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From: "B. G. Messer" <>
Subject: [NCHaywood] Conrad H. "Coonrood" Messer
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 17:47:28 -0400 (Eastern Standard Time)


You are invited to a military funeral for Conrad "Conrad" Messer, son of
Frederick and Anna Hunter Messer of Haywood County, NC.

Conrad was born in 1838 in Haywood County and was injured in battle in
Laurel County, KY and died on Oct. 18, 1862.

The Pvt, E. F. Athur Camp #1783 [Sons of the Confederacy] and Lois Feltner
Oliver cordially invites you to a Memorial Service for Conrad H. "Coonrod"
Messer to be held at London, Greenmount, Laurel County, Kentucky on June 28,
2003.
The service will take place at 12:00 Noon at the Feltner Family Cemetery
with Luncheon following.
The meal will be provided by Lois Feltner Oliver for those attending.
A RSVP is requested so that she will know how many people to prepare for.
Please if you plan on attending, send me a note telling me how many will be
coming from your family so I can transmit the information to Lois so she can
plan appropriately. I need to know how many people will be attending as soon
as possible. I need to let Lois know an approximate number of persons
staying for lunch.
Here is an excerpt from the initial letter that I received from Jennings
Krahenbuhl, a member of the Sons of the Confederacy; the Pvt, E. F. Athur
Camp #1783, asking for information about Coonrod Messer:
"Conrad Messer died on the march on October 18, 1862 in Laurel County
Kentucky. The county site is London which is located half way between
Knoxville, Tn. and Lexington, Ky. on Interstate 75. Most likely he was
wounded in a skirmish at the Battle of Wildcat Mountain in Laurel County.
This took place on October 18, 1862.
Conrad's unit was chased by a group of Union soldiers. They attempted to
evade these troops by taking to the back roads in Laurel County.
By the time that they had gotten to the community of Greenmount on Boone's
Trace, they saw that Coonrod was dyeing and was unable to continue with them
They left him with a family of women. The soldiers told them that his name
was Conrad Messer and that he was from the Carolinas.
Shortly after, this Conrad died and the women afraid of reprisals by the
Union soldiers buried him in a shallow grave across the road from the house.
At that time his grave was in a fence corner and they covered it with leaves

Shortly thereafter the Union troops did come through that area searching for
the Confederates.
While we do not know the exact location of Conrad's grave, today he lies in
a woods approximately 200 to 300 feet from The Feltner Family Cemetery.
The story of Conrad's death and burial has been passed down by the Feltner
Family since they bought the land in the late 1890's. They had also
attempted to trace him in order to get him a tombstone. They had found a
Coonrod Messer but did not realize that this was Conrod's nickname.
I was doing research on Boone's Trace in Laurel County and called Lois
Feltner Oliver and learned of Conrad. She had promised her father at his
death to do two things. Fence in an old cemetery on their farm and get
Conrad a stone if they could confirm his name.
Our sons of Confederate Veterans unit will order Conrad a tombstone. The
stone will be placed at the entrance to the Feltner Cemetery. We will also
place a marker by the edge of the woods close to the spot where he was
buried.
It is our desire to have a ceremony in his honor sometime this next spring.
We wish to invite his descendants and the Haywood County SCV Unit, if one
exists."
I have provided the unit with the family history of Coonrod and I finishing
the book of his father, Uncle Fed Messer. With all the problems encountered
with the computer, but I have finally finished and and will be printing
ittoday. I will know how much the book will cost by tomorrow and will send a
new email out to anyone who is interested.
After I received this message from Mr. Krahenbuhl, the descendants of Uncle
Fed finally got me to agree to finish the project that they have been
prodding me to do for over a year now. If anyone is interested in a copy of
the book who is not on my usual mailing list, please contact me at


The following are the directions for the Conrad H. (Coonrod) Messer
Tombstone Dedication on Saturday, June 28, 2003. The dedication will start t
12:00 noon.
From North Carolina:
Take I-40 West to Knoxville, TN, then take I-75 toward Lexington, KY

If traveling from North Carolina on I-75, take Exit 41 and turn right on
HIGHWAY 80.

Go mile to (the first set of traffic lights) Highway 25 Junction and turn
left. Go for 2.7 miles and turn right on Highway 490.

Follow 490 for 1 mile to highway 30.

Follow highway 30 for 6.1 miles to highway 578 and turn left traveling
mile. The Feltner Cemetery Road is marked by a sign. Turn left on Feltner
Cemetery Road. The Cemetery is approximately 7/10 of a mile.
Have a safe journey,

There are no restroom facilities at the cemetery, but we will not be there
an extremely LONG time. We will leave and go to the church reception hall
nearby for lunch provided by Lois.

Regards

Brenda Messer


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