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During the Civil War in Bolivar, many of these stately mansions were commandeered by the Federal Generals' as their headquarters. The owners of these homes had to accommodate and feed these leaders of the opposing army as if they were the best of friends. While the typical soldier ate rations and lived outdoors or in a tent, the Generals' had the finest quarters in the city ... often bringing their families with them whenever they were stationed in semi-permanent locations. Having this "live-in" relationship with the locals is probably what saved many of these fine homes from destruction during the war.
On one such occasion, General Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in Bolivar. As the story goes, Miss Maggie Coleman, as a young girl, was sitting in Grant's lap and he was explaining to her who he was when she asked him to stay there because her grandfather was looking for him as he wanted to kill him!
Little Miss Maggie Coleman (pictured on the right) knew exactly what she was talking about ... her grandfather was John C. Breckinridge, now a General in the Confederate Army! He would later in 1865 become Secretary of War of the Confederacy under Jefferson Davis.
Prior to the war, John Breckinridge was elected 14th Vice President of the United States under President Buchanan in 1856, the youngest vice president at age 36 in American History. He ran for President in 1860 against Lincoln and two other candidates but lost. Although his cousin Mary Todd Lincoln resided in the White House and his home state of Kentucky remained in the Union, Breckinridge chose to volunteer his services to the Confederate army as many of his friends had already done. John C. Breckinridge would become the ONLY vice president ever to take up arms against the government of the United States.
Miss Maggie Coleman would later marry Dr. B. V. Hudson ... you can learn more about him and his drug store here. Mrs. Maggie Coleman Hudson was born June 5, 1858 and died August 16,1961 ... she lived to be 103 years old.
The $20 Confederate note pictured on the right with the Tennessee State Capitol has never been folded...it is in perfect uncirculated condition and was given to me by Mrs. Hudson when I was a child...WJS
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