Was My Great Great Grandfather in the Civil War?

rlfarmer

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Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Hello everyone! I'm trying to find out if my great great grandfather was in the civil war. It has been passed down through the generations that he was, but I haven't been able to find his name in any civil war records. His name was Leroy (or Lee Roy) Powell born in South Mills, Camden County, North Carolina in 1812. I believe he would have fought for the confederates. He had a son after the war (in 1876) and named him Wade Hampton Powell. The story goes that he was named after General Wade Hampton of South Carolina.

I also have a copy of a Special Pass from Norfolk VA dated September (I think) 24th, 1864. Any idea what this might have been for? It states the following:

Head Quarters Provost Marshal's Office
Permission hereby given to Leroy Powell,
witness discharged,
to pass home to South
Mills, NC, Camden County
By order of Brig. Gen. G. F. Shepley

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi, RL. I am pretty sure some help will be along quickly. We have excellent researchers here. In the meantime, welcome from Missouri.
 
So many of the Confederate records were burned when Jeff David evacuated Richmond. Sometimes local historical societies have the info bin cities where the company or regiment was originally formed.
 
I'm not finding a service record either, but there's a Confederate Citizens file which seems to be him - it'll take me a while to read the handwriting.
 
There are two Confederate citizens files concerning Leroy Powell of Camden county, NC. One is a claim for compensation for slaves who have run off to shelter behind Union lines. In the other he appears as a witness to the value of his neighbor's slaves who have also run off.
 
Here are the files for the claim - the one in which he appears as a witness is almost identical except for the names and descriptions of the slaves.
 

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Okay, I'm looking this family up in the census and I'm confused. 1850 census: Father and son, both named Leroy. Father born about 1812, son Leroy F. born about 1844 - I assume the younger is the one who would be a soldier. I'm not finding Leroy the younger in the 1860 census. He would have been 16, is he living on his own? He is not with his family. There are two additional children not present in 1850.

1850:
Leroy 38
Eliza 14
Sarah Jane 10
Leroy F 6

1860:
Leroy 47
Sarah 18
George 13
Stephen 17

Is the F an error, and his middle name was Stephen?
 
Hello everyone! I'm trying to find out if my great great grandfather was in the civil war. It has been passed down through the generations that he was, but I haven't been able to find his name in any civil war records. His name was Leroy (or Lee Roy) Powell born in South Mills, Camden County, North Carolina in 1812. I believe he would have fought for the confederates. He had a son after the war (in 1876) and named him Wade Hampton Powell. The story goes that he was named after General Wade Hampton of South Carolina.

I also have a copy of a Special Pass from Norfolk VA dated September (I think) 24th, 1864. Any idea what this might have been for? It states the following:

Head Quarters Provost Marshal's Office
Permission hereby given to Leroy Powell,
witness discharged,
to pass home to South
Mills, NC, Camden County
By order of Brig. Gen. G. F. Shepley

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Welcome to the forums, I'll willing to bet your mystery will be solved when our detectives wrap up the case. :smoke:
 
Hello everyone! I'm trying to find out if my great great grandfather was in the civil war. It has been passed down through the generations that he was, but I haven't been able to find his name in any civil war records. His name was Leroy (or Lee Roy) Powell born in South Mills, Camden County, North Carolina in 1812. I believe he would have fought for the confederates. He had a son after the war (in 1876) and named him Wade Hampton Powell. The story goes that he was named after General Wade Hampton of South Carolina.

I also have a copy of a Special Pass from Norfolk VA dated September (I think) 24th, 1864. Any idea what this might have been for? It states the following:

Head Quarters Provost Marshal's Office
Permission hereby given to Leroy Powell,
witness discharged,
to pass home to South
Mills, NC, Camden County
By order of Brig. Gen. G. F. Shepley

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi, welcome aboard and best of luck on your research. Shepley was the Union commander of the District of Eastern Virginia, the pass was likely to allow passage through the Union lines.
 
Thanks for the help so far! It would have been the older Leroy that fought in the war. He had two sons named Leroy, by different wives. The first, which is the 6 year old on the 1850 census, died in October of that year. His second son was born after the war was over. Here's what I've been able to come up with as far as his wives and kids:

First Wife: Clarenda Burnham (1817 - 1849)
Kids: Napolean, Albert L (1835-1836), Eliza Ann (1836-1852), Sarah Jane (1841-?), Leroy F (1845-1850), Powhatan (1847-?), Juliet (1848-1849)

Second Wife: Martha Ann Williams (1851-1922)
Kids: Estella (1869-?), Nat (1873-1935), Leroy (1875-1958), Wade Hampton (1876-1955), Sallie Ann (1878-1961), Alexander (1880-1881)

Obviously, Martha was much younger than Leroy and the two married in 1874 - after the war had ended.
 
Welcome from Canada!:beaver: We have some excellent and very helpful research people who will likely be able to help with your search.
 
Hi, welcome aboard and best of luck on your research. Shepley was the Union commander of the District of Eastern Virginia, the pass was likely to allow passage through the Union lines.
Beat me to it by a minute. Shepley had served with Butler in Louisiana, being appointed Mayor of New Orleans for not quite two months and the Military Governor of the Union occupied portions of Louisiana. In May, 1864, he returned to service under Butler in Eastern Virginia
 
Thanks for the help so far! It would have been the older Leroy that fought in the war. He had two sons named Leroy, by different wives. The first, which is the 6 year old on the 1850 census, died in October of that year. His second son was born after the war was over. Here's what I've been able to come up with as far as his wives and kids:

First Wife: Clarenda Burnham (1817 - 1849)
Kids: Napolean, Albert L (1835-1836), Eliza Ann (1836-1852), Sarah Jane (1841-?), Leroy F (1845-1850), Powhatan (1847-?), Juliet (1848-1849)

Second Wife: Martha Ann Williams (1851-1922)
Kids: Estella (1869-?), Nat (1873-1935), Leroy (1875-1958), Wade Hampton (1876-1955), Sallie Ann (1878-1961), Alexander (1880-1881)

Obviously, Martha was much younger than Leroy and the two married in 1874 - after the war had ended.
Thanks, that'll help. I've found him in the 1880, haven't found him in 1870 yet. Do you have a date of death? It might appear on a pension if there is one.

I'm thinking he should have been too old to enlist, plus the citizen's file seems to indicate he was at home running the farm. What happened to Napolean? If he was alive during the war he would have been a better age.​
 
There is an entry in Ancestry.com that shows Nathan Leroy Powell; born 26 Apr 1812; died 19 Nov 1882. Two wives: Clarenda Burnham and Martha Ann Williams. Additional info is minimal including the 1880 Census. There is no indication in the entry of a military record. One of the children listed is Wade Hampton Powell.
 
There is an entry in Ancestry.com that shows Nathan Leroy Powell; born 26 Apr 1812; died 19 Nov 1882. Two wives: Clarenda Burnham and Martha Ann Williams. Additional info is minimal including the 1880 Census. There is no indication in the entry of a military record. One of the children listed is Wade Hampton Powell.
I've got the same thing but no one has a source for that date of death. One tree is sourcing the other tree which is sourcing the first tree in an infinite loop. Oh well, regardless his wife appears as a widow in 1900 so we know he died between 1880 and 1900. Good enough.
 
No widow's pension that I can find.

Not finding a record absolutely does not prove anything - especially with a name that transcribers really seem to like to misspell. On one census poor Leroy has become Lucy. But given that the trial record says he can return home, instead of "return to his command" or something, and that the claims record seems to indicate he was managing his farm during the war, and that he is above the age to serve, my guess is that he probably didn't.

Any idea where he's buried? I'm not finding a grave or death record. A military grave might give useful information.
 
Second Wife: Martha Ann Williams (1851-1922)
Kids: Estella (1869-?), Nat (1873-1935), Leroy (1875-1958), Wade Hampton (1876-1955), Sallie Ann (1878-1961), Alexander (1880-1881)

Obviously, Martha was much younger than Leroy and the two married in 1874 - after the war had ended.
Is the marriage date of 1874 definite? If so, it creates problems with the birth dates of Estella (1869) and Nat (1873).
 
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