The Southern Yankee

by Terry Broxson

An Ancestor Story Contest Winner

This story is about two soldiers in the Civil War. Benjamin Dodd and Burnell Wade. Both men are my Great Great Grandfathers. I think the chances of that happening were remote in 1861 when the War started. Let me explain.

There are Civil War history buffs who know some of the stories about a group of Southerners in Tennessee who fought for the Union. I discovered the information while doing genealogy research on my family.

When the Civil War started, Tennessee was the last state to join the Confederacy. But not everyone in Tennessee agreed. In Western Henderson county and the Eastern part of Tennessee in the hills and mountains, the people had no use for plantations or slavery.

In Henderson County, the locals created the 7th Tennessee Volunteer Calvary USA. They would fight for the Union. It was led by a lawyer given the rank of Lt. Colonel. His name was Isaac Hawkins. It was asserted Lt. Colonel Hawkins was an incompetent commander. He would deny the charge.

Benjamin Dodd was a private in the 7th Tennessee Volunteer Calvary. There were four hundred seventy-four other men.

In a battle at Union City, Tennessee, Lt. Colonel Hawkins was tricked into surrendering. It was disastrous.

The entire army was captured and marched to Andersonville Prison west of Atlanta. Andersonville was one of history's most infamous prisons.

The boys from Tennessee were treated the worst of all prisoners. They were southerners who fought for the Yankees. Of the four hundred seventy-five men who entered the prison, two-thirds would die. Benjamin Dodd is one who lived.

Lt. Colonel Hawkins was also captured but went to a different prison for officers. He was released through a prisoner exchange. After the War, he was elected to the US House of Representatives from Henderson County for three terms.

Outside of Tupelo, Mississippi was where Burnell H Wade lived on his family's cotton farm. It was less than a hundred miles to Henderson County, Tennessee, but there was no evidence that Burnell and Ben met. Burnell was also a private but in the Confederate States Army.

When Ben's army was captured and marched to Andersonville, they went through Tupelo, but Burnell was not there. He was stationed in Andersonville.

It is not clear what duties Burnell had at Andersonville. It is unknown if Ben and Burnell had any contact.

Burnell did not stay at Andersonville very long. He would fight in the Battle of Peachtree Creek, where he was wounded in the leg and sent home.

There were over thirty thousand Union soldiers in Andersonville Prison. Thirteen thousand died. When the War ended on April 9, 1865, the commander of Andersonville, Captain Henry Wirz, was arrested. He was the only soldier tried and convicted for a Civil War crime. He was hanged on November 10, 1865.

In Tupelo, after the War, Burnell had a son named Thomas. Thomas would make his way to Texas. Thomas married Amanda Mae. They had a daughter named Bessie.

In Tennessee, Ben had a son named George Washington Dodd. George made his way to Texas. He married Nancy Ellen. They had a son named Glide.

Glide Dodd married Bessie Wade. My mother's parents. Their Grandfathers, both southerners, had fought on opposite sides in the War. They had very close proximity to each other. They may have met, could have been friends or enemies.

No doubt, the stories of my Great Great Grandfathers played out for many others as enemies became families.