The Alman family (also spelled Allman and Almon) lived in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties in North Carolina. At the time of the 1860 census, Leonard Almon (b. ca. 1830) his wife, Caroline (b. ca. 1830), and their two young children, Caleb and Nancy, were living in the Mt. Pleasant section of Cabarrus County. Leonard was employed as a farmhand and listed in the household of Elizabeth McCurdy (b. ca. 1791). Leonard Almon’s parents, Richard and Rachel Almon, and his five brothers lived in neighboring Rowan County. Leonard Almon enlisted as a private in Co. B, 7th North Carolina Infantry in March 1862, along with several brothers and cousins. He was taken prisoner at Falling Waters, Virginia on July 14, 1863 during the retreat following the Battle of Gettysburg and died at Point Lookout prison camp in Maryland on March 8, 1864. Some of Almon’s letters were written for him by friends or relatives in his company.