Lewis F. Gulley  After Vicksburg, Gulley served in "Owen's Company". That was a group of loosely-knit paroled Confederate soldiers-scouts-guerillas that served under General Vaughn in East Tennessee after Vicksburg. They were under the command of a former Confederate private named William Owen who was discharged as "over-age." He later became widely known in this area as "Captain Bill Owen." It is a matter of official record that he took orders from General John C. Vaughn. On April 5, 1865, Lewis F. Gulley, along with his brothers Samuel, and James S. Gulley, and their first cousin Lewis M. Francisco, and another cousin James N. "Jim Newt" Gulley, and two other persons, were ambushed by the "Bloody Bill Sizemore band" at Flora's Ferry (Rices's Upper Ferry) on the Holston River just outside Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tennessee. Lewis F. Gulley was the only member of the 61st Tenn. in the group. Soldiers from several paroled units often served with "Owens Scouts". The two "Jim Gulleys" and Abner Cockreham and George Bowing (Bowling?) were killed in the attack. Lewis and Sam Gulley and Lewis Francisco were the only survivors. The two Jim Gulleys were buried in a common grave in the Phillips Cemetery near their home. Their father placed a hand cut and inscribed limestone marker on the grave which is still readable today. He stated on the tomb-rock that the boys were "Murdered April 5 1865 by bill Sisemore and his band." William O. "Bill" Sizemore was a well-known and widely-feared guerilla leader-cold-blooded murderer, who had served in both armies...although the Union pension authorites later denied he had ever been a Federal soldier. Official records tell a much different story. He guided the Federal troops from Bulls Gap, to Greeneville in the action in which General John Hunt Morgan was killed. Lewis lived to age 94 and died December of 1935.(65) Here is a transcription of Lewis's Questionaire, dated Apr. 1922 (29)

Note: In 1915 and again in 1922, questionaires were sent to the veterans in Tennessee.  Those that were returned, were complied and
published as Tennessee Veteran's Civil War Questionaires. Spelling has not been altered.

                                  TENNESSEE VETERAN'S CIVIL WAR QUESTIONAIRES:
 
 

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:   Lewis F. Gulley, Bulls Gap, Tenn

2. State your age now:  eighty one yrs.

3. In what State and country were you born?:  Scott county Va.

4. In what State and country were you living when you enlisted in the service of the Confederacy, or of the Federal Government?:
    Confederate

5. What was your occupation before the war?:  ---

6. What was the occupation of your father?:  Farmer - brick mason

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:  James P. Gulley; Hawkins co. Tenn.; near Rogersville; Tennessee; 5 miles from Bulls Gap in time of war;
    He was editor of a paper.

8. Did you or your parents own slaves?  If so, how many?:   Nancy Osborn; Samuel Osborn; Winnie Osborn; Scott County, Va.

9. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres:  My Father owned 200 acres of land

10. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened:  $5000

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:  Log house weather boarded with three rooms

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:  worked on the farm with plow and hoe.

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.   coooking spinning weaving she cookied on a fire place and
     care for her family

14. Did your parents keep any servants?  If so, how many?: ---

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

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

17. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them?: None

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?:  the majority felt them selves better
      than an honorable poor man

19. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of
equality?:  they all went to the same church and school but still didn't assoate with one another as the should

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

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? ---

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?: opportunities were very good for the industrious young man

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

24. What kind of school or schools did you attend?:  country school

25. About how long did you go to school altogether?:  twelve months

26. How far was it to the nearest school?:  mile

27. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood?:  free

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

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

30. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly?:  no

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

32. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the Confederate or of the the Federal Government?: Henderson Depot in
      Greene Co. Tenn.  enlisted in the year 1862 near the 1st of Oct.

33. State the name of your regiment, and state the names of as many members of your company as you remember:  61st Company C

34. After enlistment, where was your company sent first?:  Vicksburg, Miss.

35. How long after your enlistment before your company engaged in battle?:  6 or 7 months

36. What was the first battle you engaged in?:  Big Black river, Miss.

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, howl long the 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:  was engaged un the seige of Vicksburg which lasted 48 days and nights They were several killed but
     more died of sickness, lived a horrible life with nothing to eat.  thinely clothed.  sleeping on the ground.  we were exposed to cold
     hungry and desiese.  We surrnedered at Vicksburg and was then with Owen's company.

38. When and where were you discharged?:

39. Tell something of your trip home:  come mostly on the train home walked some and had a time getting home alive

40. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home?:  Farmed a little and had to keep out of the way of  enemies

41. Give a sketch of you 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:  after getting back home Federals had stold every thing most
     my father had and I had to hire out by days work. for whatever I could get.  have worked hard all my life.  married in 1864 to a
     widow woman with one child and to us were borned 6 children - 4 girls and 2 boys.  my wife dieing in 1909 leaving me alone.  am
     now liveing with my daughter  Haven't gone a days work for 15 yrs.

42. Give the full name of your father:  __________  ;born at_______________;in the county of: ___________  state of:
___________He lived at ____________.  Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services,
etc.;books written by, etc.

43. Maiden name in full of your mother:  ___________  ; She was the daughter of (full name)  _________ and the wife (full
name)  _____________.

44. Remark 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 was services; what country the family came from to
America; where first settled, country 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:  My great grandparents Jinnie Phipps - Aggie Phipps.  I had
      3 brothers in the armey.  Samuel A. G. , Abe G. , Jim Gulley.  Jim being killed by Sizemore Band at the close of war.  Abe died at
      Vicksburg Miss.  Brain fever and Samuel getting thru. alive and with wound

45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember (If you know were the Roster is to be had, please make
special note of this.)   Lieut. William Johnson was promoted to Captan.  1st Lieut. Lewis Rader. Lieut. Neil Rader who was killed at Big Black.  Sergant Ike Love (or Lane).  Lieut. Jack Courtney.  Pvts. Anderson Laughter, Ike Null, William White, Jim White, John Dunnahop (Donnehoe), Samuel White.

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

 NAME                          POSTOFFICE          STATE