Tuckahoe's Collection of Sherrill Documents

THE TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR VETERANS QUESTIONNAIRES

(FORM NO. 2)

In case the space following any question is not sufficient for your answer, you may write your answer on a separate piece of paper. But when this is done, be sure to put the number of the question on the paper on which you write your answers.

Read all the questions before you answer any of them. After answering the questions given, if you desire to make additional statements, I would be glad for you to add just as much as you desire:

1. State your full name and present post office address: BEN MOSER, Water Town, RFD 3 4 Tennessee

2. State your age now: 79

3. In what State and county were you born? Wilson County, Tennessee

4. Were you a Confederate or Federal soldier? Confederate

5. Name of your Company? Co. C 4th Tennessee Cavalry Forest Command

6. What was the occupation of your father? Farming

8. Give the full name of your father: Berry MOSER born at Mt. Carmel; in the County of Wilson;State o Tennessee; He lived at: Mt. Carmel.

9. Maiden name in full of your mother: Polly Ann PRICHARD, she was the daughter of: Benjamin PRICHARD & and his wife: Polly Ann PRICHARD who lived at: Norene, Tennessee.

10. 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, offices held, Revolutionary or other war service; what country they came from to America; first settled -- country and State: always giving full names (if possible), and never referring to an ancestor simply as such without giving the 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. Grand Father and Moth PRICHARD came from North Carolina. Grand Father MOSER came from Hollen (sic) & Grandmother raised in Davidson Co., Tennessee.

11. 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: Did not own no (sic) land.

12. Did you or your parents own slaves? If so, how many? No.

13. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres: 200 acres.

14. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened: $25.00 per acre.

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

16. 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. (Certain historians claim that white men would not do work of this sort before the war.) Farm work - plowed and hoed.

16 .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.:Shop work: carding & spinning. All house work done by Mother and sisters.

17. Did your parents keep any servants? If so, how many? No.

18. 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? White and colored all worked together.

19. 0here white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them? All worked except age ones. (sic)

20. Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slave holders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slave: They all mingled to-gether. Those that had no Negroes was thought as those that had Negroes.

21. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slave holders and non-slave holders mingle on a footing of equality? You could tell no difference.

23. Was there a friendly feeling between slave holders and non-slave holders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other? There were no bitter feeling. No one concerning slaves.

24. 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 any in winning the contest? Slave holding stood the same showing for an office as a non slave holder did.

25. Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to say up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself? It was.

26. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slave holders? were not

27. What kind of school or schools did you attend? Communting (sic) school.

28. About how long did you go to school altogether? 4 years.

29. How far was it to the nearest school? 2 miles. 31. Was the school in your community private or public? Public.

32. About how many months in the year did it run? 6 months.

33. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly? Yes.

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

35. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government? 10th month 1861 at Shop Springs, Wilson Co., Tennessee.

36. After enlistment, where was your Company sent first? Nashville, Tennessee.

37. How long after enlistment before your Company engaged in battle? 4 months.

38. What was the first battle you engaged in? Fort Donelson, Tenn., Feb. 15-16, 1862.

39. State in your own way your experience in the War from this time on to its close. State where you went after the first battle - what you did and 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 prison, state your experience there: Went to Chattanooga, Tenn. Apr. 12-62. Next to Murfreesboro, Tenn. July 15-62. Never in prison or hospital. Nothing much to eat. Very little disease, exposed to all kinds of wether (sic). Mostly got my clothes from home. No where to sleep.

40. When and where were you discharged? Steverson, Alabama, Feb. 22, 1865.

41. Tell something of your trip home: Had no trouble only had to walk nearly the whole distance.

42. 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 any 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 farmed and mechaic (sic) ever sence the close of the war. I was in about 30 battles during the war. Several small battles I have not included. I have sleep several nights under the snow; my blanket being cover by snow and have puled rails down on the ground and spread my blanket on them and sleep; I have marched 2 to 3 days at a time and lived on parched corn.

43. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home? Farming

44. On a separate sheet, give the names of some of the great men you have known or met in your time, and tell some of the circumstances of the meeting or incidents in their lives. Also add any further personal reminiscences (Use all the space you want.)

FROM EXTRA PAGE:
Jeff Davis 1862
Robert E. Lee 1862
Gen. Bragg 1862
Gen. Kirby Smith 1864
Stone Wall Jackson 1862
Gen. Hood 1862
Isham G. Harris, Gov.1860-61
Long Street 1863
Gen. Breckenridge 1862
John T. Morgan 1862
Gen. Steward 1863
Gen. Ashby 1862
Robert L. Taylor
Benton McMillen
Malcom R. Patterson
Con Cordell Hull
Joseph E. Burns

45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember. (If you know where the Roster is to be had, please make special note of this.) We went out in service with 110 men. I cannot remember only few names: John Bass; Jim Routen; S. B. Clemmons; Peter Parnell (Parness or Donnell); Guss & Geo. Alexander; Thom E. Parnell; Eggleston Parnell; John Cable; Gray Harris; Jim Hamilton; Bill Owens; Warren Bass, Albert Alexander; Cris Handcock; Will Phillip; Thern Phillip; John Phillip; Cell Wind; John Wind; Dillie Badgette; Phet Burk; Jim Drennon; Robt _ackery (?); John Waters; Connce Jones; Doak Berry; Pink Thompson; Lillard Thompson; Grindstaff; Teak Bass; J. A. Bass; John L. Bass; John Cater Bass; Jim Jackson.

46. Give the NAME and POST OFFICE ADDRESS of any living Veterans of the Civil War, whether members of your Company or not, whether Tennesseans or from other States.

Peter DONNELL, Shop Springs, Tenn.
Jim ROUTEN, Water Town, Tenn.
John CABLE, McKinney, Texas
Joe PATTON, Norene, Tenn.
John A. BASS, Water Town, Tenn.
Sam CLEMMONS, Norene, Tenn.
Monroe JENNINGS, Water Town, Tenn.
Bob WILLIAM, Water Town, Tenn.
Bill GREEN, Shop Spring, Tenn.
Dave DONNELL, Don't know, Texas
Henry MILLER, Lebanon, Tenn.
R. M. WILLIAMS, Water Town, Tenn.

(MOSER, BEN--Pension No. 14857)

The following information was recorded by Wanda Clark, 15 Nov 1981. It was obtained from her personal files. Additional information was taken from Zella PRICHARD'S letter to Zona PRICHARD. They were first cousins.