THE WINDS OF THE CIVIL WAR VERSUS THE WINDS OF HOME
Ann S. Brown © 2025
In 1861 America was in turmoil. The Winds of the Civil War swept across the big plantations of the South. Many versions of this story have been told and written since the time of the Civil War. This retelling of what happened does not reflect my personal views about slavery or the Civil War. It is an old family story passed down for generations. At that time my Great Grandparents, William and Alie Weaver Spencer, lived on a small farm at York Ridge in Rugby, VA. They had no children of their own, just a little slave boy named Henry. Several months earlier Great Grandpa William had gone to Independence, VA. There he bought twin babies – a boy and a girl – from an Osborne man who owned slaves. Great Grandpa brought those babies back to his home on York Ridge some twenty miles away. He carried them in the saddlebags on his horse. Do you think the motion of the horse walking rocked them to sleep or did they cry all the way there? Can you imagine the pain and grief that poor slave mother must have felt when her babies were taken away and sold? The little girl, Hettie, did not live very long, but the little boy, Henry, lived and grew strong.
In 1862 the Civil War was raging. Great Grandpa William and his brother, Troy, joined the Confederate Army. They were part of Company C from Grayson County, VA that marched off to join the 63rd Regiment of the Virginia Infantry. The 63rd was active in many battles across the South. In Chicamauga, GA they lost one third of their troops. They were engaged in battles at Missionary Ridge, the Siege of Chattanooga and as many as seventy other battles and skirmishes. And finally they marched onto Atlanta in 1864 where they suffered an awful defeat. Great Grandpa William and Troy got leave to go home and check on their families while the 63rd was still under the leadership of General Johnson in Atlanta. When they returned Johnson had been replaced by General John B. Hood, who was a tough one. He claimed that there was no record of the brothers having permission to leave and charged them with desertion. My Great Uncle Troy was a Second Lieutenant and General Hood decided to make an example of him. At 27 years old Troy Spencer was stood in front of a firing squad of his fellow soldiers and shot through the head. Great Grandpa William never faced the firing squad. After the war the records were found showing that the brothers did have permission to leave and they were pardoned, but it was too late to save Troy.
After the Civil War Great Grandpa William came back to his home on York Ridge in Rugby, VA. His wife Alie and their son, William Troy, who was born October 6th, 1862 were waiting for him there. Little Henry was there, too. If you count two old hound dogs that were tickled to death to see Great Grandpa it was quite a homecoming. Great Grandpa had trouble settling back into everyday life. The death of his brother, Troy, and the circumstances surrounding it bothered him constantly. At night scenes from the battles he was in came to him, robbing him of sleep. Over time things got better. During the years they lived at York Ridge several more children were born to them.
Then Great Grandpa William moved his growing family to Wallens Branch, later called the Spencer Branch, near Sturgills, NC. Life was good on the Spencer Branch. The family worked hard and prospered. In October of 1883 Great Grandpa William and his sons were digging rye into newly plowed ground at the top of the hill near their house. The wind picked up and black clouds quickly rolled in. Great Grandpa William yelled, “Run boys, a storm is coming.” As they hurried around the hill near the edge of the woods a big locust tree split from the force of the wind. Half of it fell on Great Grandpa William, crushing him to death. His sons cut the tree away from their father. They carried him to the house on a barn door. After several days of mourning and preparation, Great Grandpa William was buried in the family cemetery on the hill behind the house.
Great Grandma Alie lived thirty eight years after Great Grandpa’s death. Henry was still with the family. He was a free man, he could have left, but he stayed on with Great Grandma Alie. When Great Grandma grew old and feeble and could not walk, Henry carried her in a straight back chair. After she died Henry just disappeared. No one ever knew where he went. Henry was a good and honorable man. He helped take care of the only Mother he ever knew. My Great Grandpa withstood the winds of the Civil War but he could not withstand the winds of home.
