About the AuthorB. L. BlankenshipBenjamin Lee Blankenship was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1981 to his two southern parents Larry Brown Blankenship of Giles County, Tennessee & Jonelle Blankenship of Harlan, Kentucky. During his youth in the mid-1990s, he moved to Roane County, Tennessee. Having a deep love for literature and history, he's studied many aspects of the American Civil War.Like many Americans his ancestors fought on both sides of the war. Each of his direct bloodline kindred that fought for the Federal Government (i.e. Union Army) lived in the Republican stronghold of Harlan County, Kentucky. They were: - James H. Ticky Howard (1832-1922)- Leonard Samuel Scott (1825-1889)- David E. Lee (1824-1905)- Elijah G. Helton (1829-1904)- William Burton "Gabby Burt" Hensley (1832-1906)Each of these willingly submitted to the federal draft under the direction of Robert Hays, Prevost Martial of the 8th Kentucky District.Likewise, his family housed many proud Democrats who fought for the Confederate States of America. Unlike the array of Harlan Co. Union Soldiers within his bloodline, those who chose to serve as Confederates were spread abroad; they were: CONFEDERATE HERITAGE: Richard Pierce Stracener (1843-1906)7th Reg. Georgia Infantry--------------------------James W. Farmer (1834-1910)Company C, North Carolina 3rd Light Artillery Battalion--------------------------Jefferson Pack (1830-1864)35th Regiment Tennessee Infantry, 5th Infantry,1st Mountain Rifle Regiment--------------------------Granville Smith (1843-1923)60th Regiment Virginia Infantry3rd Regiment Wise Legion, Company A--------------------------Gabrial "Rial" Smith (1820-1912)4th Regiment, Virginia Reserves, Company F--------------------------William Riley Thurman (1816-1907)2nd Battalion, Arkansas Infantry--------------------------All of B. L. Blankenship's direct bloodline ancestors lived through the American Civil War except for the confederate Jefferson Pack. He was born in Stokes, North Carolina (1830) and died on November 12th, 1864 while imprisoned at Camp Douglas, Illinois.
