been destroyed. She also said that he'd returned from the war with a broken back and remained employed as a shoe-maker after the war. He married wife #2, Nancy Catherine Blankenbeckler, on April 21, 1865 in Marion, VA.
I located his application for a pension online a few months ago, dated July 27, 1900 and then more paperwork for the pension application two years later. It's hard to read.
48th Virginia Infantry Organization 48th
Virginia Infantry Actions 48th Virginia Infantry Roster
