Lodrick Pope Collum, (8 May 1843 to 17 April 1931), my great grand father, was born in Lexington County, South Carolina and lived and died in Perry, South Carolina. He is the son of Uriah Maxwell Collum and Harriet Gunter, daughter of Rivers Gunter and Pricilla Hartley. His first wife was Georgianna Thrailkill and his second wife, Francis Starnes is my Great Grandmother.

In the summer of 1861, men from all over the state of South Carolina answered the call to aid in the defense of the Confederacy. They gathered in Columbia, and there they arranged themselves into Regiments consisting of 10 companies. One of these was the 14th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment, consisting of men from Edgefield, Laurens, Abbeville, Darlington, and Barnwell Counties. The 14th S.C.V.I. was quartered in Aiken for further instruction, and was officially organized on September 9th, 1861.

Great Grandpa Collum enlisted as a Private in the 14th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, Co. D, of Edgefield County, better known as the “Edgefield Rifles”. He joined on the 10th of August 1861, age 18, at Camp Butler, in Aiken under Capt. Abner Perrin. The regiment was sent to the coast in the fall, along with the 12th and 13th regiments, under the command of Brigadier General Maxcey Gregg. The 14th S.C.V.I. regiment was involved in a short battle at Port Royal Ferry on January 1, 1862. In the Spring of 1862, they were rushed northward to the battlefields of Virginia. There they served faithfully and honorably with the Army of Northern Virginia.

They fought under the command of, Brigadier General Maxcey Gregg, General A.P. Hill, General “Stonewall” Jackson, and General Robert E. Lee. The 14th fought only in the East and were at the surrender of Lee’s troops at Appomattox courthouse on April 9th. 1865. During the war, the 14th Regiment - and Gregg's/McGowan's Brigade - made a reputation as fierce fighters. The regiment's total loss of dead was: 224 killed in battle, and 326 who died of disease. The number who were wounded is far greater than this.

Private Collum's brothers, Pvt. Andrew Collum and Pvt. Jessie Moore Collum, joined the 14th at the same time and they served together during the “Invasion” of the South and all three men made it out alive. Great Grandpa L.P. was wounded at The Wilderness and at Petersburg; and his brother Jessie was wounded at Petersburg. There is no record of his brother Andrew being wounded.