Nathaniel Henderson


Contributed by: Jim Tucker




Nathaniel Henderson [ he & his wife Harriet Smart were 1st cousins ]was my 
great great uncle & was in 2 different N.C. units & here is his info: ?3rd Calvary 
[ 41st State Troops ], North Carolina Cavalry Co. C- Lt. Nathaniel Henderson

13th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry- Co. A   Pvt. Nathaniel Henderson

13th Infantry Regiment, formerly the 3rd Volunteers, was organized at Garysburg, 
North Carolina, in May, 1861, with 1,100 men. Its members were recruited in 
Caswell, Mecklenburg, Davie, Edgecombe, and Rockingham counties. Ordered 
to Virginia, the unit was assigned to General Colston's, Garland's, Pender's, and 
Scales' Brigade. It shared in the many campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia 
from Williamsburg to Cold Harbor, endured the battles and hardships of the 
Petersburg trenches south of the James River, and took part in the Appomattox 
operations. This regiment totaled 575 effectives in April, 1862, lost 29 killed and 
80 wounded during the Seven Days' Battles, and had 41 killed and 149 wounded 
in the Maryland Campaign. It reported 37 casualties at Fredericksburg and 216 
at Chancellorsville. Of the 232 engaged at Gettysburg, more than seventy-five 
percent were disabled. It surrendered 22 officers and 193 men. The field officers 
were Colonels Joseph H. Hyman, William D. Pender, and Alfred M. Scales; 
Lieutenant Colonels W.S. Guy, Henry A. Rogers, Thomas Ruffin, Jr., and E. 
Benton Withers; and Majors John T. Hambrick, D.H. Hamilton, Jr., and T.A. 
Martin. 


The Nathaniel Henderson Family with the exception of George (B. 1863) are 
found on the 1860 Census of Campbell County, GA. All are buried in Antioch 
Cemetery except Elisha (Killed in the Civil War) and Tabitha who died in Oklahoman.  
Some of Nathaniel's children's are recorded in Campbell County Marriage Records 
in the Courthouse in Atlanta, Ga. Nathaniel left Montgomery County, N.C. around 
1839 to settle in Campbell county, Ga. In a letter to his bro. Alexander dated 
12/5/1869  he stated that his father gave him a mare, a cow, a bed, other furniture 
& $160.00 to buy land & later gave him $100.00. The Nathaniel Henderson family 
(except Geo. born 1863) is found on the 1860 Campbell County, Ga. census. Joe 
& Elizabeth Henderson stated: "We have a picture of Nathaniel & his wife Harriet 
with all their sons, daus., son-in-laws, daus.-in-laws & grandchildren. The preacher 
& his son are in the picture too. The picture was made @ their home in the yard in 
12/1886. All in the picture were identified to us. Amazing that a large family like that 
could get together at one time. It is one of our prized possessions. 

The following is a letter written by Nathaniel (Campbell County, Ga.) to his bro. 
Alexander (Montgomery Cty, N.C. on 12/5/1869 & was translated by Kate (Mrs. P.D.) 
Henderson in 1967 & the original is in the administration papers of Joel Henderson on 
file in Courthouse in Troy, N.C.

State of Ga., Campbell Cty this 12/5/1869.

Dear Brother, It is once more threw the goodness & mercy of God that I am blest
with this one more opportunity of taking my pen in hand in order to let you know 
that I haven't forgotten you yet & to let you know that we are all well @ this time 
& hope these few lines may come safe to hand & find you all well & doing well. I 
feel @ a loss to know what to write as I haven't heard from you in a long time. The 
people is generally well @ this time. Times is hard & money hard to git holt of in 
this County. I will give some of the prices of our produce. Corn is worth from $1.00 
to $1.40per bushel, wheat 1.50-$2 per bushel, bacon from 22-23 cents per pund, 
coffee from 3-1/2-4-1/2 per lb., flour from $3.50-$5.00 per hundred pounds. Dear 
Bro. I received a letter from you concerning Father's estate. You wanted me to 
estimate what I had had. I can inform you that I had one little mare worth $60.00 
& $10 for a cow-1 bed & $160 for land & $100 in Confederate in 8/63. I have had 
nothing if they think I have had my part tell them to go ahead I will see them again 
& have these things straightened out. If I live till next fall I will sho make these 
darus pecock think that there is one that aint afraid of them even if they are old 
segregatoinist. I had better stop before I hurt fealings but they will  hear from me 
again if I live but if I die they can have it for they are pore & need all they can git. 
Dear Bro. & Sister I should like to see you & family & converse with you about 
old times. I wont you to write how the connection is getting along & wther they 
are all well or not. Tell them to write as soon as they can dear bro. I want you to 
write as soon as you can if you never see me again I can say to you that I still 
feal bound by the grace of God to try to make my way from this to another & a 
better world that this & dear bro. & sister if we never see each other again in this 
life that when we come to die we may be prepared for death & @ last we may all 
meet in heaven where there will no more trials nor troubles there but all will be 
peace & harmony there will be no more parling there so nothing more @ present 
only I remain your unworthy bro. until death so farewell for this time.



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