Probable Nephew of David and Peggy RODDY Haston
Background
On January 19, 1805 the Knox County, TN Court: “Ordered that Philip Roddy as orphan now at the age of fourteen years be bound apprentice to John Webb until he arrives at the age of twenty-one years, and agreeably to the said order, Indentures are executed and a counterpart filed in Office.”
This 14-year-old orphan was probably a (five years younger) brother of Margaret/Peggy Roddy, who married Daniel Haston’s oldest son, David Haston. John Webb ran a major leather tanning operation in the Knoxville area.
A Phillip Roddy served in the War of 1812, from October 13 – January 1814. He was in McCrory’s Regiment of the West Tennessee Militia, a unit composed of men from Williamson, Maury, Giles, Overton, Rutherford, and Smith Counties. Evidence strongly suggests that this was the “orphaned Phillip Roddy,” who would have been about 22 years old when McCrory’s unit was formed. Phillip was living in the town of Liberty, TN, which is now in DeKalb County but Smith County at that time–about 40 miles west of where David and Peggy Roddy Haston lived. Phillip was a saddle maker, which would have been consistent with experience as a leather tanner.
If indeed Philip Dale Roddy was the orphaned Phillip of Knox County, he was (most likely) Peggy Roddy Haston’s (David Haston’s wife’s) younger brother. And, if so, General Philip Dale Roddy, Confederate Civil War hero, would have been her nephew.
General Philip Dale Roddy
Philip Dale Roddy/Roddey’s parents moved from DeKalb County, TN to Moulton, Alabama, where he was born (about 1820) and grew up. He was a tailor, before being elected as the Sheriff of Moulton, AL. Later, he got into the steam ship business on the Tennessee River.
He opposed Alabama’s secession from the United States, until the Federal Army captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River on February 6, 1862. Roddy then raised a company of mounted soldiers, “Tishomingo Rangers,” later that year. Early in his military career, he gained the confidence of General Braxton Bragg and other Confederate generals. He and General Nathan Bedford Forrest frequently operated together.
He was quickly elevated to Colonel and later confirmed as a Brigadier General in April 1864. General Philip Dale Roddey earned the sobriquets “Defender of Northern Alabama” and the “Swamp Fox of the Tennessee Valley.” He had a good reputation for the humane way he treated his prisoners of war. His military exploits are well-documented, as well as the scandals that plagued his post-war civilian life.
Post-War Scandals
Sadly, the Civil War hero of northern Alabama abandoned his family after the war and destroyed his good name by extramarital affairs and unscrupulous business deals. His bigamous marriage to the much younger Carlotta Frances Shotwell and alleged swindling of her wealth, forced him to move to England to evade criminal prosecution. He died in London in 1897, but his body was returned to Moulton, AL for burial
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