One of the curiosities of the records of Confederate dead is the case of James Godman, also listed at various times as Chadman or Codman. He turns up in the Camp Letterman surgical history, one of the best and primary sources on Confederate deaths and burials at Gettysburg. In that record, he is J.H. Chadman, colored teamster. In the Camp Letterman burial records, he is James Godman/Chadman, colored teamster. Dr. Samuel Weaver associated him with North Carolina Confederate burials, and eventually, his body was dug up and shipped to Hollywood Cemetery where he was reinterred with hundreds of Confederate dead from the battle.

So what is the story of James Godman? Specifics other than what are revealed through hospital and death records are impossible to find. As a black man from the South, James was at Gettysburg against his will. Black teamsters with the Confederate army were enslaved men brought to the army by their masters. Particularly after the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved men on Union territory or overtaken by Union armies were immediately free, and hence, many enslaved teamsters fled to Union lines when they saw opportunities.

When James crossed with Lee’s army into Pennsylvania, he walked onto free soil and into the heart of some of the most critical stops on the Underground Railroad. It may have seemed easy to escape . . . except that the Confederate cavalry was roaming the countryside, scooping up free blacks and others who had run from the South, putting them in chains, and sending them back South.

As a teamster, James would have been responsible for carrying supplies—food, forage, medical supplies, and so forth. Less frequently but still done occasionally, black teamsters also hauled cannons, gunpowder, ammunition, and cartridges up to the lines. On July 3, James suffered a shot fracture of the leg, meaning one of his leg bones was fractured by a minie ball or piece of shrapnel. To have suffered a shot fracture, James had to have been positioned at least close enough to be within artillery range. If he was among the North Carolinians, he likely would have been behind Seminary Ridge in support of the artillery bombardment that started at 1:30 pm and preceded Pickett’s Charge.

With such a wound, he was finished as a teamster, and he was likely to lose his leg. He was left behind, where Union doctors tended to him, likely amputating his leg. However, as with so many cases, infection set in, and James died August 13 and was buried in the Camp Letterman Cemetery (not far from a Sheetz gas station and convenience store in Gettysburg today).

When he fell into Union hands, James was free. Why was he then disinterred and taken South? Why is he still claimed today among the “Confederate” dead? Again, it’s hard to know without documentation—having no other place to send him, those removing Confederate soldiers may have just taken him along because he was there.

Or it may be that the Lost Cause has claimed him. In Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, a monument to black man Richard Poplar attracts praise and celebration year round, and in 2004, the mayor of Petersburg declared a Richard Poplar Day. Poplar is celebrated as a member of the 9th Virginia Cavalry, having cast his lot with the Confederacy. The only credible records on the matter show that Poplar was a cook—in other words, he was taken from slavery and pressed into service in the Confederate Army, same as James Godman was.

Recall the previous post about Benjamin Franklin Carter and Henry Johnson. Recall that Henry Johnson is mentioned in the history of the 4th Texas solely for ensuring Carter was given a Christian burial. What’s omitted is the rest of Johnson’s story—that he was free in Pennsylvania, he lived among the people for a time, and then he joined the Union army. The Lost Cause can’t “redeem” Henry Johnson. James Godman seems to have had no choice.