The chief purpose of the following questions is to bring out facts that will be of service in writing a true history of the Old South. Such a history has not yet been written. By answering these questions you will make a valuable contribution to the history of your State.

1. State your full name and present Post Office address:
ANS: William Allen Philpott, Shelbyville, Tennessee RFD #6

2. State your age now:
ANS: 86

3. In what State and county were you born?:
ANS: Tenn. Bedford County

4. In what State and county were you living when you enlisted in the service of the Confederacy, or of the Federal Govemment?:
ANS: Tennessee Bedford County

5. What was your occupation before the war?:
ANS: farmer

6. What was the occupation of your father?:
ANS: Saddler

7. If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property as near as you can:
ANS: 20 acres farm land $200.00 value

8. Did you or your parents own slaves? If so, how many?:
ANS: My parents owned 2 slaves

9. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres:
ANS: 125 acres

10. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened:
ANS: $4,000.00

11. What kind of house did your parents occupy? State whether it was a log house or frame house or built of other materials, and state the number of rooms it had:
ANS: Cedar wall log house, story and half high

12. As a boy and young man, state what kind of work you did. If you worked on a farm, state to what extent you plowed, worked with a hoe, and did other kinds of similar work:
ANS: Did the usual plowing & teamwork about the farm -- this included plowing, hoeing & other manual labor.

13. State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember - that is, cooking, spinning, weaving, etc.
ANS: Father worked in a saddle shop of his own. He made homemade saddles until war & changed to farming -- Mother did all her housework including keeping house, cooking, looking after the children, spinning, weaving & washing.

14. Did your parents keep any servants? If so, how many?:
ANS: No

15. How was honest toil- as plowing, hauling and others sorts of honest work of this class - regarded in your community? Was such work considered respectable and honorable?:
ANS: Yes

16. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work?:
ANS: Yes

17. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them?:
ANS: All thrifty & industerous -- a very small per cent idle. Work was considered honorable.

18. Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves?:
ANS: Socially the slave holders mingled with non slave holders on an equal footing. Where other things were equal and other interests were on same plane.

19. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality?:
ANS: Yes

20. Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and nonslaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other?:
ANS: Friendly

21. In a political contest in which one candidate owned slaves and the other did not, did the fact that one candidate owned slaves help him in winning the contest?
ANS: No

22. Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man - honest and industrious - to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself?:
ANS: Yes

23. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders?:
ANS: Encouraged

24. What kind of school or schools did you attend?:
ANS: Common free schools -- very limited in ability

25. About how long did you go to school altogether?:
ANS: about 12 to 15 month all

26. How far was it to the nearest school?:
ANS: 1/2 mile

27. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhoods:
ANS: common free school

28. Was the school in your community private or public?:
ANS: public

29. About how many months in the year did it run?:
ANS: 3 months

30. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly?:
ANS: Yes

31. Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or a woman?:
ANS: Man

32. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the Confederate or of the Federal Govemment?:
ANS: July 1, 1861, Confederacy

33. State the name of your regiment, and state the names of as many members of your company as you remember:
ANS: 23rd Tenn Co E

   John T Cannon           B F Peacock           Griffin Howell
   Geo Howell              A G Benson            D Thompson
   E Hale                  Abbat Ross            Tom House
   Dick Vaughn             "Capt" Vaughn         Newt Dunn
   C Allen                 Tom Cornel(?)         Jim Vaughn
   John Lytle Vaughn       T J Vaughn            Sant Elliot
   McElliot                J Cunningham          Jake Linn
   Tom Farrell             Chas Cooper           Merl Haney
   D. H. Stovall           Tom Lizonby           Walter Sutton
   Shep Wallace            M. Fobbace(?)         Monroe Smith
   John Adcock             John Elkins           Frank Richards
   Joe Fork                Thos. Majors          J Thomas
   S. Nail, Capt           John Nail             Arch Nail
   J. Ridley               Horace Reedy          John Hale
   Tom Hale                Tom Nowlin            Ed Ball
   Ed Reed                 Tom Garvin            George Garvin(or
   Griffin Howlin(?)       Nat Howlin              Gawen?)
   Jim Baley               Eugene Baley          George Bailey
                                                 Horse Bailey
   

34. After enlistment, where was your company sent first?:
ANS: Camp Anderson near Murfreesboro & Encamped there about 1 month

35. How long after your enlistment before your company engaged in battle?:
ANS: Apr 6 '62

36. What was the first battle you engaged in?:
ANS: Shiloh

37. State in your own way your experience in the war from this time on until the close. State where you went after the first battle - what you did, what other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were; state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to cold, hunger and disease. If you were in the hospital or in prison, state your experience here:
ANS: 630 men strong entered battle Shiloh & in 15 minutes we lost 300 men. Extreme left was our position. Perryville was next battle, position near barn that burned. I was wounded there. 240 men fired at me point blank, 13 holes in my clothes. I was the only private who saw Gen Prentice surrender, Lieut Col. Jim Nail. I saw him hand over his sword.

38. When and where were you discharged?:
ANS: June 17 '65 -- Point Lookout Md. I was in prison at the time

39. Tell something of your trip home:
ANS: Came on train

40. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home?:
ANS: farming

41. Give a sketch of your life since the close of the Civil War, stating what kind of business you have engaged in, where you have lived, your church relations, etc. If you have held an office or offices, state what it was. You may state here any other facts connected with your life and experience which has not been brought out by the questions:
ANS: have lived on farm

42. Give the full name of your father: Chas Thos Philpot ; born _________ at Virginia; in the county of: don't know state of: Virginia . He lived at Shelbyville Tenn . Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc.; books written by, etc.

43. Maiden name in full of your mother: Rebecca Jane Hix She was the daughter of Willim Hix (full name) and his wife _________ Stewart (full name) who lived at Shelbyville Tenn

44. Remarks on ancestry. Give here any and all facts possible in reference to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., not included in the foregoing, as where they lived, office held, Revolutionary or other war services; what country the family came from to America; where first settled, county and state; always giving full names (if possible) and never referring to an ancestor simply as such without giving the name. It is desirable to include every fact possible and to that end the full and exact record from old Bibles should be appended on separate sheets of this size, thus preserving the facts from loss:
ANS: At battl Murfreesboro I stayed & fought When I had a furlough of 4 days. I stepped across Gen Sills body after he was killed. My Lieut stopped & removed his Gen Sills buttons from his coat. I was in battle Chickamauga & helped Gen Forrest capture a bridge across the river. we did it with 30 men

45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember: (If you know where the Roster is to be had, please make special note of this.) ANS: _________

46. Give here the NAME and POST OFFICE ADDRESS of living Veterans of the Civil War, whether members of your company or not.

NAME                    POST OFFICE                   STATE