He carried the shot in his side for the rest of his life
by
Shannon Hollon
My grandparents loved to sit on there front porch and tell us stories until the day faded into dark.
My GGGgrandfather was Alfred Bearden(1826-1910).
Alfred Bearden
After serving in the Civil War(Perry County Guards) and returning home unharmed he took his Feist squirrel dog and went hunting.
After shooting a squirrel the excited little dog jumped up on him discharging the gun leaning against him in his side, he was bedridden for months while his wife nursed him back to health but he carried the shot in his side for the rest of his life.
Later in his life he attended a Confederate veterans reunion where he “put him a suit together” to have his picture made(notice the quilt backdrop). He is buried at Salem cemetery (Montevallo Al.) and his faithful wife lies next to him.
Enjoyed this little story! Wish I could remember some of the stories I heard while playing in the sprinkler, catching fire flies, waiting for Dad to finish the homemade ice cream on a hot Kimberly, AL night. Sorry to say that I must have been too busy to listen to the old folks!
He was one of my wife’s ancestors too.
My ggg grandfather was Emsley Bearden, Alfred’s brother. Emsley was killed in Suffolk, VA while serving with the 44th Ala inf. Cyrus H. Bearden check this out.
Love learning of this family history!!!…. Thanks for sharing!!
Allen Bearden Sr.
My ggg grandfather was Hardy Bearden, Alfred’s brother. Hardy served along side Emsley in the 44th Ala inf. (company F)…..
Thanks for sharing this Family History….
Allen Bearden Jr.
Alena Bearden
Alena BeardennTammy Atchison Bearden
Cool, My gg was with the 4th Alabama,, joined in Selma, surrendered at Appomattox and walked home, he lived until my grandfather was 16, I heard the stories from him.As I have gotten older I realize how unigue it is to have heard what my ancestor did in the war from someone who heard it from him firsthand
If you haven’t already, you should write down what you remember so someone will have it later. You would be surprised at how valuable that might be to someone later on. I know I’d love to have something like that about mine.
I have wrote some down, my child and grandchildren not interested, not many in my family very interested, I was , I soaked it up as a kid, went to several battlefields with dad to retrace his steps, the 4th were in 27 major battles
Yeah the 4th saw their share of action and then some for sure. As for the information, trust me, sooner or later someone will want to know more about their ancestors, and when they find even the smallest personal information about them like that, it will be invaluable. Might be a few generations, but it’s definitely worth your time to record it even though you might not get to see the benefit of it. And who knows, people’s interests change and one day the grandkids might be glad that they have something like that. By the way, that’s exactly how this article came to be, and this story was written in a genealogy book about the Bearden family.
Was Alfred Bearden from Lincoln County, TN and was he a gunsmith/gunmaker? I believe he was originally from South Carolina and had moved to TN? I have an old, black powder musket/rifle that has been handled down through my family for many years that bears his name, A. Bearden. My family was from the Lincoln County, TN area. I recently started researching the markings on this heirloom and it lead me to here. Great story Shannon and I hope you enjoy my contribution. I plan to restore the rifle to working condition, if it isn’t already. Its a beautiful rifle, albeit it’s seen some days.
Kent Hale
Frank McManus interesting
Handsome man