Oral History Project

Every family has stories that have been passed down through the ages. One this page, the Fire Eaters will be recording the anecdotes, legends and oral histories that have been passed down to our Compatriots, our friends and members of the community. Submit your contributions to the Camp Webmaster, webmaster@fireeatersscv.org.

1. In 1860, Frank Strailman, a German migrant of probable Jewish lineage, had recently
arrived in Petersburg, Virginia with the goal of starting a hardware business. Mr.
Strailman had hauled all of his worldly possessions to Petersburg via a hand cart from
his family's initial port of entry in America, New Jersey.

Just as the hardware store was going well, a fellow walked in and asked Mr. Strailman,
"We are going to war with the Yankees. Are you with us or agin' us?"

Frank Strailman, having fully committed to becoming a proud Virginian, responded in
accented English, "With you, of course!"

Frank Strailman went on to serve as a Sergeant with the 9th Virginia where he fought
numerous battles as part of the Siege of Petersburg. After Petersburg fell, Sergeant
Strailman was imprisioned at Point Lookout Maryland where he nearly starved to death.
Fortunately for Sergeant Strailman, the war was concluded before he expired.

After his release from Point Lookout, Sergeant Strailman returned to Petersburg to help
rebuild the town, his business, to marry and raise a family. This Confederate Veteran now
rests in Blanford Cemetery in Petersburg, the town he so bravely fought to save from the
Northern invaders.

As told by: J. Tyler Ballance

2. William Wofford Rich was practicing law, in partnership with his cousin, William T. Wofford, who was later to become a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. At the beginning of the War Between the States, William Rich accepted a commission in the Confederate Cavalry. He advanced to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and commanded Phillip's Legion, of the Georgia Volunteer Cavalry that served under Major General J.E.B. Stuart and later under Lieutenant General Wade Hampton, following Stuart's death.

At the end of the War, Lt. Col. W.W. (as Rich was known), started the journey to Georgia from Virginia, with a mule and a wagon. When he reached Laurens County, South Carolina, he came to a stream that was too swift to cross. There were three Blacks lounging on the riverbank, fishing. Colonel Rich asked them where he might be able to ford the stream. After a whispered conversation among themselves, they directed Colonel Rich to a point upstream where the Blacks described the bottom as bedrock.

It turned out to be a trap. The wagon was mired in mud at midstream. Rich got out of the ruined wagon, leaving his pistol behind, and began trying to un-harness the mule.

Suddenly, the three Blacks who had recommended the crossing site, leaped from the riverbank, knocking Rich under the water. Rich surfaced with his saber drawn and split the skull of one attacker. He then fought the second assailant, who was trying to reach the wagon and Rich’s pistol, as the third thief was cutting the reins on the mule. Colonel Rich was finally able to reach his pistol at the wagon and shot the second attacker, but the third escaped by running up the riverbank.

As Rich was trying to free the mule, the mule, still in a panic from the commotion, kicked the Colonel in the left knee, shattering his kneecap. Rich worried that the thief who escaped, would race to a Yankee Provost Marshal. He suspected that the Yankees would love to hang a former Confederate Army officer, even on a fabricated charge. Rich managed to free the mule and reached dry ground on the riverbank. He then tied the reins around his waist as he drifted in and out of consciousness, from the pain.

Colonel Rich then traveled over two hundred miles, sometimes unconscious and dragged by the mule, to Cartersville, Georgia, his hometown, where he collapsed in the street. The local doctor told Rich that he would have to remove Rich’s damaged leg. Colonel Rich refused the operation. Although his knee was stiff the rest of his life, Rich recovered and went on to serve as County Treasurer, and later for two terms as Sheriff. Colonel Rich owned a mercantile store on the town square and was the County Railroad Agent. Having been a Confederate Officer, the reconstruction government, would not allow W. W. Rich to return to the practice of law. He died on April 23, 1893 and is buried in Oak hill cemetery in Cartersville, Georgia.

As told by: Darryl Starnes, who still has the sword used by Colonel Rich.

3. Contribute your oral history items to: webmaster@fireeatersscv.org.