Rare Video: Confederate Army's Last Veteran? (Fully Re-mastered) (The Civil War Diaries S4E8)

In this episode we examine some recently discovered film of Confederate John Salling who was purportedly the last Confederate Veteran Living. He died in 1959. This film has been digitally restored and enhanced at East Tennessee State University to improve the audio and video clarity and to ensure it's preservation.
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[@LuvSubbin]

From a military perspective, this man participated in a war in which two armies would line up across from each other on a field of battle and fight with single shot weapons yet he lived to see a B-29 drop a single bomb to wipe out an entire city all the way to F-86 and Mig-15 fighter jets dueling over the skies of Korea. Mind boggling...

[@thomasrichardson9401]

Staliing was born May 1846 and died MRch 1959 just short of 113 years. A Monument was erected at Slant in Scott County in his honor.

[@scottbivins4758]

Rest in peace Southern soldier. Thank you for fighting for the south. Wish we had more men like that into todays world.

[@JayTX.]

We need men of conviction and sacrifice in these times more than ever

[@mattmarzula]

Be one.

[@Alex-ej4wm]

Especially on that Texas border

[@dannyl2598]

Thank you. My great grandfather was also in the south western part of Virginia, served in the Confederacy, did the same application process which included a statement from someone that he served with that could vouch for him. His pension was $16.00 a month. He applied for it in 1902 because he was no longer able to work. He died in march of 1903.

[@allenketron2216]

My dad, just passed away last month, went as a little boy with his grandpa to sit and talk with this man. My great grandfather knew him.

[@Savetheworldfirebidennow]

Beautiful uniform

[@mikefishhead]

I can only imagine how lonely it felt to be that last survivor

[@nikkonichols]

God bless this man and the SOUTH

[@suzanneflowers2230]

Amen.

[@cynthiaswearingen1037]

What a fine old gentleman. I'm so happy they found this film!❤

[@linushahs396]

Fine old gentleman? The man fought to keep black peoples enslaved hope he’s in hell where he belongs

[@AAB371]

RIP, soldier of the South

[@idigdaytona4478]

He went from horse and buggy days to cars with fins ! He saw a lot of changes in his lifetime .

[@Stormbringer505]

A true American with Discipline morales and values. Greatest respect. Enjoy

[@soulhunger6666]

You meant traitor.

[@bigiron8831]

@@soulhunger6666 LET'S GO DARWIN......

[@williamsteele1409]

just a couple years before i was born yet we think its ancient history its not far removed from us

[@bigiron8831]

R.I.P. Great Grandpa G.W. Jackson 🙏

[@suzanneflowers2230]

God bless you.

[@jeffnelson9420]

Ha ha ha, bunch of horse robes. Fancy looking hearing aid. He did work hard. Anybody wanna try and work 2 or 3 mules at a time? Hit ain't easy. Thanks for sharing.

[@jeffadams9807]

RIP, Johnny Reb... I Wonder What His Age Was ???

[@LostInMarxism]

Scroll comment section... answer below.

[@frankstefini3392]

It would be fun to find the young girl today and interview her. She might have some interesting memories of the family

[@samuelbrown3693]

A lot of history in those beautiful eyes!

[@toddlarmon3708]

Thank you for sharing this with us BirdDogg. A wonderful piece of history.

[@adamw7290]

Awesome video! I often wonder what had it been like to live during the civil war time.

[@JC-mm8wn]

The things he must have seen.

[@davidhall1779]

my gr gr grandfather served, 1st Lt. company K south Carolina 2nd regiment of rifles. he served the entirety of the war amd lived out his life in Pickens until his death in 1907.

[@rt3box6tx74]

I loved seeing this great old veteran come to life. Thanks BD. Saw McClanahan on Newsmax w/Judge Nap. I never gave that old man his due until I listened to him in that opening argument Brion posted this morning. Judge Nap knocked it out of the park!

[@DiggingCanuck]

Glad they found this and were able to digitize it.

[@faronray5765]

According to an article, they went back to the census of 1860 and found out that he was only 4 years old at the time which meant he was born in 1856, not 1846, so he could have only been 8 or 9 at the end of the civil war. He died in 1959 at 103 years old. Still a long life. The record book also took out his name for being the longest living soldier. That's what I read.

[@BirdDogg]

He never claimed to be a soldier but rather a Peter monkey, working the mines for the confederacy

[@faronray5765]

@@BirdDogg At 8 or 9 years old, I don't think he could be a Veteran and should be classified as a child laborer. And he did claim to be a soldier(enlisting) where is wearing a uniform of some type. He did collect a pension but I think they felt sorry for him. Anyways, working in the mines for the confederates still was hard work at 8 years old.

[@BirdDogg]

@@faronray5765 Child labor rights weren’t really a term or concern in the 1860’s, in fact, very few of today’s societal norms were common at the time, let alone during a war where over half of the confederate forces were conscripted(drafted under the threat of death.) Add to that the fact that many young men lied about their age in order to get off the farm and join the hullabaloo and many young boys went off to serve there respective country. At the end of the day, he was paid by the confederacy during the war, and through that was able to claim veteran status. With all of that said, it’s not my story, it’s his, I’m just here to help preserve it.

[@cherylrozema97]

Another fantastic video and piece of history.. Thank you! Love the channel! 😍

[@charlesd6459]

Excellent piece here, well done

[@bradpsstone4618]

(GREATLY) ADMIRE, THESE OLD MEN OF CONVICTION, (MY, ANCESTORS AMONG THEM), who sailed to America, 1850's-1860's,from AUSTRALIA, AND ALSO FOUGHT, IN THE CIVIL WAR, GOD BLESS THEM, MAY THEY REST IN PEACE ! 😢💖🙏

[@sineriafrankenstein7316]

Fascinating. So glad the footage was salvaged and shared!!❤

[@blumax413]

Hi great to see you posting again was trying to text you to see how you’re doing. Never got a text back

[@BirdDogg]

Oh hail. My old phone died in a relic hunting incident and so I lost a lot of my contacts. As a result a lot of texts get filtered, I’ll try and find it. Hope all is well with you and yours, been plowing hard here working on the new property and trying to get my first home build going. Fingers crossed I can pull it all off financially and mentally!

[@MorganOtt-ne1qj]

Oh, to live that long. My great grandmother made 102, and her daughter in law hit 101. Both saw amazing changes in their lives.

[@jamesartmetal8403]

That is really cool, to actually get to see that man and hear his voice and his story. My Great,Great Grandfathers were in the CSA military from Texas.

[@alabamabarbie8357]

Thanks for sharing! I was reading that Delaware was the last state to free there slaves.

[@johnnybottles2344]

Truth be told. 🕶👍

[@RedcoatsReturn]

Incredible! 😲😲😲 Before our very eyes and our ears…a man fought in 1863 for the Confederate States…with his great grandchildren there…..what he seen…and told…was great history….indeed 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Thank you for sharing this gem of history…with us 👍👍

[@angie6082]

Wow❤. What an absolute gem of a video.. Mr. Salling was quite an incredible man. Definitely one for the history books. Thanks BirdDogg!

[@stanhutchins4365]

I’m proud of my family heritage

[@texaco5589]

Thank you for this video 👍👍👍👍

[@maryb3909]

Wonderful video, thank you for sharing this.

[@tnbigdave4563]

Another Great job Chris, Hope your doing well

[@lumpylumpy3931]

I’ve seen this but it was lost. Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@RoyMH1960]

Cool. He lived a full life! RIP sir!!

[@user-dv8np9gu4n]

Thank you sir

[@mercedithcompala8148]

Great Memories...

[@richforrest6983]

Enjoy so much this CSA veterans thanks !

[@grant6165]

Interesting interview with such an old southern man. Pleasant Crump was probably the last real Confederate combat veteran though.

[@BirdDogg]

Indeed

[@Iluvbisquits]

Back when America had an immigration problem, the Republican Party and Abe Lincoln would conscript the Irish to fight in the South and the Africans to fight out West...

[@johnnystieferman6527]

Hard to believe I lived the same time as he did. Mind bogling

[@eltoncraig912]

👏👏👏👏👏💯💥

[@deerhunter7482]

The young girl love her grandpa.

[@mwdjr3158]

Fantastic! Thanks

[@robertrosengarten9794]

this guy must have been eight years old when he serve in the army of the confederated south . Was he a drummerboy?

[@BirdDogg]

He worked the salt Peter mines

[@Thelastdonspeaks]

Thank you.

[@jacktownsend8260]

Thanks Chris -

[@JamesWicker-ps4gq]

Thank God I'm a Southerner.I don't know how many greats to go.back I had a grandfather and a uncle from Germany they fault for the confederation in SC

[@dmana3172]

I salute to him in this video as the confederate solider, who fought so hard trying to save the south against the Union. Sadly, the South lost. I wished the Confederate had won and we wouldn't have a big federal government and bureaucrats today.

[@suzanneflowers2230]

I hope the house and land are still in family hands.

[@user-mo8ec8fm7l]

God BLESS ☦️

[@jpavlvs]

Research showed Salling was actually born in 1858 and there was no record of his service at the U of Va where those records are kept.

[@BirdDogg]

And thus the question mark, I just seek to preserve history, and whether true or not, his story certainly became a part of the local lore, and therefore it deserves preservation. He somehow got the story past a pension board, but that’s another story altogether I reckon.

[@bradpsstone4618]

(WISHED), THEY'D GONE, FROM STATE TO STATE, GOT HOLD OF EVERY OLD VET THEY COULD, INTERVIEWED AND DOCUMENTED THEM (ALL), FROM WHEN/WHERE, THEY WERE BORN, UP TO THEIR LIFE, AFTER THE WAR, (WHAT STORIES, THEY'D HAVE TO TELL) !! 🤔🥺😥 📯🎺🥁⚰🪦🇦🇺

[@jamestregler1584]

❤❤❤

[@moemulkey2264]

Never forget... F.J .B....

[@davidscott3820]

When was this recorded?

[@vm.999]

❤

[@ralphedwards817]

What’s the name of that song?

[@BirdDogg]

Dude where’s my horse?

[@napoleonlempereur3021]

❤👍👍👍

[@marksandor2830]

So how old was he?

[@BirdDogg]

Good question, there are varying reports.

[@user-ob2qd2lq6v]

How old was he when he entered the army? He died 1959 the war was 1861 to 65.

[@LostInMarxism]

He was born in May 1846...

[@charliemcelwain8874]

Join your local SCV and DOC I did

[@charliemcelwain8874]

Scv camp 569 Ltd col Elihu Hutton wv comander Charles Reese McElwain

[@charlesdbaldwin8177]

Back when they made real men

[@user-ob2qd2lq6v]

I know things had to be bad but we didn't arm any todlers. Something not right

[@BirdDogg]

He worked as a Peter monkey in the mines mining salt Peter for the army

[@LostInMarxism]

What, on Earth, are you REFERRING to? "... we didn't arm any todlers."? If that is a cheapshot at the C.S.A. then take your blue belly arse North of the Mason-Dixon and never return. The North literally destroyed... no obliterated the South and it STILL has not recovered. You blue bellies never want to discuss your unsavory immoral conduct...

[@stevez.6805]

$21 pension. Big money...

[@BirdDogg]

Ehh, for the time it was probably roughly equivalent (sadly) to what todays vets get.

[@marcb5374]

He is a fraud, the last veteran died in 1956.

[@forwheelinallday]

There is a question mark after the title. To my knowledge the last CW veterans passed in the early 1950's.

[@BirdDogg]

There are several claims that were made along these lines. I wouldn’t say it was some kind of “fraud” but rather, Information wasn’t as readily available about the rest of the world in the 50’s and evidently he and his community certainly believed it at the time.