She doesn’t remember much of her father other than his work — “He might be gone for three months at a time,” she said, “but he always let the store know to let us have anything we wanted until he’d come back” — and she doesn’t recall him saying anything about the war. Her mother mentioned his involvement in the war only sparingly.

Though Jeter remains proud of his service, it was simply part of her history and she never said much about it. As a result, it’s only been in recent months that the Sons of Union Veterans James D. Brady Camp 63 learned of Jeter and honored her with a certificate during a visit to her home.

Even her children weren’t always aware of their heritage. Her daughter, Mildred Watson, the fourth of Jeter’s five children, said she was in her 20s before she learned her grandfather fought in the Civil War.

“We were upstairs one day cleaning out the attic, and she was telling me about it,” recalled Watson. Her reaction: “You’ve got to be kidding me, Mama!”

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A small American flag waves from the front porch of Calvin and Christine Crane’s home in Roanoke. Inside, he has an even bigger Confederate battle flag, which makes sense since Calvin Crane’s father fought in the war.