L. Shadrach Futrell
(1831-1906) Introduction

L. Shadrach Futrell of Trigg County, Kentucky, served in the Confederate States Army as both a cavalryman and an artilleryman. Like many Confederate soldiers, he served in more than one unit during the war. Initially, he enlisted in Woodward's Second Kentucky Cavalry at Hopkinsville. When it disbanded, he joined Farris' Battery of Missouri Light Artillery. He always took pride in having served in Woodward's Second Kentucky Cavalry.

L. Shadrach Futrell was a native of the 'Between the Rivers' section of Stewart County, Tennessee, just south of the Kentucky-Tennessee stateline. The 'Between the Rivers' section of Kentucky and Tennessee was a narrow strip of land between the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. When the rivers were dammed in the mid 1900s, the Tennessee became Kentucky Lake and the Cumberland became Lake Barkley. The isolated peninsula between the two became the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in 1963.

L. Shadrach Futrell was the son of Isaac and Levica (Cook) Futrell. He grew up on the south fork of Rushing Creek near where it emptied into the Tennessee River. Today, the Isaac Futrell farm site is just south of Rushing Creek Cemetery, which sets high on a ridge overlooking Kentucky Lakes' Rushing Bay.

Futrell moved within the 'Between the Rivers'-from his childhood home on Rushing Creek to Trigg County, Kentucky-when he married Miss Charity Futrell, a distant cousin, on 03 Jan 1856. Charity Futrell was the daughter of Ricks and Sarah (Outland) Futrell of the 'Between the Rivers' section of Trigg County. Because Sarah Futrell suffered from mental illness and was unable to care for herself, L. Shadrach and Charity Futrell lived with her at the Ricks Futrell homeplace on the west fork of Laura Furnace Creek near the Cumberland River. Laura Furnace was about six miles northeast of L. Shadrach Futrell's childhood home at Rushing Creek. The former Laura Furnace community is near Fords Bay on Lake Barkley.

L. Shadrach Futrell was named Shadrach at birth, but became "Little" Shadrach after his marriage to distinguish himself from his wife's older brother and uncle, who were also named Shadrach Futrell. In later years, L. Shadrach signed his name L.S. Futrell.

No evidence indicates that L.S. Futrell's brother-in-law and neighbor, Shadrach Futrell (1826-1889), served in the Confederate Army. Shadrach Futrell was buried in the Ricks Futrell graveyard, and according to his descendants did not enlist in the Civil War. Furthermore, his name did not appear on WPA's "List of Graves of Veterans Registered in Trigg County" which was compiled in 1939-40.

L. S. Futrell farmed, worked as a cabinetmaker, and built coffins for the Laura Furnace neighborhood. The nearest town of note was Canton, which hosted an active river port and stagecoach hub.

L.S. and Charity Futrell had five children: James Madison Futrell, Mary Caroline Futrell, Isaac Rix Futrell, Andrew Jackson Futrell, and Mastin Cook Futrell. Andrew Jackson was born on 15 Jan 1863, while L.S. was away at war. The family attended Pleasant Hill Baptist Church near Laura Furnace.

Molloy's LBL_Handbook stated that when the Civil War broke out the Union saw the 'Between the Rivers' as a gateway to the South. The battles of Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River, and Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, brought fighting to the area and mayhem for the rest of the war, as Federal troops and guerillas raided homes and villages throughout the 'Between the Rivers' in search of food and supplies.

Co D, Second Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Woodward) L.S. Futrell enlisted as a Private in Company D of Woodward's Second Kentucky Cavalry at Hopkinsville in 1862. No official record exists to prove his enlistment in the unit, but his writings and supporting evidence substantiate his tenure in the Second Kentucky Cavalry. Futrell wrote that he served under Captain E.A. Slaughter's command in Company D of the Second Kentucky Cavalry. Perrin's local history confirmed that E.A. Slaughter served as the unit's commander and Futrell's granddaughters stated that he enlisted in the Confederate Army at the Summer farm in Christian County.

Perrin's History Of Trigg County, Kentucky, 1884, contained a brief history of Company D, Second Regiment of Kentucky Cavalry. The unit was formed in September, 1862, at the Summer farm on the road between Cadiz and Hopkinsville. It was made up of eighty-seven men, most of whom were native Trigg countians. Officers included E.A. Slaughter, Captain; Ben F. Bacon, First Lieutenant; and William M. Campbell, Second Lieutenant. The company joined Colonel Thomas G. Woodward at Hopkinsville and was under his command in southwestern Kentucky and middle Tennessee. In December, 1862, Captain Slaughter resigned and was replaced by Dr. John Cunningham. Shortly thereafter, the company disbanded. Thirteen of its members remained with Lt. Campbell, while the majority of the company scattered out into other commands or returned home. Captain Slaughter, who initially commanded Company D, was a Trigg County druggist. Following the war, Slaughter and his family moved to Purdon, Texas.

Colonel Thomas G. Woodward was a native of Massachusetts and attended West Point. He moved to Christian County in 1848. According to the 1850 US Census, he practiced law in Hopkinsville. He joined the Confederate States Army in 1861 and quickly rose to the rank of colonel. He was known as a cunning strategist and relentless fighter. Woodward was suspended from his command in 1864 for insubordination. After the suspension, he returned to Christian County hoping to free Hopkinsville, the county seat, from Federal occupation. He and a small band of followers rode into Hopkinsville on 19 Aug 1864. When they reached the intersection of Main at Fifteenth Streets, the men halted and refused to follow him since they were outnumbered and Woodward was drinking. Woodward ignored their pleas to turn back, spurred his horse, and rode down Main Street toward the heart of town. A sniper shot and killed him as he approached Ninth and Main Streets. Colonel Woodward was buried in Hopkinsville's Riverside Cemetery.

The historic Summer home, where Company D was formed, still stands five miles west of Hopkinsville at 5005 Cadiz Road. The Greek Revival style house overlooks Green-Hill Memorial Garden cemetery. It is currently owned and occupied by Mr. Randy Arnold. L.S. Futrell's granddaughters-Miss Alice Futrell, Mrs. Fredonia (Futrell) Peal and Mrs. Viola (Futrell) Bailey-frequently recounted that 'Grandpa Shade' enlisted in the Confederate Army at the Summer farm. They said that he manned a cannon during the war and that his Laura Furnace home was ransacked several times by Federal troops.

Sometime after he went to Texas in 1905, L.S. Futrell wrote a letter requesting information on how to obtain the 'Southern Cross of Honor' that was awarded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). Futrell stated that he served in Company D, Second Kentucky Cavalry under Captain Slaughter's command. He said he was paroled from the Confederate Camp at Gainesville, Alabama, and had left his parole at Andrews when he left for Texas. L.S. said those he served with in Company D included: Sam Sumner, Sam Lancaster, Bob Thompson, C.T. Bridges, Dr. John Cunningham, and Zan Cunningham. However, Compiled Service Records and the State Adjutant General's Report do not list Captain E.A. Slaughter, L.S. Futrell, Sam Sumner, Sam Lancaster, Dr. John Cunningham or Zan Cunningham as members of the Second Kentucky Cavalry. Robert Thompson was listed on official military rolls and Cullen T. Bridges received a Confederate pension for his service in Company D. Bridges' pension file indicated that there was no record of proof for his service. The pension board accepted statements from two of Bridges' comrades who said they served with him.

Futrell's obituary indicated that he received a 'Cross of Honor,' but his name was not listed on the official UDC 'Southern Cross of Honor' ledgers. However, the UDC librarian stated that their records are far from complete.

The Military Annals of Tennessee included a detailed sketch of Woodward's Second Kentucky Cavalry. It stated that no muster rolls for the various companies were sent to the Inspector General's office. Obviously, many records for Company D, Second Kentucky Cavalry (Woodward), were lost. Perhaps such a loss occurred when the unit disbanded.

Farris' Battery, Missouri Light Artillery (Clark Artillery) After Company D of the Second Kentucky Cavalry disbanded, L. Shadrach Futrell joined up with Captain Houston King's Battery of Light Artillery, which subsequently became Farris' Battery of Missouri Light Artillery (Clark Artillery). Clark's Light Artillery was organized in January of 1862 as a unit of the Missouri State Guard. It transferred to the Confederate Service in February of 1862. Later, it moved east of the Mississippi River where they fought at Iuka, Corinth, and Hatchie's Bridge. Next, it was attached to the Cavalry Division of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. Under that command, the unit was involved in various conflicts in Mississippi until the spring of 1864. At that time, they joined the Army of Tennessee. After fighting in the Atlanta Campaign, the battery served in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana under Captain Houston King's command.

Farris' Battery surrendered with the Confederate forces of Alabama and Mississippi at Citronelle, Alabama, on 04 May 1865, four weeks after Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. L.Shadrach Futrell was paroled at Gainesville, Alabama, on 10 May 1865.

Futrell's compiled military service record from the National Archives is a brief document. It only lists his service in Farris' Battery, Missouri Light Artillery (Clark Artillery). The file contains two documents: 1.) A 'Company Muster Roll' dated August 1864, which revealed that Futrell enlisted at Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, on 01 Apr 1862, and had last been paid on 31 Aug 1863. [Cumberland Furnace is south of Clarksville in Dickson County.]

2.) A 'Roll of Prisoners of War' indicated that 'Shadrack Futrill' was paroled at Gainesville, Ala., on 10 May 1865. It listed his residence as "Canton, Trigg County, Ky."

The Compiled Service Record and Futrell's 1905 letter regarding the 'Southern Cross of Honor' leave little doubt that the 'Shadrack Futrill' from Clark's Artillery and L.S. Futrell of Trigg County, Kentucky, were the same person.

Futrell's service record indicated that he enlisted in Farris' Battery at Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, on 01 Apr 1862. It is believed that the April 1862 date referred to his first enlistment in the Confederate States Army. Civil War historian Stephen D. Lynn believes that Futrell initially enlisted in Woodward's Cavalry in 1862, rather than in Farris' Missouri Battery. Lynn theorizes that Futrell's original enlistment date was acknowledged when he joined Farris' Battery. Lynn said that Dickson County, Tennessee, was a hotbed for Woodward's Cavalry in 1862. Both Perrin and Lindsley stated that Company D of Woodward's Second Kentucky Cavalry was formed at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1862, and, shortly thereafter, joined Colonel Woodward in Tennessee.

Unidentified L.S. Futrell An unidentified L.S. Futrell enlisted on 06 May 1862 at Panola, Mississippi, as a Private in Company B of the 14th. Battalion of Mississippi Light Artillery. His compiled service record indicates that he was not the L. Shadrach Futrell of Trigg County, Kentucky. Muster rolls show that the L.S. Futrell of the 14th. Battalion was a patient at the Marine hospital in Vicksburg on 28 Feb 1863. He signed his 'X' to the oath of allegiance and was paroled from the hospital on 17 Jul 1863. An A.T. Futrell who served alongside him in the same unit died at Canton, Mississippi, in 1863.

Post War Years L.S. Futrell was an avid family historian. He collected and preserved the records of many of those Futrells who left Northampton County, North Carolina, in 1803, and settled on Donaldson Creek in Christian County, Kentucky.

He acquired rights to a deed of patent from H.C. Wesson of Fulton, Kentucky, on 14 Nov 1876, which permitted him to manufacture and sell Wesson's Fire-Place Fenders within the Washington Grange district of Trigg County, Kentucky.

After Charity Futrell's death in 1885, L. Shadrach Futrell married a widow, Mrs. Mary Sholar, on 14 Dec 1886 at Trigg County, Kentucky. There were no children by this marriage, which ended in divorce in 1900. L.S. Futrell sold the old Ricks Futrell homestead, which Charity had inherited, to Alex Heathcock in 1901.

L.S. Futrell left Trigg County in 1905. He joined his son Isaac Rix Futrell of Stone County, Arkansas, in Texas. The Cadiz Record of 13 Apr 1905 reprinted a story from The Garland News that told of the father and son's move to Garland, Texas, where Ike's son, Jabe Futrell, already lived. The article stated that L.S. Futrell and Isaac Rix Futrell were living at S.E. Alexander's residence on Duck Creek at Garland. Isaac Rix Futrell was nicknamed Ike.

L.S. Futrell wrote the Futrell Family Record on 24 Oct 1905 at Jabe Futrell's home in Garland. Soon thereafter, L.S. Futrell and Isaac Rix moved to nearby Rockwall. L.S. Futrell died at Rockwall, Texas, at age seventy-four, on 17 Sep 1906. He was buried in the Rockwall City Cemetery. His obituary in The Rockwall Success mentioned his service in Company D of the Second Kentucky Cavalry. Ike Futrell hand carved a native slab to mark his father's grave. The old stone remains, but is illegible. A bronze Veterans Affairs marker was placed at the foot of the grave in 1994. It outlines L.S. Futrell's Confederate service.

L.S. Futrell's granddaughter, Mrs. Viola (Futrell) Bailey, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, had two photographs of the veteran: 1.) A tintype that was probably made in the 1870s, and 2.) A portrait taken the day he left Cadiz, Kentucky, by train, for his trip west in 1905. The latter portrait shows him with a package of peppermint candy in his lapel pocket. Mrs. Bailey said that 'Grandpa Shade' gave each of the younger grandchildren a peppermint stick before he boarded the train. Negatives of both images have been placed in the files of the 'Identified Civil War Soldiers' project at the U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA 17013-5008. Copies may be obtained from the institute for a nominal fee.

Bibliography

1840 US Census Stewart Co., TN. p. 328. (Louisa [sic] Futrell)
1850 US Census Stewart Co., TN. p. 783. (Lucy [sic] Futrell)
1860 US Census Trigg Co., KY. p. 34, line 8. (S. Futrell)
1870 US Census Trigg Co., KY. p. 81b, line 19. (Shadrach Futrell)
1880 US Census Trigg Co., KY. p. 10, line 33. (L. Shadrack Futrell)

The Cadiz Record 13 Apr 1905. "Trigg Countian In Texas"

Compiled Service Record. Confederate States Army. National Archives.
(Shadrack Futrill, Farris' Battery, Missouri Light Artillery [Clark Artillery])
Confederate Veteran XXI:61. "Second Kentucky Cavalry."
Futrell, L. Shadrach. Futrell Family Record. Garland, TX:Manuscript, 1905.
Futrell, L.S. Letter. 1905. (Photocopy in Futrell surname file, Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, KY.)
Futrell, Roger H. The Futrell Family Revised, 2003. Louisville:Manuscript, 2003.
Kentucky Adjutant General's Office. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky-Confederate Kentucky Volunteers, War of 1861-1865. 2 vols. 1915.
Kentucky Confederate Pension #2354. (C.T. Bridges)
L. Shadrach Futrell Bible. Auburn:Alden, Beardsley & Co., 1852. (Bible in possession of Roger J. Futrell, Wausau, WI, 1986. Photocopies of family records section in the Futrell surname file, Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, KY.)
L.S. Futrell obituary. Rockwall (TX) Success. Sep 1906. (Possession of Mrs. Viola (Futrell) Bailey, 1986.)
Lindsley, John B. The Military Annals of Tennessee. Nashville:J.M. Lindsley & Co., 1886. "Woodward's Second Kentucky Cavalry: Sketch by Hon. Austin Peay, Garrettsburg, KY." pp. 782-87.
Lynn, Stephen D. Confederate Pensioners of Kentucky, Pension Applications of the Veterans & Widows 1912-1946. Baltimore:Gateway Press, Inc., 2000.
Lynn, Stephen D. Confederate Soldiers of Kentucky, A Roster of the Veterans, 1861-1865. Dexter, MI: Thomson-Shore, 2002.
Meachem, Charles M. History of Christian County, Kentucky. Nashville:Marshall & Bruce Co., 1930. pp. 130-32.
Molloy, Johnny. The Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area Handbook. Birmingham:Manasha Ridge Press, 2003. pp. 1, 188-89.
Neel, Eurie Pearl Wilford. The Statistical Handbook of Trigg County, Kentucky. Nashville:Rich Printing Co., 1961. p. 458.
Perrin, William H. History of Christian County, Kentucky. Chicago:Battey, 1884. p. 174.
Perrin, William H. History of Trigg County, Kentucky. Chicago:Battey, 1884. pp. 80-81, 249.
'Southern Cross of Honor' Ledgers. United Daughters of the Confederacy, Richmond, VA 23220. (No L.S. Futrell listed)
Statements: Miss Alice Futrell, Mrs. Fredonia (Futrell) Peal, & Mrs. Viola (Futrell) Bailey, 1960.
Tedford, Sandra H. and Walterine H. Sharp. Cemetery Inscriptions of Rockwall County, Texas. Farmersville, TX:Search-N-Print, 1979. p. 45. (L.S. Futrell stone-dates illegible)
Trigg Co., KY Deed Book 36, p. 461. (Futrell to Heathcock)
Trigg Co., KY Marriage Book 1, p. 171. (Shadrach Futrell to Charity Futrell)
Trigg Co., KY Marriage Book 9, p. 364. (L.Shadrach Futrell to Mrs. Mary Sholar)
Veterans Affairs grave marker. Rockwall (TX) City Cemetery. (L.S. Futrell)

[Created by Roger H. Futrell/Louisville, KY/2003]