The following is a summary with excerpts developed from The Heritage of Davidson County (p. 59) and The Civil War Roster of Davidson County, NC (p. 75):
The Bisher family in Davidson County, North Carolina, "orginated with Conrad Bescheer, b. 1784, in Weilburg, Nassau, Germany. In 1817, Conrad and his 20 year old wife Marie departed for America, delivering their first son Godfrey aboard ship in mid-Atlantic." By 1820, the family settled down in Rowan County. "In 1846, 60 year old Conrad died and was bur. in the Lutheran Cem. in Salisbury . . . Godfrey had a fast growing family of his own, having m. in 1838 Loucinda Loflin, a woman 2 years older."
"Ten months after the Civil War erupted, Godfrey volunteered for the Confederate Army." At 47, he was one of the eldest privates in Company F, 7th Regiment of the N.C. State Troops, "but he served well, making himself a burden on the Yankees by getting captured twice. The first time came just 3 months after his enlistment, on 27 May 1862, at Hanover Court House, Va." He was confined at Fort Monroe, VA. On August 5, 1862, "he was exchanged at Aikens Landing, Va., and embarked on the campaign north to strike back at the Union. He was taken prisoner at Gettysburg in July 1863, and was interned in P.O.W. camps" in Fort Mifflin, PA, and Fort Delaware, DE. He was paroled on October 30, 1864, and sent to Venus Point, GA. "[H]e was exchanged (again) on the Savannah River in Ga. 15 Nov. 1864. Godfrey took the Oath of Allegiance to the Union . . . " on June 3, 1865 (p. 59).
"After the war, Godfrey returned home to his farm and family. He had a reputation as a hard worker, which led to a story. One Sunday, a preacher caught Godfrey plowing his field. After that, a few people considered him to be a dreadful sinner. Years after his death on September 7, 1897, people in Jackson Hill still used the phrase "Great Godfrey Bischer" to express shock and surprise. He is buried at Siloam United Methodist Church" (p. 75).
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