Our Family and the Civil War

One cannot research the Barr and Scott families without discovering their involvement in the Confederacy of the Civil War.

The book The Civil War in North Carolina by John G. Barrett, gives some information which may not have been passed down from our ancestors.

Because North Carolina did not have ground suitable for growing large cotton crops, the majority of the farm owners did not have large slave holdings. The non-slaveholders of the western counties of North Carolina [Stokes and Surry counties included] saw no reason to become vitally concerned with the preservation of a slave system in which they had little part.

North Carolina did not play a big part in the great secession scene of 1860-61 either and was the last of the Confederate states to officially secede. But after the firing on of Fort Sumter, Lincoln's call for troops, and the seizure of Federal property, that attitude disappeared. Once it was decided upon to leave the Union, there was no more indecision for North Carolina in supporting the Confederate States of America. Some noted that North Carolina supported the troops better than other Confederate states in both man power and supplies.
At one point during the war, Stokes county residents protested a call for more men and pointed out that the county had already1300 men of whom 1100 were in the service. The deprivations suffered by the women and children were almost unbelievable.

Stokes and Surry counties, in the more mountainous area of northwestern North Carolina, saw many men from all over the state trying to escape military service by hiding out in their woods and mountains. Men from this area were no different. Almost 100 men had taken to the woods to hide and escape arrest. For most of the war, the battles which were fought in North Carolina were contained to the eastern counties.
Only small skirmishes happened in Stokes and Surry counties. But the residents were frightened when General Sherman brought his forces into the counties in 1865. Besides ordering railroads destroyed, he also ordered the forests to be burned. Sherman allowed his troops to go into the towns and farms to pillage and forage for food and any other supplies they wanted.

In an interview with Bertha Fulk Fowler, Bertha remembered her mother, Mary Ann Barr Fulk, [Sarah Barr's sister] saying of the war, "The Yankees raided their smokehouse when she was twelve years old. The soldiers took everything but didn't harm anyone in the family."

Those closely related to the Barr and Scott family who served in the Confederacy of the Civil War were:

George Washington Barr - He applied for a soldiers pension on 17 July 1904 in connection with the Civil War claiming that he joined Harvey's 2nd Battalion in 1864. This application was disallowed. He mentions the reason for the application was that he had been blind for 22 years and could not get about without help. George W. Barr more than likely served with the home guard. Other family members claimed he had no part in the war, and they thought proof of that was the fact that he was able to be a member of the first Board of County Commissioners for Stokes County, because he did not take up arms against the Union. Perhaps he never did really "take up arms."

John W. Barr - A brother of George Washington Barr not yet fully determined. John W. enlisted in Yadkin County, North Carolina on 20 September 1863 as a Private in Company D North Carolina 21st Infantry Regiment at the age of 42. He was listed as absent without leave on 28 February 1865.


Ally C. Barr - a brother of George Washington Barr enlisted in Greensboro, North Carolina on 15 October 1864 as a Private in Company I North Carolina 21st Infantry Regiment and returned safe from the war.

Isaac C. Barr - George Washington Barr's brother enlisted in Stokes County, North Carolina on 25 July 1862 as a Private in Company I of the 21st Infantry Regiment at the age of 29. He died of typhoid fever on 27 October 1862 at Richmond, Virginia leaving his wife Annie Shore Barr.
William A. Mickey - Husband of Martha Grey Barr Mickey, a brother-in-law of G.W. Barr. William enlisted on 25 July 1862 in North Carolina Company I, North Carolina 21st Infantry Regiment on 25 Jul 1862. William was promoted to Full Corporal on 01 May 1862 and to Full Sergeant on 28 Feb 1865.He was mustered out on 09 Apr 1865 at Appomattox Court House, VA.

Thomas M. Scott - Brother to G.W. Barr's wife Charlotte Scott Barr. Thomas enlisted into I company 21st Infantry Regiment North Carolina on 25 July 1862 at the age of 32 in Stokes County as a Private. He was listed as a POW on 3 May 1863 at Chancellorsville, Virginia, confined on 5 May 1863 at Old Capital Prison in Washington, D.C., confined on 8 May 1863 at Fort Delaware, Delaware, paroled on 22 May 1863 at City Point, Virginia [arrived for exchange. POW on 16 May 1864 at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, confined on 18 May 1864 at Point Lookout, Maryland and again on 15 August 1864 at Elmira, New York. This last prison was terrible with insufficient shelter, lack of food and serious sanitary conditions. Thomas died of pneumonia here on 21 December 1864. All of the prisoners who died at Elmira were buried in Woodlawn National Cemetery, New York. Thomas left his wife Louisiana Wall Scott and three children.

Azariah Wall - Husband of Martha M. Scott Wall, sister of Charlotte Barr. Azariah enlisted in Surry County, North Carolina on 15 July 1862 as a Private at the age of 27. He fought in the battle at Warrenton, Virginia on 15 Sep 1862 and likely died there. He died leaving his wife Martha Wall and three children.

William Henry Phillips - son of Matthew and Ann Radford Scott Phillips, nephew of Charlotte Scott Barr. William enlisted on 9 September 1861 at the age of 18 in Forsyth County, North Carolina. He was part of Company I, North Carolina 33rd Infantry Regiment and died of disease on 5 August 1862 at Gordonsville, Virginia, a confederate hospital.

Here is a short video clip about the Civil War conflict between the North and the South.