2nd Lt. Wamon L. Dibrell (CSA)

1. State your full name and present post office address:

Waman (Warran?) Leftwich Debrill, Sparta, Tenn. [*Waman Leftwich Dibrell, Sparta, Tennessee].

2. State your age now:

Seventy nine years old 3rd Mar. 1921 [*Seventy nine (79) 3rd Dec. 1921]

3. In what State and country were you born?

Tennessee White county

4. Were you a Confederate or Federal soldier?

Confederate

5. Name of your Company?

KK-25. Infantry

6. What was the occupation of your father?

Farmer and merchant - stock man.

7. Give full name of your father: George Gibbs Dibrell; born at Sparta; in the County of White co.; State of Tenn.; He lived at Sparta, Tenn.; Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc.; books written by him, etc.:

[*]Private in the 25th Tenn. Calvary elected Lieut. Col. and later Col. of 8th Tennesse Calvary, then promoted Brig. Gen.

[*Father enlisted as a Private in the 25th Tenn. Inft. and at the organization was elected Lt. Col. and at the reorganization of the army at Corinth, Miss. was defeated and came home and organized the 8th Tenn. Cavalry and was elected Colonel of the regiment and was afterwards promoted to Brig. Genl and commanded a Division part of the time, as well as a Brigade to the close of the war. His brigade was a part of President Davis escort through North Carolina. He was wounded once in East Tennessee after the was he was elected to Congreee 20 yrs. in succession and retired of his own accord, to open up the Canan? Coal Mines near Sparta]

8. Maiden name in full of your mother: Mary? Elizabeth Leftwich; she was the daughter of: Waman (Warren) Leftwich and his wife: Rebecca Leftwich; who lived at: Sparta, Tenn.

9. Remarks on ancestry. Give here any an all facts possible in reference to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., not included in the foregoing as where they lived, offices held, Revolutionary or other war service; what country they came from to America; first settled-county and State: always giving full names (if possible), and never referring to an ancestor simply as such without giving the name. It is desirable to include every fact possible, and to that end the full and exact record from old Bibles should be appended on separate sheets of this size, thus preserving the facts from loss.

Grand father Dibrell was (Sect’ry) of the State of Tenn. My father was Col. and Brigadir Genl. of the Confederate army and was a member of the Constitutional Convention and also a member of the Congress for 20 yrs. after the Civil War.

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:

I owned none

11. Did you or your parents own slaves? If so, how many? Father owned about 17 seventeen

12. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres: about 200 (700?) acres land

13. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened:

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: Frame 7 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.)

Went to school and worked on farm plowed and worked also with hoe

16. State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember - that is, cooking, spinning, weaving, etc.:

Fathers work was in the store he kept books and looked after his fam. Mother kept the house, sewed generaly and no weaving probly some spinning but little if any.

17. Did your parents keep any servants? If so, how many? Yes, one house girl and the negroes I have named above but they were workhands.

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 considered respectful and honourable.

19. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work? yes

20. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them? I cant say

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? They honored and respect those who did not own slaves

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 between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in your community, or where they antagonistic to each other? 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? It did not

25. Were the opportunities in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to save up enough to buy a small farm or go into business for himself? It was

26. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders? They were encouraged

27. What kind of school or schools did you attend? Public school and private

28. About how long did you go to school altogether? 10 or 12 years

29. How far was it to the nearest school? 1/4 mile

30. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood? one public school

31. Was the school in your community private or public? public

32. About how many months in the year did it run? I dont remember but think about 6 months

33. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly? Yes

34. Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or woman? First school was tuaght by a woman and the balance by men.

35. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government? 1861. May, Sparta, Tenn.

36. After enlistment, where was your Company sent first? Estel Springs then to Ca__ from there to Virginia.

37. How long after enlistment before your Company engaged in battle? I dont remember

38. What was the first battle you engaged in? Cheat Mountain

39. State in your own way your experience in the War from this time on to its close. State 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:

I went out in the infantry and was transfered to Cavalry and was in a little fight.-...(part of his writing not clear) in East Tenn. I never was shot but had two horses shot from under me. Firt time was shot near Columbia, Tenn. the next neat Dalton Georgia

[(Extra page - Office of W.L. Dibrell, County Court Clerk, Sparta, Tenn. 191; "The home of Kentucky Squirrel, Madison Boy and Dibrell’s Black Squirrel"; "Fine Saddle and Harness Horses, English Berkshire Hogs.")

37. Beef without salt or bread, at other times we had ordinary rations, own clothers, ___ very common. I was in the battle of Perryville, Ky. Saltville, Va., and in fights nearly every deay while on Command, was in East Tennessee, was in the battle of Chicamaga and at Fiskes Mills at Sparta, Philadelphia East Tennessee. We slept on blankets, sometimes in tents and some times without. We were greatly exposed to cold and hunger. Never was in prison.]

40. When and where were you discharged? Was parolled 9th May 1865 at Washington, Georgia

41. Tell something of your trip home:

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 experience which has not been brought out by the questions: Farming and trading in cattle and stock generally

43. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home? I was post master 4 years under Cleveland first com___tration, Revenue Commissioner 3 or 4 years. County Court clerk ___ sixteen years Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court 8 years. Have 5 children now living - 2 boys and 3 girls. I am 79 years old, have been paralized 6 years on my left side.

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. (Use all the space you want.)

45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember. (If you know where the Roster is to be had, please make special note of this.)

J. L. Quarls Sparta, Tenn. J. M. Mitchell " " J. M. Elmlade? " " H. _. Sims " " Tom En_t " " W. M. Moore " " T. F. Harris " " C. H. Clark " "

46. Give the NAME and POST OFFICE ADDRESS of any living Veterans of the Civil War, whether members of your Company or not; whether Tennesseans or from other States.

Notes:

• As clarified by an extra page submitted by one of Waman Leftwich Dibrell's children.

Clerks and masters -- B. S. Rhea, 1842-45; W. E. Nelson, 1845-57; M. C. Dibrell, 1857-62; Peter Turney, 1865-71; W. L. Dibrell, 1871-76; John S. Rhea, 1876-82; A. E. Rhea, 1882-87 and present incumbent.

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http://www.danielhaston.com/history/tn-history/white-county/legends...

Under the story of General George Gibbs Dibrell, it includes the correct spelling of Wayman Leftwich. Sadly, the Private did not know how to spell his own first name, correctly. Nonetheless, it is Wayman.

Sam Clark DiBrell, September 8, 2014