Today I spent time at the Georgia State Archives in Atlanta. I came across several volumes entitled "The Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires" compiled by Dyer and Moore, which I found fascinating. Apparently sometime around 1919 and into the 1920's Civil War veterans were tracked down and invited to complete extensive questionnaires regarding their experiences before, during and after the Civil War. There wonderful first hand accounts were published alphabetically. The following transcript, from Vol. III, is for William I. Hill of McMinnville, TN, who was 77 yrs. old when he completed the questionnaire. (By way of family background, William Isaiah HILL was b. July 23, 1845 McMinnville, Warren Co., TN and married Jeannie ETTER Jan. 26, 1869 in McMinnville, TN. He was the son of James Washington Hill b. Nov. 1, 1822 Warren Co., TN amd Mary Polly Simms b. Aug. 12, 1823 Dry Creek, TN. James W. Hill's father was Isaac Hill b. abt. 1804 TN who married Francis Pickett, and Isaac's father was Benjamin J. Hill b. 1783 Granville, NC and Rebecca Wallace of SC. Benjamin's father was Isaac Hill, Sr and mother, Lucinda Wallace.) pages 1105-1106 Form #2: 1. State your full name and present post office address: William I. Hill, R.F.D. #2, McMinnville, Tenn. 2. State your age now: 77 years 3. In what State and county were you born? Warren Co., Tenn. 4. Were you a Confederate or Federal soldier? Confederate 5. Name of your Company? Co. H; 11th Tenn. Cav. 6. What was the occupation of your father? Farming 7. Give full name of your Father: Jas. W. Hill Born at: Irving College; Warren Co., Tenn. He lived at: same county and state Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc; books written by him, etc: too old for military service. Served as magistrate for 36 years. 8. Maiden name in full of your mother: Mary Simms She was the daughter of: William Simms; Charlotte Simms Lived at: Warren Co., Tenn. 9. Remarks on ancestry. ( nothing filled in) 10. 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: none 11. Did you or your parents own slaves? If so, how many? My parents owned seven. 12. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres: about 300 acres 13. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened: $12,000 to $15,000 14. What kind of house did your parents occupy? State whether it was a log house or frame house or built of other material, and state the number of rooms it had: Log house of six rooms. 15. 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) Worked with hoe until I was large enough to plow, then did general farm work. 16. State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember - that is cooking, spinning, weaving, etc. Father worked over farm as much as possible. He was not strong. Mother nearly always cooking, spinning, weaving, spooling, etc. as long as she was able. 17. Did your parents keep any servants? If so, how many? no special house servants 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? It was 19. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work? At least 95% did. 20. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them? very few 21. Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves? mingled freely together 22. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality? they did 23. Was there a friendly feeling betwen slaveholders and non- slaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other? Yes, they were friendly. 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? no 25. Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself? yes 26. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders? encouraged 27. What kind of schools did you attend? Public free school only 28. About how long did you go to school altogether? 2.5 to 3 months per year for about 10 years. (It may read 16 yrs. but is unclear) 29. How far was it to the nearest school? One mile 30. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood? Irving College 31. Was the school in your community public or private? Private 32. About how many months in the year did it run? About 7 or 8 months. 33. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly? Fairly so. 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 Federal Government? Sept. 19, 1863 at Sparta, White Co., Tenn in the Confederacy. 36. After enlistment, where was your Company sent first? King's Salt Works, Va. 37. How long after enlistment before your Company engaged in battle? about one month 38. What was the first battle you engaged in? at King's Salt Works, Va. 39. State in your own way your experience in the War from this time on to its close. Stte 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: Next battle was at Waynesboro, Ga., were then after Sherman's forces, fighting and capturing men every day. 40. When and where were you discharged? Paroled at Washington, Ga. 'bout May 15, 1865. 41. Tell something of your trip home: According to the terms of surrender we were to keep our horses and sidearms but upon reaching Chattanooga on our way home we were held there three days and forced to give up all horses and side arms. 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 experienc which has not been brought out by the questions: went to work on farm 43. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home? Have been engaged in farming practically all my life... am a member of the Church of Christ. 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. (left blank) 45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember: C. Coffee, Capt., W. P. Simms, J. M. Cunningham, Stephen Masey, Randolph Masey, W. I. Hill, J. R. Groves, Mile Groves, George Groves, Pleas Jennings, John Higginbotham, Jackson Higginbotham, Thomas McGee, Reuben Drake, W. J. Bruster, R. T. Lane, F. B. Martin, W. M. Biles, Henry Morford, James Johnson, John Riggs, William Lawson, Lawson Keith, L. D. Mercer, Alex. Black, O. B. Christian, G. H. Etter, Joe Thomas, Joe Hawkins, Vance Hopper, Jesse Solley, Claborne Pennington, Peter Banshaw, William French, Wm. "Goat" Garrison, Isaac Mercer, John Holcomb. 46. Give the name and post office address of any living veterans of the Civil War, whether members of your company of not; whether Tennesseans or from other states: James Jones, Rt. 2, McMinnville, Tenn. Mose Bouldin, Rt. 6, McMinnville, Tenn. M. D. Smallman, , McMinnville, Tenn. J. P. Etter, Rt, 8, McMinnville, Tenn. G. W. Parks, Rt. 7, McMinnville, Tenn. (Hill, W. I. Pension No. 10465) Note: His wife, Eugenia "Jeanie"(Etter)Hill later filed a Widow's Pension application, #W8163 Jackie http://www.geocities.com/abackwardglance ______________________________________________________________ Get Your Free E-mail at http://www.prontomail.com