Private James Franklin Freeman
Company L - 22nd Regiment NC Troops
 

Certain records pertaining to James Franklin Freeman's service with the 22nd Regiment North Carolina Troops, housed at the National Archives in Washington, DC, show him being in Company M in addition to Company L. Following is a summary of those records, and the conclusion that I have drawn:

At this time, I am aware of only three documents that contain reference to Company M. The first is the file envelope that holds such items as regimental return cards, muster roll cards, medical cards, etc. This envelope shows "L" in the main area designated for the soldier's company. Written underneath is the letter "M." The second is a parole card that references James as "Appears on a List of Confederate Soldiers who were included in the surrender of General Johnston's army, who did not appear on the rolls, and have been given Individual Paroles. List dated Greensboro, North Carolina, May 5, 1865." This card is also marked "Entry Cancelled" under the remarks section, which seems to indicate that there was an error in entry, and the card in invalid. I reason the card to have been invalid as James, in service with the 22nd Regiment NC Troops, had served in the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee, not in the Army of the Carolinas under Johnston. Also, the card was signed by the same Copyist, an L.L. Barton, as the second card which appears to have been corrected, which reads identical to the first card, but was corrected to read "...surrender of General Lee to Lt. General Grant..."  Strangely however, both of these cards show him to have been "Pvt.  M.22  NC Inf."

I do not think it is reasonable that James was in both companies, rather, I think it is logical to assume that there was an error in the transcription of the records. These two cards (and one being invalid) are the only items out of ten that reference Company M, and nowhere else have I located any other references being made to a Company M, including the definitive reference in NC: "North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865," Volume VII. Further research is needed in a effort to examine the "list" that contained his name, if indeed the list is still in existence. If a transcription error had occurred, the Copyist would have marked "M" on the outside of the envelope after seeing an "M" on the parole cards, which would explain why the envelope was marked as it was.

I am including images of the following items. To view each, click on the description:

1. Envelope cover
2. Company Muster Roll card
3. Roll of Honor card
4. Regimental Return card
5. Regimental Return card
6. Parole List card
7. Parole List card
8. Hospital Register card
9. Regimental Return card
10. Regimental Return card
11. Regimental Return card
 

The above information was received thru the
Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1907 Buena Vist Circle, Wilmington, NC 28411.
 
 

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This page last updated on February 2, 2002.