========================================================================= Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2000 19:21:25 -0500 From: "Kes & Sandy Truelove" Hi Cousins, While we all pause for a breath of air I'd like to share a story that I puzzled over for 20 years. Why did 4 of the sons of Thomas Blackard and Elizabeth Lay enlist in the Union Army and 1 did not, just up and disappeared. Thanks to the help of several cousins I have put together the answer and written it down. Here it is:------------ The Story of James Alexander Blackard 1827-1878 A Northerner who fought for the South in the Civil War The BLACKARD Family, likely of Scotch-Irish descent, came to Charleston, South Carolina some time before the Revolutionary War. Though this is not verified as yet, there seems to have been 5 sons of the original emigrant and they settled in northern North Carolina. One of the older of the 5 (2nd generation) brothers, Willoughby BLACKARD, served in the 4th then the 6th North Carolina Regiment in the Revolutionary War. Another of the original 5 (2nd generation) BLACKARD brothers, William BLACKARD, started his family in North Carolina, then moved to Tennessee about 1807 settling in Sumner Co, Tennessee. William had 5 sons (3rd generation), the eldest was Thomas BLACKARD born in 1796 in North Carolina, married Elizabeth LAY in 1823 in Sumner County, Tennessee, and started his family, having 3 sons and one daughter in Tennessee. After William BLACKARD died his 5 (3rd generation) sons and several of his daughters moved, about 1828, to southern Illinois, White and Gallatin Counties, where Thomas had 3 more sons and 3 more daughters. By the time of the Civil War the BLACKARD family could be found mostly in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas in the South and Illinois and Indiana in the North. There were BLACKARD’s who served their cause from each of those states. The 6 (4th generation) sons of Thomas BLACKARD were: Alfred b 1825 in Tennessee - Stayed home to care for the farms and families. William Laffett b 1826 in Tennessee - 2nd Lieutenant Company H, 120th Illinois Infantry James Alexander b 1827 Tennessee - Private > 2nd Lieutenant, Co. F, 12th Louisiana Infantry John L. b 1834 in Illinois - Private > Sergeant, Co. H, 120th Illinois Infantry Thomas Joseph b 1839 in Illinois - Private, Co. G, 29th Illinois Infantry Francis Marion b 1844 in Illinois - Private, Co. H, 120th Illinois Infantry James Alexander BLACKARD was raised in Gallatin County on his father’s farm that was located about a mile east of Omaha, Bear Creek township. He married Martha Ann TROUSDALE of White Co, Illinois on December 20, 1857 in White Co. She died August 5, 1858, possibly in childbirth. She is buried in the Old Village Cemetery in White County that is located on the original land of her grandfather, Alexander TROUSDALE and his 3rd wife, Edah PEARCE. After his wife died James Alexander left Gallatin County and went south to visit his Aunt Sarah (Blackard) McMURTRY and her son, William L. McMurtry, who was James Alexander’s 1st cousin. Whether James went south because of heartbreak over the loss of his wife, or a family squabble with his brothers, or an argument of politics and the turmoil that was developing between the north and south we don’t know - I like to think he had a broken heart. William L. McMURTRY, who had moved from Illinois to Bastrop, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana about 1851 and had his family there joined the "Morehouse Guards" as 1st sergeant in Company B, 3rd Reg. Louisiana Infantry. He was discharged April 23, 1862 because he had been elected Sheriff of Morehouse Parish. Sarah (Blackard) McMurtry was living with her son in 1860 as was 16 year old John W. McMURTRY who, along with James Alexander, served in the "Morehouse Stars" which became Company F of the 12th Louisiana Regiment. Part of the family story about James states that he was in the south when the war broke out and he was forced to enlist. I question that since another family story says that one of James’s brothers wrote him a letter and said, "If we should meet on the field of battle, I shall lay down my arms." And James answered, "No, if we meet it shall be as north and south." R. Hugh SIMMONS, Regimental Historian for the 12th Louisiana Infantry, says that James Alexander "was captured during the retreat from Corinth, Mississippi in early October 1862, paroled in the field rather than sent north to a POW camp as all of the prisoners of this campaign were, and exchanged shortly thereafter. Returned to duty in November 1862, he served in the ranks as a private soldier through the end of August 1864." Also, SIMMONS states, "a final parole record was created for him (James Alexander) at Montgomery, Alabama on June 17, 1865 by the Federal 16th Army Corps which set up headquarters operations in the town. His rank was given as 2nd Lieutenant and he was described as follows: 6 ft 2 in tall, having black hair, black eyes, and a dark complexion. Usually these records state the parolee's place of residence, but this was not done here. I also can not comment on whether he was impersonating an officer, or had actually been promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and was on detached duty. This final parole is a Federal record and based on his uniform, papers he was carrying, and whatever he told them at the time. It does not represent what might have been in the missing Confederate muster rolls." R. Hugh SIMMONS says this about James W. McMURTRY, "JWM was captured at Nashville, Tennessee on December 16, 1864, the second day of battle when the Confederate line was outflanked and overrun. Survivors of the 12th Louisiana claimed to have been the last regiment to leave their place in line to join the helter-skelter retreat that ensued. Those who could not run fast enough, or were quickly surrounded, were captured. JWM was forwarded through Louisville, Kentucky to Camp Chase, Ohio arriving there on January 6, 1865. He convinced his Federal captors that his place of residence was Henry County, Illinois and based on this claim, he was allowed to take the Oath of Allegiance on March 27, 1865 and released on March 31st. He was described as being 5 ft 7 in tall, and having dark hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion." Donna Blackard WOODS with information from Charles BLACKARD has said that after the war James Alexander married in the south to Sarah Crayton Ainsworth Robinson about 1868 and lived in Bastrop, Louisiana where they started a family. James died on February 7, 1878 and is buried in Christ Church Cemetery, Bastrop, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. Sarah then remarried to an abusive man who left her. She then moved, with her children, back to Charleston, South Carolina where her family was located and the children grew up. James never returned north to visit his family. This was written August 14, 2000, revised August 18, 2000 by Kes TRUELOVE, GreatGreat Grandson of William Laffett BLACKARD, 2nd Lieutenant in Co. H, 120th Illinois. Some personal notes:-- 1- I spell my GreatGreat Grandfather’s name as Laffett because my grandmother, Lily Myrtle (Armstrong) CREASSER always called him "La - Fett" I suspect his name was Lafayette but I have never seen it written other than William L. Myrtle was a granddaughter of William L. and was born in 1883. She knew William Laffett quite well since he didn’t die until 1895 and she lived to be 97 and died in 1980. 2- Everything that was written has been from information that was generosity shared by either family members or interested parties. Without them there would be no story. R. Hugh SIMMONS - Regimental Historian for the 12th Louisiana Infantry Donna (Blackard) WOODS Charles BLACKARD Mansford Wellington "Jack" BLACKARD Theresa Mitchell WRIGHT Douglas Overton BLUE Laurie SHAFT and of course, my Grandmother, Lily Myrtle (Armstrong) CREASSER and mother, Josephine Elizabeth (Creasser) TRUELOVE 3- Website for the 12th Reg. Louisiana, Co. F - the "Morehouse Stars" http://www.voicenet.com/~hsimmons/12LA%20WEB%20Site/Company%20F.htm Website for the 3rd Reg. Louisiana - and Co. B - the "Morehouse Guards" http://members.home.net/civilwarcsa/ 4- Genealogy is never finished because you can never really know everything that happened and when. I have tried to be as accurate as possible. I welcome any additions or corrections from whatever source. There are several items that I want to check but that will need to come later since if I wait for everything I fear I will never get anything down on paper. Kes Truelove