| Notes |
- davidsampson originally shared this to Elder Family Tree
27 Oct 2009 story
Civil War Experience
I got this story from Bill Elder around 1999. James Madison Elder entered the Confederate Army as an enlisted man. He was wounded (arm and shoulder as I recall) in the Battle of Fredericksburg and was sent home to recover. He spent a couple of months convalescing. When he returned to his unit, he received a field promotion to 2nd lieutenant. Things went well for a while, but somehow he got into trouble and ended up being court marshaled.
Bill said that he doesn't know the details, but James Madison's descendants (who are alive today) know, but won't disclose what the infraction was. Bill theorized that it could not have been too bad, because James Madison Elder married one of Gen. Trollinger's daughters after the war. If it had been a serious scandal, such as, stealing, murder, desertion or cowardace, etc. he would never have been allowed to marry into the General's family.
I have a theory - if you remember that during the early part of the war, officers were "chosen" and often the choice was based on family position back home. The "regular" men, such as farmers, etc. were confined to the enlisted ranks. This would indicate that there were a lot of uppity types at the beginning ordering men around.
We know that James Madison Elder came from the enlisted ranks and evidently distinguished himself in battle (based on his field promotion). What if it was nothing more than getting in some uppity guy's face that was giving his enlisted men a hard time. These NC farmers were a close nit group and they all came from the same area back home. That would have gotten him a court marshal for insubornation.
I don't suspect it was anything like derlection of duty or drinking and gambling.
While we will never know for sure (unless his descendants own up) I have to think the best of James Madison. All the other facts about him that I've learned from Bill Elder substantiate this opinion.
James Madison Elder after the Civil War
This story also came from Bill Elder.
After the war, James Madison Elder returned to Randolph County, North Carolina. He went into business by setting up fuel and water stations for the locomotives along the major train routes through out his area. He became quite successful at this venture and did this up until the time he died.
James Madison Elder died very early. It seems that it was his habit of waiting for the trains along the track in late afternoon. As one would come along, he'd hop on and ride for a few miles while talking to the engine crew. He was apparently well liked by the railroad men.
One day, he was waiting for a train, but when he tried to hop on, he slipped. His leg went beneath the wheel and it was severed. The train stopped and people tended to him. James Madison was taken back to his house where he died a couple of days later.
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1843 - 1879 (35 years)
