polk arnold: a negro confederate - southern heritage · pdf filepolk arnold: a negro...

Polk Arnold 1844-1932

Researched by Leslie D. Marsh

Commander, Sons of Confederate Veterans

Sumner A. Cunningham Camp #1620

Shelbyville, Tennessee

Edited by

Melissa Edwards

Peter Turney UDC

March 2011

James K. “Polk” Arnold was born in March of 18441 in Bedford County, Tennessee to

Susan Arnold (b abt. 1815). His story is an amazing tale of a man that was born into slavery, but

refused to let that define him in life. He served alongside fellow Confederate soldiers in Nathan

Bedford Forrest’s Escort during the American Civil War, and later became a successful news

vendor. Polk grew up with the Arnold family on farmland owned by Dr. Joseph Henry McGrew.

Dr. McGrew and his son Dr. Samuel J. McGrew owned several hundred acres in the 23rd

District of

Bedford County, Tennessee southeast of Shelbyville.2 This property remains in the McGrew family

today. In 1853, at the age of nine, Polk Arnold was bought by Dr. J. H. McGrew for $750. Polk

continued to live near the Arnolds on the McGrew farm and later became the McGrew family

servant. They must have thought highly of Polk Arnold as he was mentioned in Dr. J. H. McGrew’s

will when it was probated in 1889.

1 There is a discrepancy in Polk Arnold’s date of birth. His colored pension application and his grave marker

both indicate that he was born in 1844. On the 1900 U.S. Census, he is recorded as being born in March of 1845.

2 Beers, D. G. 1878 Map of Bedford County, Tennessee. This map shows the location of the McGrew farm and

indicates that F. F. Arnold was living there in 1878.

POLK ARNOLD: A NEGRO CONFEDERATE 2

The Arnold Family of Bedford County, Tennessee

Jesse Arnold (1800-1832)3 and his wife Katharine Morgan Arnold (1798-1889)

4 moved

from North Carolina sometime prior to 1830 and settled in the 23rd

District of Bedford County,

Tennessee where they lived on the McGrew family farm. Jesse and Katharine had four children:5

James T. Arnold (1822-1876),6 Martha Arnold (1826-1890),

7 Francis Fieldon Arnold (1829-1899),

8

and Benjamin Pleasant Arnold (1832-1864).9 The Arnold brothers were tenants, farmers, laborers

and blacksmiths living alongside the colored slaves on Dr. McGrew’s farm. In the 1830 U.S.

Census of Bedford County, Tennessee, Jesse Arnold is listed as head of household and the record

indicates that there were 3 slaves (1 male, 2 females) living with his family. Jesse died in 1832, a

few months after the birth of his youngest son Pleasant, so in the 1840 Bedford County Census we

now find Katharine listed as head of household.

3 Jesse Arnold was born on January 24, 1800 and died in December of 1832 in Bedford County, Tennessee.

4Katharine Morgan Arnold was born on September 11, 1798 in Rowan County, North Carolina and died on

June 20, 1889 in Rogers, Arkansas. Her name is also seen listed as Catherine, Cathrine, and Kate Arnold.

5 One online record indicated that there may have been another son named Marion who served in the 18th TN

Infantry (Company I). There is a Muster Roll record for a Francis Marion Arnold in the 18th TN Infantry, but was

unable to determine if Francis Marion Arnold was a son of Jesse and Katharine.

6James T. Arnold was born on July 26, 1822 and died on October 10, 1876. He is buried in the Hastings Camp

Ground Cemetery located on New Hope Road. James was never married.

7 Martha Arnold was born on September 12, 1826 and died on February 18, 1890 in Rogers, Arkansas.

8 Francis Fieldon Arnold was born on February 7, 1829 and died on November 25, 1899. He is buried in the

Hastings Camp Ground Cemetery located on New Hope Road.

9Benjamin Pleasant Arnold was born on July 13, 1832 in Bedford County, Tennessee and died on July 13,

1864 in Pontotoc, Mississippi.


Ten years later in 1850, Katharine and her family are still living in District 23, with her

eldest son James (age 28) listed as head of household. Katharine and her three other children:

Martha (age 22), Francis (age 21), and Pleasant (age 18) are also enumerated.10

James is recorded

as a tenant (presumably on the McGrew Farm), and his brothers Francis and Pleasant were

employed as laborers. Also in 1850, there is a record of Katharine Arnold in the Slave Census for

District 23 with nine slaves (4 males, 5 females) listed. In the 1860 U. S. Census,11

Katharine is

still living with her son James, but we find that her son Pleasant is now living next door with his

wife Julia Ann Brown (1833-1904)12

and their family. Benjamin and Julia had the following

children: Paschal Arnold, T. Arnold, William Arnold, Nancy Arnold, Catherine “Caddie” Arnold,

and Anne Arnold.

Katharine continues to live with her son James as seen in the 1870 Census,13

but after his

death in 1876, the 1880 Census shows the widow Arnold living with her daughter Martha and her

husband Joseph McFarlin.14

It appears that Martha and Joseph moved to Arkansas sometime after

1880 and Katharine went with them. Online records indicate that Katharine died in 1889 in Benton

County, Arkansas.

Polk, the Arnold Brothers, and the Civil War

10 1850 United States Federal Census. District 23, Bedford County, Tennessee, Lines 10-17. Ancestry.com

11 1860 United States Federal Census. District 23, Bedford County, Tennessee, Lines 11-12. Ancestry.com

12 Julia Ann Brown was born on January 1, 1833 in Virginia and died on January 2, 1904 in Bedford County,

Tennessee.

13

1870 United States Federal Census. District 23, Bedford County, Tennessee, Lines 39-40. Ancestry.com

14 1880 United States Federal Census. District 23, Bedford County, Tennessee, Line 31. Ancestry.com


On October 11, 1862 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Benjamin Pleasant Arnold (B. P.) and his

older brother Francis Fieldon Arnold (F. F.) enlisted in Captain Montgomery Little’s Company,

Tennessee Cavalry15

with Colonel Charles M. Carroll for the period of the war.16

Benjamin

“Pleasant” and his brother Francis “Frank” were both blacksmiths for General Nathan Bedford

Forrest’s Escort. Their older brother James T. “Jim” also served with Forrest’s Escort as

commissary or Quartermaster during the war. Polk Arnold left with the three brothers to serve in

the Confederate Army and accompanied his master Pleasant Arnold as a bodyguard. When Pleasant

Arnold enlisted, his horse was valued at $150 and his equipment was valued at $15. Frank Arnold’s

horse was valued at $165 and his equipment at $15. Both Pleasant and Frank appear frequently in

the Confederate Citizen’s File for their extra duties as blacksmith.17

Jim Arnold’s name also

appears frequently in the Confederate Citizen’s File on exchange vouchers for goods and supplies

provided to the troops.18

On July 12, 1864, the Union and Confederate forces were involved in a skirmish outside

Tupelo in Pontotoc, Mississippi. The fighting continued the next day on the Tupelo Road and

Forrest’s Escort was not able to gain control. On July 13, 1864, in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Benjamin

Pleasant Arnold was wounded and died on his birthday at the age of 32.19

After Pleasant’s death,

Polk Arnold remained with the Arnold brothers throughout the war. Forrest’s Escort surrendered on

15 This company was successively designated as Captain Little’s Company Tennessee Cavalry; Captain

Boone’s Company Cavalry; and Captain J. C. Jackson’s Company Tennessee Cavalry (Brigadier General Forrest’s

Escort) as indicated on the Company Muster Rolls.

16 Muster Rolls for B.P. and F.F. Arnold accessed on Footnote.com. They are listed under Captain J. C.

Jackson’s Company, Tennessee Infantry.

17 Confederate Citizen’s Files accessed online at Footnote.com.

18 There are numerous documents for James T. Arnold in the Confederate Citizen’s File and they are consistent

with him serving as quartermaster. Unable to find a record for him in the Muster Rolls.

19 Wayne Bradshaw, The Civil War Diary of William R. Dyer: A Member of Forrest’s Escort (Lexington,

Kentucky: BookSurge Publishing, 2009), 52. Diary entry on July 13, 1864 lists him as BT Arnold.


May 9, 1865 at Gainesville, Alabama. After that, Polk and the Arnold brothers returned home.

However, Polk’s journey home was not without incident. Apparently the Yankees didn’t treat him

very well. In the affidavit he submitted for A. Fredora Arnold’s20

pension application, he shares

this story:

Mars Frank and Affiant were together and they both had horses and the Yankees let

Mars Frank keep his horse but took affiant’s away from him. Affiant’s feet got so sore that he could not keep up with Mars Frank and affiant had to stop and Mars Frank

beat him home so when affiant got home Mars Frank was already here and all the

other soldiers.21

George Himes22

also testifies on Fredora’s pension application that he was at home in

Bedford County when Frank and the other Confederates returned from the war. Once Polk was

back in Bedford County, he remained with Frank Arnold and his wife in until the Arnolds had all

died. Frank F. Arnold and Almedia Fredora “Caldonia” Himes were married on April 18, 1882 in

Bedford County, Tennessee by J. M. Woosley, J. P.23

She was Frank’s second wife and records

indicate they had no children. Frank Arnold died on November 25, 1899 in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Pleasant Arnold’s Ledger: A Bloody Legend

In September of 2009, a visit with Mr. Hugh Stowers, an elderly resident of Bedford

County, Tennessee, produced some long lost information.24

Hugh’s wife Nancy was a direct

20 It is interesting to note that on the pension application you find her name listed as Fredonia and Fredora

throughout the documents. Her signature looks like Fredonia.

21 Widow’s Indigent Pension filed by A. Fredora Arnold, widow of F. F. Arnold. [Pension Number W6421].

22 George is likely the younger brother of A. Fredora Arnold.

23 From the Marriage Certificate in Fredora Arnold’s pension application. It lists them as F. F. Arnold and

Fredora Hime on the certificate. She is listed in Tennessee State Marriages: 1780-2002 as Fredonia Himes.

24 Interview by Leslie D. Marsh on September 9, 2009 at the home of Hugh Stowers.


descendant of Pleasant Arnold and at the time of the interview, Mr. Stowers was living on the

“Caddie” Arnold Wallis farm (Pleasant Arnold’s daughter) in the 23rd

District next to the McGrew

farm. While researching about Pleasant Arnold’s wife Julia and the Brown family history, the

following note was found:

Julia Ann Brown married Benjamin Pleasant Arnold: An interesting story was told

about her husband’s life being saved during the Civil War, he was carrying a small bible in a pocket of his uniform, and a bullet struck the bible and was arrested in its

course.

As I was reading the above story, Mr. Stowers got up from his rocker and went into the

other room, returning with a small ledger that had a bullet hole completely through it. It was the

journal that belonged to Pleasant Arnold. His signature is obvious and you can read some of the

notes within. There were several entries that included the tasks he was to accomplish and many of

them were about shoeing horses. One account tells that he was to reset 26 horses for the Escort.

Most of the entries were not readable because of the large hole in the ledger. Polk Arnold and

Frank Arnold brought the ledger back home to Pleasant’s wife Julia after his death in the Civil War.

I have seen the blood soaked ledger of Pleasant Arnold. Beware of legends.


Figure 1. Bullet hole in the ledger belonging to B. P. Arnold.25

Figure 2. Inside pages of the ledger belonging to B. P. Arnold.

Polk Arnold after the War

Although Polk Arnold remained with the Arnold family after the war, in the 1870 Census, it

appears that Polk (listed as Jas. K.) was living with his mother Susan in District 23 in Bedford

County, Tennessee and working as a farm laborer.26

Ten years later, we find Poke (Polk) Arnold

25

This ledger was in the possession of Mr. Hugh Stowers. 26 1870 United States Federal Census. District 23, Bedford County, Tennessee, Lines 3-4. Ancestry.com


still living with his widowed mother in Bedford County and working as a laborer.27

Polk and his

mother lived next door to Caddie Himes and her first husband John A. Himes as well as near Frank

Arnold and his family. Dallas Arnold (black male, age 32) and his family also live nearby. It is

possible that Dallas is one of Polk’s siblings.

Polk Arnold McGrew was the official clock winder at the Shelbyville Courthouse for many

years. He became the top distributor for the Chattanooga Times during the years following the

Civil War. Because of his success as a news vendor, the Times awarded him an all expense paid

trip to Philadelphia, New York and Chicago in 1893. He represented Bedford County at the

World’s Fair in Chicago that year. Polk was known as a lover of the finer things in life.

He often wore a top hat and frock coat as he peddled his newspapers, hawking the

headlines from his bicycle. More often than not he was barefoot.28

He later became the proud owner of one of Shelbyville’s first motorcycles, an early model that he

would carry over the mud puddles. After Polk returned from his trip, he made local headlines with

an account of his travels. In 1893, the Bedford County Times ran this story:

At the earnest solicitation of the boys, Dr. Polk Arnold made a speech at the courthouse Thursday night of last week. For the benefit of those who cannot go to the

World’s Fair, his subject was Michigan, Italy and Chicago, Ill.

The Doctor was rigged out in his best cloths, had a Duke Tobacco photograph for a buttonhole bouquet, and said he felt “Very Intelligent.” He told about his trip to the

World’s Fair and it was greatly enjoyed by the one hundred present.

The doctor was an artist in his line and enjoyed his lecture as much as anybody

present. No other can boast of Dr. Polk Arnold. Polk liked to recount his reaction by

the people he met: In New York, they wanted to know how rich I was. In

Philadelphia, they wanted to know if I was in society. In Chicago, how much beer could I drink.

29

27 1880 United States Federal Census. District 23, Bedford County, Tennessee, Lines 39-40. Ancestry.com 28 Shelbyville Times-Gazette, Sesquicentennial Historical Edition: 1819-1969 (Shelbyville, Tennessee: Times-

Gazette, 1969), 216.

29 Sesquicentennial Historical Edition, 216.


In the 1900 Census, Polk Arnold is found living as a boarder with Sam and Elizabeth Hayes

on Main Street in Shelbyville, Tennessee with several other black boarders. He is listed as a single

black male (age 55), born in Tennessee. It indicates that his parents were born in Tennessee and he

worked as a porter. It also indicates that he could read, write and speak English.30

Not much is

known about Polk Arnold after the 1900 Census record. In December of 1932, Polk Arnold died in

Shelbyville, Tennessee. He is buried in the northeast section of Willow Mount Cemetery in the

McGrew family plot.

Figure 3. Grave marker of Polk Arnold.

Civil War Widow’s Pension for Fredora Arnold

30

1900 United States Federal Census. District 7, Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee, Line 26.

Ancestry.com


In 1916, Frank Arnold’s wife Almedia Fredora “Caldonia” Hime Arnold31

applied for a

Civil War Widow’s Pension, and thanks to the testimony and assistance of Polk Arnold, she

received the pension. Below is the complete affidavit written by Polk Arnold to the pension board

in support of Fredora’s application.

State of Tennessee

Bedford County

James K. Polk Arnold makes oath that he is 72 years old, was born in Bedford County

and this has been his home all his life, that there were three brothers, James Arnold, Frank F. Arnold, and Pleasant Arnold who were Confederate soldiers and affiant

belonged to them and was with them and waited on them. Mars Pleas was killed but

Mars Jim and Mars Frank got home after the war was over. Mars Jim was a

Commissary or a Quartermaster and got up things for the soldiers and Mars Frank was a blacksmith and shod the horses and mended the wagons. They were both with

General Forrest. Affiant was with them until the war was over and the soldiers came

home. Mars Frank and Affiant were together and they both had horses and the Yankees let Mars Frank keep his horse but took affiant’s away from him. Affiant’s

feet got so sore that he could not keep up with Mars Frank and affiant had to stop and

Mars Frank beat him home so when affiant got home Mars Frank was already here

and all the other soldiers.

Sworn to and subscribed before me June 24th 1916. Geo. T. Reeves, N.P.

Signed James K. Polk Arnold [his X mark]

32

Colored Pension for Polk Arnold

Polk Arnold and Pleasant Arnold’s daughter (Caddie Arnold Wallis) still known around

Bedford County, Tennessee as “Cad Wallis,” sat down in 1921 to help Polk fill out his own pension

application. On June 13, 1921, Polk Arnold officially applied for a Confederate Colored Man’s

Pension and on July 12, 1921, that pension was accepted [Colored Pension Number 5]. On the

application there was the following notice:

31 “Donnie,” short for Caldonia was born on September 5, 1847 and died on March 6, 1925. She is buried in

the Hastings Camp Ground Cemetery located on New Hope Road beside her husband F. F. Arnold. 32 From Widow’s Indigent Pension filed by A. Fredonia Arnold, widow of Frank F. Arnold.


The Negroes’ pension law passed by the Tennessee Legislature provides that Negroes

pensioned by this Act must have been actual bona fide residents of this State three years if they served with a Tennessee command, and ten years if they served with a

command from any other state. They must have remained with the army until the

close of the war, unless legally relieved from service. They must be indigent. Unless

you come clearly under the law, it is useless to file an application. The board meets the second Tuesdays in January, April, July and October.

33

In his sworn statement, it is clear that he met all of the criteria of this application.

I, Polk Arnold a native of the State of Tennessee and now a citizen of Tennessee,

resident at Shelbyville in the County of Bedford in said State of Tennessee, and who

was a servant from the State of Tennessee in the war between the United States and

the Confederate States, do hereby apply for aid under the Act of the General Assembly of Tennessee, of 1921. And I do solemnly swear that I was with Pleasant

Arnold and F. F. Arnold who were with Gen. N.B. Forrest’s Escort under Capt. J. C.

Jackson in the service of the Confederate States, and that by reason of indigence I am now entitled to receive the benefit of this Act. I further swear that I do not hold any

National, State or county office, nor do I receive aid or pension from any other State,

or from the United States. I do further solemnly swear that the answers given to the following questions are true.

34

On the pension application, it asks for the name of his owner. Polk Arnold replies that his

owner was Pleasant Arnold. Polk testifies that he was not married and that he has no estate, real or

personal of any value. He states that he has been a resident of Tennessee all his life and that his

attorney, E. Shapard of Shelbyville, Tennessee was looking after his application with no

compensation. Later on in the application, Pleasant Arnold’s daughter, Mrs. W. G. “Caddie” Wallis

of Shelbyville, Tennessee states that:

Polk Arnold was the slave of Pleasant Arnold, Affiants’ father, who is now deceased. Applicant served in the Confederate Army from 1863 to the close of the war as

servant to said Pleasant Arnold and F. F. Arnold with Gen. N. B. Forrest Escort, Capt.

John Jackson and Capt. Nathan Boone. Applicant returned to my father’s home after the surrender and upon the return of F. F. Arnold and remained until the death of the

latter, whose widow Mrs. Caldonia Arnold of Chattanooga is on the pension roll.35

33 From Polk Arnold’s Colored Pension Application [Colored Pension Number 5].

34

From Polk Arnold’s Colored Pension Application.

35 From Polk Arnold’s Colored Pension Application.


Her statement was witnessed by E. Shapard, Notary Public on June 11, 1921. Polk Arnold had to

sign with an X on his affidavit for Fredora Arnold’s pension in 1916, but by 1921 he became

educated enough to sign his name in full on his own pension application.

Figure 4. Signature of Polk Arnold from his Pension Application.

Veteran’s Association of Nathan Bedford Forrest

After the war, Nathan Bedford Forrest wanted to have a reunion of his Escort and Staff and

in 1877, many gathered at Hurricane Springs, Tennessee. Out of this gathering, the Veteran’s

Association of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Escort and Staff was established.

Frank F. Arnold was a founding member of this organization. Papers from the Frierson Camp of

Confederate Veterans mention Frank several times and show he attended the reunions in 1877, 1884

and 1885.36

They honored him when he died with several statements at one of the meetings. At the

1894 Reunion, his brother “Pless” Arnold was mentioned in the memorial roll call.37

36 Michael R. Bradley, Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Escort and Staff (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing

Company, Inc., 2006), 139-149.

37 Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Escort and Staff, 174.


Figure 5. 1886 Forrest’s Escort Reunion in Lynchburg, Tennessee

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