General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I just found out that one of my great great grandfathers served on the Confederate side [View all]csziggy
(34,136 posts)I haven't tried to count the exact number, but a lot. On my mother's side in Alabama there were several families with young men of the right age and most of those enlisted. Even one of the fathers enlisted at the age of 63 and served through the end of the war. About of third of the men between 20 and 40 in those families died in the Civil War. Lots of widows and children ended up living with their parents or their fathers in law.
On my father's side (all in New York state) there were few men of the right age and none in my direct line enlisted. A cousin's line was an Army doctor and when she died she left him the doctor's license signed by Abraham Lincoln. A cousin of my gg-grandfather was a telegraph operator who knew Grant and was called into service by Grant to send messages for some important battles.
One of my husband's ancestors was in Sherman's Army, and others fought for the Union. Again, I am not sure of the numbers. Even the families that lived in Kentucky enlisted with the Union and ended up moving to Indiana after the war.