Congratulations!

Congrats to our 2009 member of year, Compatriot Edd Silver, pictured here to the right of Camp 1946 commander Mike Ledford.

Meeting tonight.

Camp 1946 will be having their annual Christmas party and award presentation tonight at 6:30 pm at the Town Center in Burnsville. We hope you have your ticket. The Rev. Herman White, NC SCV Division Chaplain, will be speaking. We look forward to seeing you there.

Old Zion Church Cemetery - Yancey County

Pioneers first ventured in the Toe River Valley in the late 1700s, after the area became open to white settlement. These early settlers brought with them their deep religious convictions and churches began to spring up in fertile fields of the area. One of those churches was Zion Baptist Church, located in the Green Mountain Community. Zion was established in 1800, and one of the first pastors was W. C. Parsons. Members of the church included the Riddle, Ayers, and Bailey families. Not only was a log church constructed, but on a hill, across from the church, a burial ground was created.

It is unknown who was the first person buried in what is now known as the Old Zion Cemetery. There are numerous field stones that mark the graves of long-departed souls. The earliest marked grave is that of Nancy E. Hughes, wife of John Hughes, who departed on October 5, 1865. The last recorded burial is that of Jonnah Wallace, who died in 1950. You can see a listing of recorded burials here.

At some point, the cemetery was abandoned and nature started to reclaim the area. A few years ago, the Col. John B. Palmer Camp 1946 became interested in the Old Zion Cemetery. There are at least six Confederate soldiers interred in the cemetery. Camp 1946 contacted the land owners and, with their permission, began cutting trees and brush from the grounds. Currently, they are working on placing a split rail fence around the cemetery.

Former Confederate soldiers buried here are:

Meshac Ayers Co. G 29 NCT

Jeremiah Ayers Co. G, 29th NCT

Jackson Briggs Co. C 58 NCT

John Hughes Co. C, 58th NCT

John S. Huskins Co. K, 58th NCT

Hiram Peak Co. B and D, 29th NCT

We’ve created a folder on our Flickr account with some images from the cemetery and various workdays. Check them out.

Passing of member Ted Howell

Camp 1946 Members:It is our sad duty to inform you that compatriot Ted Howell passed over the river this morning and has entered glory. Ted was a long-time member of Camp 1946, and had served as lieutenant commander of the camp for several years. His presence will be sorely missed in our ranks, but his enthusiasm and dedication will continue to inspire us all. There will be a graveside service at noon this Friday at Rebel’s Creek Baptist Church in Mitchell County. All camp members are invited to attend, though it is not a Civil War service.

Please keep Ted’s family in your prayers during this difficult time, especially so close to the holidays.

Kindest Regards,
Michael C. Hardy
Public Relations Officer
Camp 1946

Recent living history photos.

New photos have been added to our flickr account from the living history we did for the Heritage Homeschoolers in Avery County. Click on our flickr account below. Thanks to Dr. Smith for taking and submitting these.

Next meeting

The Col. John B. Palmer Camp 1946 and the Martha Reid Silver Confederate Memorial Association will hold their monthly meeting at 6:30 pm at the Town Center in Burnsville. Everyone is invited to attend. At this month’s meeting Lt. Div. Commander Danny Bolick will be speaking about observation balloons used during the war.

Round Table tonight

Folks – the living history this past weekend for the Heritage Homeschoolers went great!! Picture will be posted soon.

Tonight is the Avery County and the Civil War Round Table discussion. It is at the Avery-Morrison Public Library at 6:30 pm. Everyone is invited and please bring a friend.

Lost soldiers

Greetings folks! Here is our next list of men who served in the Confederate Army from the Toe River Valley area that we do not know where their burial site is located? Any help? These men were all from Yancey County.

Presley D. Blankenship Lt.
John Hensley 1st Lt.
William A. Ray 1st Lt.
Jackson Allen Pvt.
William G. Angel Pvt.
Charles Austin Pvt.
Edward C. Austin Pvt.
James Austin Pvt.
William S. Baker Pvt.
R. H. W. Barker Pvt.
George L. Beaver Pvt.
J. H. Benfield Pvt.
George Berger Pvt.
James Biggs Pvt.
John B. Blankenship Pvt.
John W. Boone Pvt.
Jeremiah Brown Pvt.

Three hospitals

To say that the Toe River Valley was involved in turmoil during the Civil War would be an understatement. There were men leaving to serve in front-line Confederate regiments, recruiting for Federal regiments, inter-family clashes, and neighbor versus neighbor struggles.

There are also rumors of three different hospitals in the area. The first was supposed to be in Elk Park, and the source is said to be Trotter’s book, Bushwhackers. I read this book some time ago, and I go back to it from time to time. Elk Park is not in the index, and I am not sure what page it is on. The probability is that there was not an Elk Park until the railroad came through about two decades after the war. Elk Park was created as a answer to the company-owned Cranberry, just a couple of miles up the road. Cranberry, on the other hand, was a wide enough spot in the road to have gained a post office in 1850 (long before the railroad). I wish I had other information on this, but I do not.

Second, I have heard of a Confederate hospital in Bakersville. John Baker, a member of Company I, 29th NCT, came home sick and died in a hospital in Bakersville. We believe that Baker is buried in the old Bakersville Cemetery beside his father. Chances are there was not a real “hospital” in Bakersville, but someone’s home or a vacant building. But that is the story the way that I hear it.

Third: in one of Lloyd Bailey’s Toe River Heritage books, the first I think, there was mention of a smallpox hospital in Pensacola. Who worked in the hospital, how many patients, or exactly where it was located are so far all part of the mystery.

So many times, information regarding this time period comes in fragments just like the three that I present above. It could be that someone out there has more information. Or, we must be ready to come to grips with the reality that what information that might be out there is already gone, save for these glimpses into the past.

Lost Avery County soldiers

Greetings folks! I’ve been going through the Confederate pension records for Avery County. All of these men found below received a Confederate pension from the state of North Carolina, but I do not know where they are buried. Look over this list and see if you can fill in a couple of my blanks.


Bennett, R. G. 21st VA, Co. I Banner Elk
Brewster, J. M. 37th NCT, Co. E Altamont
Carpenter, Jacob 58th NCT, Co. A Altamont (This is Uncle Jake)
Cook, John M. 58th NCT, Co. A Saginaw
Fortner, Alexander 16th NCT, Co. C, Saginaw
Fostner, J. H., 56th NCT, Co. C Saginaw
Gray, W. D., 35th NCT, Co. B Hale
Hobson, B. 29th NCT, Co. I Valley
Harvel, William 58th NCT. Co. A Ingalls
Maltba, T. L. 55th NCT, Co. F Altamont
Norwood, William L. 31st NCT, Co. E Banner Elk
Ollis, Davis 7th NCST, Co. C. Ingalls
Pucket, Joseph 29th NCT, Co. E Minneapolis
Rose, E. M. 29th NCT, Co. I Saginaw
Sellers, J. P. 6th NCST, Co. E Altamont
Summerow, J. C. 26th NCT, Co. I Saginaw
Thomas, Jacob 6th NCST, Co. E Minneapolis
Tucker, Joseph 2nd NCST, Co. A Hole
Turbyfield, J. P. 58th NCT, Co. A Elk Park
Wright, T. W. 6th NCST, Co. E. Altamont
Vance, T. D. 58th NCT, Co. A. Ingalls

Upcoming events

Greetings folks! Lots going on this month with our local SCV camp. The group is holding a Find Your Confederate Ancestor day at the Yancey County Public Library this Saturday, from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm. There will be photographs and other displays pertaining to local Yancey County Confederate soldiers. We will also be around to help folks find their Confederate ancestors. We are always looking for other photographs or letters or stories to add to our collection. This is a free event and open to anyone. That is this Saturday, October 17, 2009, at the Yancey County Public Library (in the annex), from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.

On October 20, 2009, author Fred Ray, who has written a book on Confederate Sharpshooters, will be speaking at the monthly meeting of the Col. John B. Palmer Camp 1946 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The group meets for dinner at 6:30 pm in the Town Center in beautiful downtown Burnsville. This event is also free (donations are accepted to cover the cost of the meal and room), and everyone is invited.

On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, the Col. Palmer Camp will be hosting a Mitchell County and the Civil War discussion. This event is also free and open to the public. It will start at 6:30 pm at the Masonic Lodge in Bakersville. We will be talking about local soldiers, battles and skirmishes, civilians in the area, and whatever comes to the mind that relates to the war.

On November 10, 2009, there will be a similar discussion on Avery County and the War, held at the Avery County Public Library in Newland, North Carolina. Avery County has a host of interesting people and events from the 1860s time period. Once again, we will be talking about these people and places and events, all the from the 1860s time period. We will meet at 6:30 pm in the downstairs meeting room.

All of these events are free and open to the public and suitable for most age groups.