| United Daughters of the Confederacy James B. Gordon Chapter #211 Forsyth County, NC Chartered March 30, 1898 |
| Photographs of Confederate Soldiers and Photographs of our Women of the War |
| G-I |
GENERAL JAMES B. GORDON 1822-1864
Gordon was born in Wilkes County. He studied at Emory and Henry College, Virginia. In
his local community he was a political leader and ran a successful mercantile business. He
enlisted in the Wilkes Guard, 1st Cavalry Reg't, NC State Troops. He served as the
lieutenant, captain and major of this regiment, which was assigned to the brigade of Gen.
J.E.B. Stuart. In 1863 he attained the rank of brigadier general and was assigned to
command the NC Cavalry Brigade. He fought gallantly throughout the war, fighting in
countless battles. During the battle to save Richmond, he was mortally wounded and died
May 18, 1864. In 1898, James B. Gordon was posthumously honored when the United
Daughters of the Confederacy of Forsyth County named their chapter after him.
Gordon was born in Wilkes County. He studied at Emory and Henry College, Virginia. In
his local community he was a political leader and ran a successful mercantile business. He
enlisted in the Wilkes Guard, 1st Cavalry Reg't, NC State Troops. He served as the
lieutenant, captain and major of this regiment, which was assigned to the brigade of Gen.
J.E.B. Stuart. In 1863 he attained the rank of brigadier general and was assigned to
command the NC Cavalry Brigade. He fought gallantly throughout the war, fighting in
countless battles. During the battle to save Richmond, he was mortally wounded and died
May 18, 1864. In 1898, James B. Gordon was posthumously honored when the United
Daughters of the Confederacy of Forsyth County named their chapter after him.
SPENCER JOSEPH HANES 1837-1879
During the war, Hanes served a scaptin of Co. E, 42nd NC Infantry. During the battle near
Petersburg, he received wounds so severe that he lay near death. His mother, Jane March Hanes,
traveled to Virginia to care for him, eventually bringing him home to Fulton in Davie County. In a
letter home, Spencer's condition was described as follows:
There was an operation performed upon his shoulder. The Dr. trimmed the gangrenish flesh with
a red hot knife and seared it with a red hot iron. Mother wrote that she had never seen anything
equal to it. She said the Dr. was going to take him to the Danville Hospital as he thinks there is a
great danger of him taking 'irisilplus.'
Spencer survived his injuries and eventually married Mary Jane Clement. He is buried in the M.E.
Church Cemetery in Fulton.
During the war, Hanes served a scaptin of Co. E, 42nd NC Infantry. During the battle near
Petersburg, he received wounds so severe that he lay near death. His mother, Jane March Hanes,
traveled to Virginia to care for him, eventually bringing him home to Fulton in Davie County. In a
letter home, Spencer's condition was described as follows:
There was an operation performed upon his shoulder. The Dr. trimmed the gangrenish flesh with
a red hot knife and seared it with a red hot iron. Mother wrote that she had never seen anything
equal to it. She said the Dr. was going to take him to the Danville Hospital as he thinks there is a
great danger of him taking 'irisilplus.'
Spencer survived his injuries and eventually married Mary Jane Clement. He is buried in the M.E.
Church Cemetery in Fulton.
DAVIE CITIZEN HUNDRED YEARS OLD TOMORROW: Charles F. Griffith, Father of J.F.
Griffith, of This City, Passes the Century Mark March 24; Until 90 Years Old He Never
had a Physician and in Spite of Influenza and a Recent Accident Appears in Splendid
Physical and Mental Condition:
Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 25, will mark the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Charles Franklin Griffith, one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of
Davie county. The arrival of the century mark for Mr. Griffith finds him in the best of health,
enjoying life to its fullest extent, and to one not aware of his age it would seem that the
five-score date is far in the future.
Mr. Griffith was born in Rowan county on March 24, 1825, being a member of a family
comprising twelve children, all of his brothers and sisters preceding him to the grave. When
a boy he moved to Davie county. He was married to Miss Sarah L. Taylor in 1849, and in
that year moved to his present home, on the Yadkin river, near Farmington, where he has
since been engaged in farming.
During the War with Mexico Mr. Griffith volunteered and with his company started to the scene
of action, but an order to return was received and he did not engage in the actual conflict. At the beginning of the War Between
the States, he was a member of the Home Guard and was later mustered into service. He was a first lieutenant and at the close
of the war, his company disbanding near Lexington, N.C., afterward returning to his home and resuming his occupation as farmer.
Mr. Griffith has always enjoyed excellent health, and was 90 years old before he ever received attention from a physician. Owing
to an injury to his hip, received about two months ago, he is unable to walk much at the present time, but his health is in very
good condition in every other respect. It is his boast that he has never missed casting his ballot in an election since he reached
his majority, and he takes a keen interest in all matters, political, civic and religious, concerning community state, nation or world,
and possesses an excellent knowledge of existing conditions. He delights in conversation with his many friends and discusses in
exceptionally interesting manner, subjects of today and of the past.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Griffith, two sons and one daughter, the latter passing away in her infancy. The sons
are WW. Griffith, who now lives near the home of the father, and J.F. Griffith, residing in Winston-Salem. Mrs. Griffith preceded
her husband in death, passing away in 1906. Mr. Griffith has twelve grandchildren and twenty great grandchildren.
The privilege of enjoying life for 100 years is accorded to few people, and Mr. Griffith is the recipient of congratulations from his
friends upon the excellent record of years which has become his possession. His home is the scene of many gatherings and it is
his delight to have his friends as guests. Tomorrow they will gather on an occasion of unusual interest, extending to the
centenarian their best wishes for his continued health and prosperity.
(Mr. Griffith's granddaughter, Pearl Griffith Lentz joined the James B. Gordon Chapter UDC on July 13, 1928 . Mr. Griffith
joined Co. C., 77th Reg’t 19th Brig. NC )
(It is believed that this article was in the Winston Salem Journal and Sentinel in 1941)
of action, but an order to return was received and he did not engage in the actual conflict. At the beginning of the War Between
the States, he was a member of the Home Guard and was later mustered into service. He was a first lieutenant and at the close
of the war, his company disbanding near Lexington, N.C., afterward returning to his home and resuming his occupation as farmer.
Mr. Griffith has always enjoyed excellent health, and was 90 years old before he ever received attention from a physician. Owing
to an injury to his hip, received about two months ago, he is unable to walk much at the present time, but his health is in very
good condition in every other respect. It is his boast that he has never missed casting his ballot in an election since he reached
his majority, and he takes a keen interest in all matters, political, civic and religious, concerning community state, nation or world,
and possesses an excellent knowledge of existing conditions. He delights in conversation with his many friends and discusses in
exceptionally interesting manner, subjects of today and of the past.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Griffith, two sons and one daughter, the latter passing away in her infancy. The sons
are WW. Griffith, who now lives near the home of the father, and J.F. Griffith, residing in Winston-Salem. Mrs. Griffith preceded
her husband in death, passing away in 1906. Mr. Griffith has twelve grandchildren and twenty great grandchildren.
The privilege of enjoying life for 100 years is accorded to few people, and Mr. Griffith is the recipient of congratulations from his
friends upon the excellent record of years which has become his possession. His home is the scene of many gatherings and it is
his delight to have his friends as guests. Tomorrow they will gather on an occasion of unusual interest, extending to the
centenarian their best wishes for his continued health and prosperity.
(Mr. Griffith's granddaughter, Pearl Griffith Lentz joined the James B. Gordon Chapter UDC on July 13, 1928 . Mr. Griffith
joined Co. C., 77th Reg’t 19th Brig. NC )
(It is believed that this article was in the Winston Salem Journal and Sentinel in 1941)
CIVIL WAR CAME TO A DRAMATIC CLOSE AT THE OLD GRIFFITH HOME
Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel July 19, 1942
About 10 o'clock in morning late in April 1865, a ragged little band of Confederate soldiers encamped on the Uwharrie River, near the
Randolph-Montgomery county line, got official word the War Between the States was over. They were told they were at liberty to go home
whenever they chose.
Among the men stationed there was Lieutenant Frank Griffith, whose home was a few miles north of Advance, in Davie county.
Many years later, when he was in a reminiscent mood, Lt. Griffith said that there wasn't a man to be seen anywhere around the camp 10
minutes after the announcement, as there was a scramble made to see who could first be on his way home.
By crow flight, it is nearly 50 miles from the camp on the Uwharrie to the Griffith home in Davie county, but the young soldier made it by 3
o'clock the next morning. Whether he "thumbed a ride" anywhere on the way is most unlikely, as relatively few vehicles were frequenting
the highways in those days.
But Griffith had an incentive that assured the greatest haste he possible could make. He had been oout of touch with his home so long he
was under the impression his wife, the former Sarah Taylor, was dead. Meanwhile, she also had come to believe him dead also.
When the dog-tired young soldier set foot on his front doorstep at 3 o'clock the next morning and knocked softly, he heard a voice that
was unmistakable, respond inside.
"Is that you, Frank?" she queried.
"It was the sweetest music I ever heard," Griffith declared many times afterwards.
That reunion marked the beginning of a period of happiness vouchsafed to relatively few men who saw rigorous service in that war.
Griffith, who came out of the conflict unscathed, lived until well into the twentieth century, and died at 101 years of age.
The Griffith home still stands in the midst of a great grove of oaks and hickories on the west side of the Yadkin River, only a short distance
below the site of the big hydroelectric power dam which the government plans soon to build.
It belonged to the widow of one of the two sons of Frank Griffith and Sarah Taylor Griffith, J.F. Griffith. For many years it has been
her summer residence and the summer residence of her many beloved kin who visit her there.
She has one son, Oscar Griffith and four daughters. Mrs. J.M. Lentz, Mrs. John Ogburn, Mrs. Ray Johnson and Mrs. D.S. Reid, Jr.
Lt. Griffith's other son, William Griffith, has three sons, Frank, William and Jeff Griffith, and two daughters, Mrs. Walter Winfrey and Mrs.
John Sheek.
The Griffith home is in an excellent state of preservation. On the north chimney is the date it was erected, in flourishing script, "1852".
Fine workmanship is manifest throughout, but as a family homestead to be maintained for sentimental reasons, many would have preferred
the fine old log structure it replaced. The old house, built a few rods south of the present site, was a huge log structure which, despite its
rugged simplicity, afforded a great deal of comfort. It has long since been razed.
Griffith (he was never called by his army rank after the war), lived long and honorably, becoming one of the best-known men of his section
of the state. His wit and humor were widely known. Chief among his pointed remarks, perhaps, was his remark to someone who was trying
to trace his ancestry to a man who once lived in that community, a great many years before:
"I can't see why you'd be interested in him," the veteran is quoted as saying. "He was hanged a couple of miles west of here for stealing a
horse."
Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel July 19, 1942
About 10 o'clock in morning late in April 1865, a ragged little band of Confederate soldiers encamped on the Uwharrie River, near the
Randolph-Montgomery county line, got official word the War Between the States was over. They were told they were at liberty to go home
whenever they chose.
Among the men stationed there was Lieutenant Frank Griffith, whose home was a few miles north of Advance, in Davie county.
Many years later, when he was in a reminiscent mood, Lt. Griffith said that there wasn't a man to be seen anywhere around the camp 10
minutes after the announcement, as there was a scramble made to see who could first be on his way home.
By crow flight, it is nearly 50 miles from the camp on the Uwharrie to the Griffith home in Davie county, but the young soldier made it by 3
o'clock the next morning. Whether he "thumbed a ride" anywhere on the way is most unlikely, as relatively few vehicles were frequenting
the highways in those days.
But Griffith had an incentive that assured the greatest haste he possible could make. He had been oout of touch with his home so long he
was under the impression his wife, the former Sarah Taylor, was dead. Meanwhile, she also had come to believe him dead also.
When the dog-tired young soldier set foot on his front doorstep at 3 o'clock the next morning and knocked softly, he heard a voice that
was unmistakable, respond inside.
"Is that you, Frank?" she queried.
"It was the sweetest music I ever heard," Griffith declared many times afterwards.
That reunion marked the beginning of a period of happiness vouchsafed to relatively few men who saw rigorous service in that war.
Griffith, who came out of the conflict unscathed, lived until well into the twentieth century, and died at 101 years of age.
The Griffith home still stands in the midst of a great grove of oaks and hickories on the west side of the Yadkin River, only a short distance
below the site of the big hydroelectric power dam which the government plans soon to build.
It belonged to the widow of one of the two sons of Frank Griffith and Sarah Taylor Griffith, J.F. Griffith. For many years it has been
her summer residence and the summer residence of her many beloved kin who visit her there.
She has one son, Oscar Griffith and four daughters. Mrs. J.M. Lentz, Mrs. John Ogburn, Mrs. Ray Johnson and Mrs. D.S. Reid, Jr.
Lt. Griffith's other son, William Griffith, has three sons, Frank, William and Jeff Griffith, and two daughters, Mrs. Walter Winfrey and Mrs.
John Sheek.
The Griffith home is in an excellent state of preservation. On the north chimney is the date it was erected, in flourishing script, "1852".
Fine workmanship is manifest throughout, but as a family homestead to be maintained for sentimental reasons, many would have preferred
the fine old log structure it replaced. The old house, built a few rods south of the present site, was a huge log structure which, despite its
rugged simplicity, afforded a great deal of comfort. It has long since been razed.
Griffith (he was never called by his army rank after the war), lived long and honorably, becoming one of the best-known men of his section
of the state. His wit and humor were widely known. Chief among his pointed remarks, perhaps, was his remark to someone who was trying
to trace his ancestry to a man who once lived in that community, a great many years before:
"I can't see why you'd be interested in him," the veteran is quoted as saying. "He was hanged a couple of miles west of here for stealing a
horse."