Questionnaire of Louis Burchette McFarland

CIVIL WAR QUESTIONNAIRE

(FORM NO. 1)

The chief purpose of the following questions is to bring out facts that will be of service in writing a true history of the Old South. Such a history has not yet been written. By answering these questions you will make a valuable contribution to the history of your State.

The respondent's answers, in bold type,  have been merged with the questions and are transcribed, as is, without editing.

McFarland, Louis Burchette

1. State your full name and present Post Office address:
A1. Louis Burchette McFarland, Memphis, Tennessee

2. State your age now:
A2. Seventy seven years - 78   7 Apr 1922

3. In what State and county were you born?:
A3. Haywood County Tenn

4. In what State and county were you living when you enlisted in the service of the Confederacy, or of the Federal Government?:
A4. Haywood County Tennessee - Service of the Confederacy

5. What was your occupation before the war?:
A5. I was styled a "Boy" by my Captains Company Record

6. What was the occupation of your father?:
A6. Physician and farmer

7. 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:
A7. Owned no land in my name but owned several horses of my own, raised by me, one of which "Jerry" (I          named him) I took to army with me and sold him to Captain Tom Malone adjutant on Genl Geo Ma____y’s         staff, and he called him "George" and rode him as leading our regiment 9 Tenn. Infry in celebrated charge          that captured Parsons Battery Perryville Ky.

8. Did you or your parents own slaves? If so how many?:
A8. Yes some 25 or 30

9. If your parents owned land state about how many acres:
A9. Yes about twelve hundred acres

10. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened:
A10. I do not know

11. What kind of house did your parents occupy? State whether it was a log house or frame house or built of other materials, and state the number of rooms it had:
A11. Two story log originally--afterwards Weather boarded Front porch and rear dining room, of style of             1846-1860--six rooms

12. 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:
A12. Worked as farmer every year when not in school borrowed from father one extra hand & kept as my own whatever I made. My neiborn said when I left Haywood to be a lawyer-- They were afraid "Burchette would spoil a good farmer to make a poor lawyer."

13. State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work in the house as well as you can remember - that is cooking, spinning, weaving, etc.
A13. My Father practiced medicine. A pioneer physician with many miles of territory in the 40’s. Also gave his farm attention. My Mother was a typical Southern housewife. Mothering her children, caring for the Negroes and entertaining Methodist Preachers and feeding for four years Confederate "Buttermilk Rangers."

14. Did you parents keep any servants? If so, how many?
A14. Yes--Cook, Maid & Stable Man at Residence slaves on the plantation.

15. How was honest toil - as plowing, hauling and other sorts of work of this class - regarded in your community? Was such work considered respectable and honorable?:
A15. Yes--Not respectable to do otherwise.

16. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work?:
A16. Yes--The most of them.

17. To what extent were the white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them?:
A17. Very few

18. 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?:
A18. They made but little difference.

19. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slave holders mingle on a footing of equality?:
A19. Yes-- "The Mass was a Mass for all Thah"

20. Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other?:
A20. Friendly

21. 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 in winning the election?:
A21. I never heard of the ownership of slaves helped or work in contest between Whigs and Democrats.

22. 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 into business for himself?:
A22. Yes

23. Were poor. honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders?:
A23. encouraged

24. What kind of school or schools did you attend?:
A24. Country schools. The Colledge at Florence, Ala. for one session. After the War, Lebanon Law School & graduated in first class that graduated 1866 and 7.

25. About how long did you go to school altogether?:
A25. From 1850 to 1860.

26. How far was it to the nearest school?:
A26. In the town I was bornd in Dancyville, Haywood Co. Tenn.

27. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood?:
A27. The one in town_____ born few miles. Country schools from town.

28. Was the school in your community private or public?:
A28. Private mostly. Then the one in town was owned by town & students hired teachers.

29. About how many months in the year did it run?:
A29. About 6 months

30. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly?:
A30. Tolerably

31. Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or a woman?:
A31. Sometimes man and then in 5 months was a woman.

A32. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the Confederate or of the Federal Government?:
A32. Joined Company "A" early in 1861 Enlisted formally Jackson Tenn. 23 May 1861 Made Corporal first. Then Sargeant Major my regiment. Then Leut & Aid on Genl ______Massey staff.

33. State the name of your regiment, and state the names of as many members of your company as you remember:
A33. 9th Tenn Infantry--I have the names of every member of my Company List to long to insert here; but will name a few now remember JL Ballard, Killed Shiloh; Capt. J.B.  Chas. G. & W. Locks: J.R. McLaughlin; C.M. Ballard, died exposure 1862; P.P. Caraway; J.W. & J.C. Wilkerson; N.H. Wall

Lieut A.J. Bray Killed Murfreesboro

Lt T.J. Gilliam Killed Murfreesboro

Lt. F. Ragland Killed Chicamauga

W.P. Dugger Killed Chicamauga

I.A. Dansy Killed Perryville

J.D. Martin Killed Perryville

Capt. C.M. Kerr Killed Perryville

J.N. Cookes Killed Perryville

J.D. Meadows. G.W. Martin, J.D. Martin

For further list see Lindsey p. 267

34. After enlistment where was your company sent first?:
A34. From Jackson to Mason City Tenn. Then to Columbus Ky. Then to Shiloh & then where ever Genl Cheatham went.

35. How long after your enlistment before your company engaged in battle?:
A35. Shiloh 6th & 7th April 1862

36. What was the first battle you engaged in?:
A36. Shiloh

37. State in your own way your experience in the war from this time on until the close. State where you went after the first battle - what you did, 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 in prision, state your experience here:
A37. Engaged in the following battles - Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chicamauga, All battles form Dalton to Atlanta & then 22d second July to West Point - 16 April 1865. Then on Joining the Army, made Corporal. Then, Sergeant Major of my Regiment. Then enlisted Lieutenant and after Murfreesboro served on staff of Genl Geo. Massey as aid. Clothing neat not gaudy - confortable. Had to eat good food at first but gradually came to fat bacon cooked on ramrod with drippings over cornbread, (delicious to hungry man) Being young, healthy, fond of sterring scones the four years of soldier life is remembered as most enjoyable.

38. When and where were you discharged?:
A38. Captured at West Point Ga. Last battle on East of the Mississippi, carried to Macon Ga. and then paroled.

39. Tell something of your trip home:
A39. The Genl (La Grange) that captured us gave us a mule that I rode to Dalton Ga. Then took trains to Nashville, then boat to Memphis, by water down Ohio and Mississippi.

40. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home?:
A40. Studied law. Went to Lebanon Law School--graduated there, then located in Memphis Tenn. and practiced law in all the courts of Tenn. Circuit & G____ courts of U.S. , and retired from practice in 1910.

41. 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 an 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.
A41. Memphis my home since 1865. All the Christian Churches ("Bishop of Cotton Town" sort) Appointed U.S. Attorney but did not accept, also served on our Supreme Ct under several appointments special.

42. Give the full name of your father_________________ born_____________at____

_______; in the county of;__________ state of____________. He lived at__________

Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc.; books written by, etc.
A42. Dr. Wm. Fisher¹ McFarland Dixon Springs Smith Tenn.

Dancyville, Haywood County Tenn. from 1840 to his death. Pioneer Physician in Haywood & Professor Memphis Medical College.

43. Maiden name in full of your mother:__________________ She was the daughter of

____________________(full name) _______________ and his wife____________( full name)__________ who lived at ____________________________
A43. Martha Douglas-

Burchette Douglas

He lived in Wilson County for many years then Somerville Tenn. Served both Counties in Senate for 25 years. Also member of Constitutional Convention 1834.

44. Remarks on ancestory Give here any and all facts possible in reference to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. , not included in the foregoing, as where they lived, office held, Revolutionary or other war services; what country the family came from to America; where first settled, county and state; always giving full names (if possible) and never refering to an ancestor simply as such without giving the name. It is desireable to give 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:
A44. My ancestors on both sides were Scotch all clannish. I am the oldest and by age the Chief of both McFarland and Douglas clans.

March 1st 1922 L.B. McFarland, Memphis, Tenn.

(extra page - letters)

Memphis Tenn. March 1, 1922

Hon. Trotwood Moore

Dear Sir: I enclose herewith answers to the questions propounded by you.

I would have taken pleasure in doing this sooner but have been busy in a work I know you would approve. Collecting and having published the articles I have written and the addresses I have made______ events of the Civil War.

Some of these have appeared in the Confederate Veterans. This publication is not for sale, only for my family and both my clans, McFarland & Douglas & my friends that would not read with critics eye. I add that I am more than pleased to have you serving in the noble work you are engaged in.

Very truly

L.B. McFarland

(also a short note to Cherry from Trotwood)

¹This is apparently an error in the transcription of the questionnaire. Dr. McFarland's middle name was Felix,  not  Fisher. Ed.

The editor was first made aware and provided information on the Tennessee Civil War Questionnaires by Julia Lemon Griffey Fewsmith, great-great granddaughter of Isaac Dancy.