CHAPTER VII.

WAR HISTORY—REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS IN THE COUNTY—PENSIONS
ALLOWED THEM BY THE GOVERNMENT—TORIES AND THEIR SETTLEMENT
HERE—THE WAR OF 1819—HULL’S SURRENDER—PERRY’S VICTORY, AND
CHRISTIAN COUNTY MEN IN IT—THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS—INCIDENT OF THE DUTCH CAPTAIN FROM CHRISTIAN --A BLACK HAWK SOLDIER—OUR DISCUSSION WITH MEXICO—THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES—CHRISTIAN COUNTY ASSISTED BOTH SIDES—COL. WOODWARD—OTHER
HEROES, FEDERAL AND CONFEDERATE—COL. SYPERT—THE THIRD KENTUCKY CAVALRY—COL. STARLING—GEN. JACKSON, THE MARTYR OF
PERRYVILLE, ETC., ETC.

THE history of a nation’s wars is generally the history of that nation’s mistakes. Misrule at home or abroad growing out of the wrongheadedness of rulers is the fruitful source of these mistakes. In the war between England and her American Colonies the fault was with the immediate rulers rather than with the people. It was the perverseness and stubbornness of her Teutonic Sovereign and his Prime Minister, Lord North, rather than any unfriendly spirit of the masses that led to the collision. Upon the part of the Colonies the issue was unavoidable, and was simply a struggle for the bare privilege of existence. Resorted to as a measure of self-defense then, it never, upon their part, assumed the repulsive features of an aggression. The lofty statesmanship that dared conceive the possibility of living without the help and countenance of the mother country, and the loftier heroism that dared attempt the realization of the dream was tempered by a sublime magnanimity that prevented all excess. To-day the fabric of American liberty stands no less a monument to the moderation and forbearance of her people than their heroic endurance and fortitude. As such it is a heritage beyond all accident of name or fortune, and should be treasured up as a priceless heirloom by all who wear the badge of her citizenship.
Though its issues were made up and decided before the first settlement of Christian County, it is a pleasing thought that many of its most gallant spirits came with those who first adventured into its solitudes. They were principally from North and South Carolina, and a few from Virginia, and first settled in the more broken portions in the northern part of the county. Among these it may be interesting to note the names of Col. Jonathan Clark, William Gray, William Dupuy, Robert Warner, Henry Brewer, Joseph Cavender, John Knight, Jerry Brewer, Samuel Johnson and James Robinson, and others there were whose names are forgotten. The first, Col. Clark. came to the county as early us 1803, and was long a Justice of the Peace and Sheriff. The following extract is taken from the People’s Press of 1851 Jonathan Clark was born on 20th of May, 1759, in Bedford (now Campbell) County, Va. In the year 1773 he removed to Stokes County, N. C. In the spring of 1776 he volunteered as a minute man in Capt. James Shepherd’s company of North Carolina militia, was elected Lieutenant, and attached to Col. Martin Armstrong’s regiment. During this year he was mostly engaged in keeping in subjection Cols. Bryan and Roberts, whose loyalty induced them to raise two regiments of Tories, with whom he had several engagements on the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers, and although not in the battle of King’s Mountain with Cols. Cleaveland, Campbell and Shelby, was on duty near at hand, and joined them after the battle. Lieut. Clark rendered signal service in an engagement with Col. Wright, a Tory, at the Shallow ford of the Yadkin. He was then attached to Gen. Perkins's division, and was in two skirmishes with the troops under the command of Lord Cornwallis. Before the battle of Guilford, in the year 1781. he was attached to Col. Smith’s regiment of cavalry, and had several engagements with Cols. Bryan, Cunningham and other Tory commanders. who mostly occupied the hills and would not give general battle, but would sally out in small parties and commit depredations upon the Whigs. requiring the united Whig force to keep them in subjection. In the year 1784 he removed to Pendleton District, S. C., and in 1803 to Christian County, Ky. Here he filled the office of Justice of the Peace and became Sheriff. He was a man of sterling virtues, of more than ordinary intelligence, and for the unwavering integrity of his character and goodness of heart was held in the highest estimation by his friends and neighbors. He died at his residence March 12. 1 851. aged ninety-one years nine months and twenty-two days.”
Capt. William Gray was also an officer in the patriot army, lived for many years in the neighborhood of Mr. Lod Dulin, father of Rice Dulin. Esq.. and was highly esteemed for his probity of character and general intelligence by all who knew him. But little is known of the part he took in the thrilling drama of those times, but that little is creditable alike to his courage and patriotism.
William Dupuy, familiarly known as “Uncle Billy,” served through the war and came to this county at an early day. He died at his residence near Hopkinsville September 11, 1851, at the ripe old age of eighty-six years. The Kentucky Rifle of September 13, 1851, says of him:
“He was one of the oldest citizens of this county, and was universally respected as one of the last of those noble old patriots who fought over the cradle of the young Republic, dealing the stalwart blows of freemen to the minions of royalty. We loved to see him lingering here to enjoy the surprising contrast between those days and these, and to suggest to all who saw him moving about, like one whose whole being belonged to the past, instructive reflections of the times that saw the first faint hope that at last Liberty had determined to found an empire and consecrate a home. But he has been gathered to his fathers, and sleeps well beneath the soil which he loved with that warm and peculiar devotion which forms one of the most characteristic traits of the broad and manly nature of the early settler. He was buried with military honors under the direction of Maj.-Gen. Hays.”
Pensions.—The following application for pension is found on the county records:
This day Robert Warner came into open court and made oath that he is one of the Revolutionary soldiers, that he is now in the sixty-third year of his age, that he entered into the Continental service as a militia man, or a soldier in the militia service, in the year — in a company commanded by Capt. Robert Cravens, in a regiment commanded by Col. Benjamin Harrison, and that he served two tours of duty of three months each in said service, and was duly and regularly discharged, but he has lost his discharge papers, and that in the year 1778, as he believes, he enlisted in the Continental service under the command of Capt. Wallis, in a regiment commanded by Col. Richard Campbell, and in the Continental Army under the command of Gen. Nathaniel Greene. that he served from that time during the war, and that after the war he was duly and regularly discharged by Capt. Anderson, to whom he was transferred after the death of Capt. Wallis, who was killed at the battle of Guilford. and which said discharge he has lost. He states that he has never received anything, either land or money, from the United States of America for any of said services, and is now old, infirm and afflicted with palsy.
Signed and sealed the fifth day of March, 1822.
his
ROBERT X WARNER.
mark
John Knight was an old soldier; fought through the entire war and drew a pension from the Government. He left a large family in the northern part of the county, and was much respected for his many kindly qualities of mind and heart, and his character as a good citizen.
Knight was a most knightly knight from the Palmetto State. lie enlisted in Capt. Buchanan’s company, Sixth Regiment, Col. Henderson, and served two years. He was at the battles of Sullivan’s Island, Savannah, Stono, and during the siege of Charleston was captured by the British, from whom he afterward escaped. He did not re-enter the army, but removed to Christian County, where afterward he appears on the records as an applicant for a pension.
Jerry “Duck “ Brewer was also a veteran of the Continental Army, and settled in the eastern part of the county, where he reared a family, and left a large number of descendants.
The following application for pension, February 4, 1822, which appears in the County Court Record, is about all that is known of the war record of Samuel Johnson
To the honorable, the Secretary of the Department of War of the United Stated of America.
The declaration of the undersigned respectfully showeth that in the autumn of tie year 1775, in the County of Greenbrier, State of Virginia, he enlisted as a private soldier, in the company of Capt. Mathew Arbuckle. That the company of Capt. Arbuckle belonged to the regiment of the Continental line, commanded by Col. John Neville, that he joined his company at Lewisburgh, in the month of March, 1776, and marched from thence to Fort Pitt; from thence he marched with the company of Capt. Arbuckle to the mouth of the Great Kanawha, and remained with his company at that place until about the month of October, 1778, at which time the station was abandoned and the troops stationed there discharged from the service of their country. That some few  months after he entered the service, he became a sergeant, and for the last year of his continuance in service, he acted as Orderly Sergeant. and was discharged in good credit, that he now is a resident of the County of Christian. in the State of Kentucky, that he is now upwards of sixty-six years of age, and is by reason of his reduced circumstances in need of assistance from his country for support, he therefore prays that he may be placed on the pension list.
SAMUEL JOHNSON.
STATE OF KENTUCKY, )
CHRISTIAN COUNTY COURT.
Samuel Younglove, Joseph Meacham and Joseph Casky (the original founder of Casky Precinct) were Revolutionary soldiers, and moved to the county at an early day. There were doubtless many others who came about the same time. but their names have not been obtained. Several families of Tories also came to the county, but did not meet with much sympathy or countenance from the citizens at large. Among the number was Nicholas Pyle, who was the son of Col. Pyle of the British Army. He. was very much depressed by the unfriendliness of his neighbors, and lived a life of comparative retirement. On the breaking out of the war of 1812 he was one of the first to volunteer in the defense of that country against which he had before fought. He was with Jackson at the battle of New Orleans, and deported himself so gallantly as to compel the admiration of all who knew him. Afterward his old neighbors took him into their favor, and were wont to say: “Nick Pyle is a gallant fellow, and has redeemed himself.”
Dudley Redd was another Tory, but claimed to have been a soldier in the Continental Army. 1-le bad a deep scar on his forehead, which he claimed to have received in an encounter with the British. But an old negro man, the property of’ Lod Dulin, and who had formerly been a servant of Col. Hillion, of the British Army, said he knew Redd well when he was a soldier under his master. The negro’s account, and which was probably true, was, that Redd was a Tory, and received the saber cut on his forehead at Kettle Creek, at the hands of a patriot soldier, who left him on the field for dead.
James Robinson, one of the earliest settlers of the county, served through the entire struggle for liberty, and came to Christian County iii 1786. He is extensively mentioned in Chapter II. of this volume, and anything here would be but repetition.
The War of 1812.—Our second war with England (the war of 1812) began with a disgraceful surrender, but ended with a brilliant victory. The surrender of Hull and his army in Detroit at the very inception of the fight, with the attendant loss of the fair Territory of Michigan, was very discouraging, and cast a gloom over the whole country. The loss of Michigan entailed necessarily upon the country the loss of control of all the Northwestern tribes of Indians, and soon they poured down in great numbers upon our exposed frontiers. When the tocsin of war was sounded, Kentucky, with her sister States, sprang to the rescue with all the might and chivalry of her trained veterans. It is said that she and Virginia supplied more than twice as many volunteers as all the rest of the States. Christian County also, though comparatively a new county, supplied her full quota of men and material. When, after the disaster to Hull, the call was made for 1.500 men to join Gen. Hopkins at the rendezvous at Louisville, Capt. Allsbury promptly responded with a company from Christian, and afterward followed the fortunes of that gallant officer in his campaign against the Indians. Others had previously  joined the gallant Daviess, and were with him at Tippecanoe, while some had joined themselves to (3-en. Harrison, then Governor of the Indiana Territory. The names of these gallant heroes have long since faded from the memory of man, and the only definite chronicle of Christian County iii this Northwestern campaign was some time after, when Perry with his little fleet engaged the enemy on Lake Erie. A call was made for 150 picked Kentucky volunteers to man the fleet. Among these were three men known to be from Christian, Ezra Younglove, John Anderson and Washington Dunkerson, who were assigned to the ship Niagara. It is related of one of them, perhaps Dunkerson, that in the hottest of the fight, and when the colors had been shot away, he climbed into the rigging and re-nailed them to the mast, in the face of a murderous fire from the enemy. Years afterward, and while Col. George Poindexter was a member, the Legislature of Kentucky voted a gold medal to each of these heroes. On the obverse of this medal was the name of one of the soldiers. and on the reverse the ship Niagara in action, and the date of the engagement.
This decisive victory, preceded as it had been by the successful defense of Fort Stephenson by Croghan, and followed by the crushing defeat of Proctor and his Indian allies at the battle of the Thames, virtually put an end to the campaign, if not the war. There was some desultory fighting along the Eastern an(l Southern borders of the Union, but iii these Kentucky was not a participant.
Just before the final battle at New Orleans in 1814. Col. Posey, who is supposed to have been an officer in the regular army, camped with his command on Judge Ben Shackelford’s place, near the town of Hopkinsville While here he was joined by Maj. Reuben Harrison, with perhaps a battalion of Christian County troops. Among these was a company commanded by an eccentric old Dutchman named Chrisman, who lived close by the camp, and when the orders came to move was at home with his family arid in bed. Not being able to read the language of his adopted country, or perhaps any other, when the note was received lie jumped out of bed, and, not waiting to dress himself, rushed over to his nearest neighbor, Malcolm McNeil, in his shirt and drawers. Learning its import, he rushed back home in breathless haste, and when within hailing distance began calling out in broken English : “ Vife ! vife ! Pe quig! pe quig! vy dont you ? Maig haste maig haste. und rnaig some piskit mit a haf pushel! Per Kurnel zends vord mit dem ledder vat I shall pe in New Orleans py taylite mit my gumpernv ! Maig haste. Katrina! vv don't you maig haste? “ The bellicose old Teuton led his command to New Orleans under Maj. Harrison, not “ pv tavlite,” however, and there. with his “gumperny “ contributed much to the success of the battle.
While camped on Judge Shackelford’s place, two of Col. Posey’s men died with the measles and were buried near by. Among others who were at the battle of New Orleans may be mentioned Dr. John McCarroll, grandfather of Judge Joe McCarroll, who was a surgeon on the staff of Gen. Jackson and had been with him through most of his Indian campaigns, and Roger Thompson, father-in-law to Mr. George 0. Thompson of Hopkinsville. There were doubtless many others, but their names have not been obtained, and no mention of them is to be found in the official records.
Thus, as we have said, the war that opened with the disgrace of Hull’s surrender closed in a blaze of glory at New Orleans under (Gen. Jackson. It is not known just how many men went from Christian County, but it is pleasant to think that she was fully and ably represented upon almost every field, from the beginning of hostilities to the conclusion of peace.
Kentucky as a State was well represented in time Black Hawk war, but we have heard of hut one mart from Christian County who participated in it, and he fell a victim to the fortunes of war. Green Robinson, the youngest. son of James Robinson, the old Revolutionary soldier, was killed in this war. The event is mentioned in a preceding chapter of this work. -
The War with Mexico.—This war began in May, 1846, and ended in 1848, with the almost total annihilation of the Mexican armies and the capture of their capital. The quota assigned to Kentucky, so Collins says, was less than five thousand  , while so hearty was the popular response that more than thirteen thousand seven hundred volunteered their services. Among those who so offered themselves, but were rejected on account of the quota being full, was a company from Christian, under the command of Dr. A. S. Young, Captain, and Charles A. McCarroll, First Lieutenant, and Walter E. Warfield, Second Lieutenant. Every effort was made to have them accepted by the authorities at Frankfort, but all in vain, and the company was finally disbanded.
The War between the Sections. --Less than a decade and a half after the close of the Mexican war, the great civil war between the States broke out. Hitherto our wars had been waged against savages or foreign foes, but this was an internecine strife, wherein the “brother betrays the brother to death, and the father the son, and children rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death.” It was without a parallel in the history of nations and dwarfs into utter insignificance the mightiest struggles of the past. It is not the purpose of this history to enter upon a discussion of the issues that led up to the war, nor to paint the horrors of its shifting scenes, but simply to give the humble part the people of this community took on either side. A late writer has truthfully said “All the evils of war, and all the horrors of civil war were crowded into those four dreadful years, 1861-65. and all the refined cruelties known to the science and civilization of the enlightened age in which we live were practiced by the opposing parties. But after four years of strife and bloodshed the olive branch of peace again waved over us, and now fraternal love and prosperity smile upon the land from one end of the nation to the other. As we become naturalized and ‘reconstructed ‘ to the new order of things, we find it a source of sincere congratulation that the object of strife between the sections is forever removed, and will never cause another war on American soil. in the final union of ‘the Roses,’ England found the germ of her future greatness and glory, and in the harmonious blending of ‘the Blue’ and ‘ the Gray,’ who shall limit our own greatness and glory?
As Christian did not lie along the immediate track of either army and was altogether unimportant from a strategic point of view; it was not made the theatre of any important military operation during the war. Only a few slight skirmishes occurred between the outstanding videttes of the armies, who from time to time occupied or passed through the various parts of the county. The most important of these occurred near the Western Lunatic Asylum, some time in December, 1864. A small detachment of Confederates, about 200 or 300, under Col. Chenoweth, of Gen. Lyon’s command, were at Hopkinsville at a ball given at the Phoenix Hotel, and learning that tile forces of Gen. McCook were coming in on them by the way of the asylum, went out to meet them. They encountered them this side of the asylum, near the “Battle House,” so named from the occurrence, and finding they were largely outnumbered, after a few rounds retreated in the direction of Trenton. In the encounter two or three on either side were killed and wounded. Gen. McCook came on and occupied the town and sent a company of about 100 men in pursuit. They encountered Col. Sypert near Bainbridge, who charging drove them back on the main force.
Some time afterward, in the same year perhaps, Col. Thomas Woodward, then under suspension from his command, somewhere down South, for insubordination, with a small, irregular force approached the town from the south, and ordered his men to charge on the Federals then occupying it. The men refusing to make the attack, and Woodward being under the influence of liquor, he put spurs to his horse and dashed in by himself. When near the corner of Main and Nashville streets, he reined in and sat looking about him, and while so engaged, was suddenly shot from an upper window of the two-story brick on the southwest corner, and instantly killed. His body was taken to Mrs. N. E. Gray’s, a relative near by, and afterward interred in the Hopkinsville Cemetery by his friends.* Thus perished in the flower of his manhood, one of the bravest and most erratic of all the brave men who ever figured upon the soil of Christian County. Though not a native of the county, nor even of the State, he was largely identified with the interests of the community, having under him, from time to time, many of those who had gone from the county to follow the varying fortunes of the “lost cause.”
(*It may be remarked, by way of coincidence, that Paul Fuller, policeman who is said to have killed Woodward, was afterward himself killed on almost the same spot, by one Parker, who was subsequently tried and acquitted.)
Col. Thomas Woodward was a New Englander by birth, a West Pointer, and came to the county somewhere about the year 1847.-48. He was a very accomplished scholar, and during the interim between his removal to the county and his joining the Southern army taught school at various points in the country. When the war broke out in 1861 he was among the first to respond and tender his services to the Confederacy, and remained actively engaged till his death, as above described. That he was both a cunning strategist as well as a cool, deliberate, hard fighter, is well attested by the following anecdote: Some time in the summer of 1862 Woodward with his command, then numbering some 200 or 300 men, dashed into Clarksville, Tenn.. and surrounded the college building, where Col. Mason was encamped with a much larger command, and so  disposing of his forces as to impress the enemy with an exaggerated notion of his numbers. and planting a battery of mock pieces (logs painted and mounted upon wheels), which could not be distinguished in the early gray of the morning, sent in a demand for unconditional surrender. After some parleying Mason consented to the terms of capitulation, and turned over his command as prisoners of war. Learning the ruse that had been practiced upon him, but too late, he asked to be conducted into the presence of his redoubtable captor. Imagine his surprise and chagrin when first confronted with the petit and almost insignificant figure of his antagonist. A perfect Simon Tappertit in stature if not in legs, his long. flowing, unkept locks of auburn hair, drooping mustache, and face and hands as black as a stevedore’s, presented a picture at the same time “ wild, weird and picturesque,” if not ridiculous. His tout ensemble was further made up with a belted arsenal about his waist, a long, dangling saber, and an exaggerated pair of boots that seemed determined to swallow him to the very chin. So absurd and uncouth was Woodward’s appearance at the time that, for the moment, the gallant but unfortunate Mason lost sight of his annoyance and mortification in the keener sense of the ludicrous that seized upon him. Approaching Woodward in a laughing way, he challenged him to go across the street to a gallery and have his photograph taken just as he was. Woodward acceded, had his picture taken, and generously presented his prisoner with a copy. Col. Mason on receiving it laughingly remarked: “I want to send it up North to my friends, to let them see to what a d--- d insignificant little cuss I surrendered.”
Confederates. --As this portion of the State was first occupied by the forces under Gen. S. B. Buckner, and the Confederates were probably the first to organize, it is only proper that they should have precedence of mention in this chapter.
The Oak Grove Rangers were organized and mustered into service June 25. 1861, near Camp Boone, Montgomery Co., Tenn., for a period of twelve months. They were officered as follows: Thomas G. Wood-ward, Captain; Darwin Bell, First Lieutenant; Frank Campbell, Second Lieutenant, and J. M. Jones, Brevet Second Lieutenant. They numbered at the time about 130 of the very flower of the youth of Christian County, who had been thoroughly armed and equipped at the expense of the citizens about Oak Grove. Among them were Austin Peay, present State Senator from this district; Frank Buckner, William McGuire; William A. Elliott, afterward Captain of Company A., Second Regiment; B. F. and Henry Clardy, Radford, Bob and Nat Owens, John Blankenship, William and Sim Nichols, William Blakemore, Robert Kelly, W. L. and B. S. Leavell, Thomas Smith, W. F. Gray, Robert Searcy, A. Lyle,
George and Alex Bacon, Milton Seward, Tim Morton, Hardin, Creed Hood, Blanks, Frank Rogers, John Richie. Kidd, Hazard Baker, afterward Brevet Second Lieutenant Company B; Bob Baker. Minus Parsley and Harvey Saunders.
Thus organized they moved in September, 1861. into Kentucky, in advance of Gen. Buckner’s command from Camp Boone, Tennessee. At Bowling Green they went into camp with the rest of the army, and were at once assigned to duty as Companies A and B, First Regiment of Kentucky Cavalry, under Col. Ben Hardin Helm. Company B numbered about one hundred men at the time, and was officered as follows: Captain, J. W. Caldwell ; First Lieutenant, W. A. Elliott ; Second Lieutenant, William Campbell ; Brevet Second Lieutenant, Hazard Baker. Shortly afterward Capt. H. C. Leavell arrived with another company of Christian County troops, numbering about one hundred men rank and file, and was assigned to duty as Company H in the same regiment. It was officered as follows: Captain, H. C. Leavell; First Lieutenant, T. M. Barker; Second Lieutenant, W. T. Radford; Brevet Second Lieutenant, W. M. Bronaugh. Among the names of the privates are recalled: H. B. Garner, James Bronaugh, L. D. Watson, Mack and West Brame, John Brame, D. A. and W. T. Tandy, Warfield and Virgil Garnett, Sanford Brooks, William Jesup; R. M. Dill and, now District Judge of Santa Barbara, California; Marcellus Turnley. John H. Massie, W. G-. Wheeler, D. A. Bronaugh, L. A. Watson; W. P. Winfree, present County Judge of Christian; SY. T. Williams, Marion Lane, Mack Carroll, M. Cavenaugh, Peyton Venable, Garland Quisenberry, R. Barnett, J. Vinson, J. C. Marquess, J. Wiltshire, Dell Rawlins, Dell Tandy, A. McRae, John Barker, B. D. Lacky and A. 0. Lackey.
After the evacuation of Kentucky by the Confederates, and while the troops were at Nashville, Capt. Joseph M. Williams joined Col. Helm’s regiment with a company of about one hundred men, that had been recruited by Capt. Chas. E. Merriwether who had been killed in the fight at Sacramento, Ky., between Forrest and Col. Eli H. Murray, and the command had devolved upon Williams. This company had also been in the fight at Fort Donelson, where, under the command of Forrest, it had borne a gallant part in that action, and afterward made its escape pending the capitulation.
The regiment followed the retreat to Alabama, and all the time were actively employed as scouts on the flanks and in the rear of Johnston’s army. After the battle of Shiloh and while at Atlanta, Ga., Companies A and B, their time having expired, were disbanded and most of the men returned home for a season. While here two other companies were recruited for a period of twelve months, and the whole passed under the command of Col. Thomas G. Woodward. Though having but a small force under him, he did not remain idle, but in company with Col. Adam Johnson attacked and captured Clarksville, Tenn., as already stated, garrisoned by Col. Mason. Shortly after, in September, he attacked the garrison at Fort Donelson under Major Hart, but was repulsed, and the next day was attacked in turn by Col. Lowe from Fort Henry with a largely superior force at the rolling-mills on Cumberland River. The mills had been burned to the ground by the Federals some time before, and Woodward, disposing of his small force, with one piece of artillery, under Capt. Garth, behind the debris, succeeded in repulsing him with the loss of twenty-nine killed and others wounded. The casualties on the Confederate side are not remembered, but were comparatively slight.
After this, at Columbia. Tenn.. the services of the regiment were tendered the Confederate States Government for twelve months, but were declined. Most of the men either returned home or scattered out into other commands. About one hundred and thirty or more re-enlisted under Wood-ward for three years, or the war, and from this on followed the fortunes of that gallant but ill-fated officer.
We now go back to the time Companies A and B were disbanded at Atlanta, and take up the fortunes of Company H, whose time had not yet expired. They remained under the command of Lieut.-Col. H. C. Leavell, their old Captain, till just before Bragg started on the march to Kentucky, when, Col. -Leavell dying, they passed under the command of Maj. J. W. Caldwell. On the march into Kentucky they were placed in the advance, and throughout the campaign did efficient service as videttes. They were in frequent collision with the enemy’s infantry and cavalry, both in Kentucky and Tennessee, and at all times and on all occasions preserved their well-earned prestige as good soldiers. At the battle of Perryville, although their term of service expired on that very day, they remained and took part in the action, operating with the rest of the cavalry against the enemy’s flanks. Afterward, when Bragg had reached Tennessee, they disbanded at Clifton, near Knoxville, and the men scattered out, some into other commands and some returning home. It is regretted that the facts thus preserved are so meager and incomplete, but the lapse of time and the pre-occupation of other matters has served to obliterate much of the story from the minds of those who survive.
The Eighth Regiment of Kentucky Cavalry, C.S.A—This command was organized at the fair grounds, near Hopkinsville, in the spring or summer of 1861. It numbered about 800 or 1,000 men recruited from Christian and the neighboring counties. It was officered as follows: H. C. Burnett, Colonel; H. B. Lyon, Lieutenant-Colonel; and William R. Henry, Major. Col. Burnett was afterward elected to the Confederate States Senate from Kentucky, and resigned his command, after which Lyon was promoted to the vacancy. On being mustered into service, the regiment was ordered to Fort Donelson, reaching there in time to participate in the brilliant but disastrous battle that ensued. They were captured with the other troops under Maj.-Gen. Buckner, and sent North to prison. Shortly after reaching the prison at Indianapolis, and in the same month of his capture (February) the gallant Henry died of disease contracted from exposure on the battle-field. The regiment was exchanged at Vicksburg, Miss., in the fall or winter of 1862. and their term of service expiring in the meantime, they disbanded and returned home, or were absorbed into other commands.
• Among other officers who went from the county, and who are worthy of mention was Col. L. A. Sypert. now a practicing lawyer at the Hopkinsville bar. Col. Sypert first joined Green’s Cumberland Battery in 1861. Before being fully organized the battery was ordered to Fort Donelson to take part in that fight, and did gallant service up to the surrender. Finding preparations were being made for surrender, both Sypert and Green made their escape from the fort, the former returning to his home in Kentucky, and the latter following up the retreating army under Albert Sidney Johnston. As soon as Col. Sypert had re-equipped himself he passed through the Federal lines, and riding rapidly in the (direction of the retreating Confederates overtook them at Shelbyville, Tenn. From this place, with other escaped soldiers from Fort Donelson, he was ordered to Huntsville, Ala., and from thence went to Corinth, Miss., where Johnston was concentrating his forces. On reaching Corinth lie found the army had already been moved in the direction of Shiloh, and at once followed in  pursuit. The next day he overtook the Third Arkansas from Pine Bluff just as they were going into action, fell into line, and when, shortly after, one of them fell severely wounded, begged of him his gun and equipments and followed on into the fight. Some time in the afternoon of that day he received a painful wound in the foot from a piece of shell, which, for the time, quite disabled him. While bathing his wound at a stream near by a riderless horse came dashing by, which, with the assistance of a straggling soldier, he succeeded in capturing. Being assisted into the saddle he again rode to the front, and came up with the line of battle on the edge of an old field. Here he took position behind a tree, and fired several rounds at the opposing enemy. While so engaged his horse was struck in the neck by a bullet, and being maddened by the pain wheeled and ran with him to the rear. After run-fling a short distance he plunged into a low, marshy bog on the banks of a stream, became mired, pitched forward on his head and landed his rider in the surrounding muck and mire. Extricating himself as best he could. and leaving the dying horse to his fate, the Colonel hailed Cobb’s Battery, then passing by, and received the assistance of his old friend, Will Wheatley, to the nearest field hospital. After having had his foot comfortably dressed, and having procured another horse, he again returned to the front. He arrived just in time to witness the surrender of Gen. Prentiss and his command, and being put in charge of some fifty or more prisoners he, in company with Messrs. Pete and Chris Torian, then of Memphis, conducted them back to Corinth. After the fight the army fell back to Tupelo, Miss., and here a pass was secured from Gen. Bragg, and he went to Mobile for a few days. On his return he found Bragg gone in the direction of Chattanooga, having left Gen. Price (“Old Pap “) with a small force to operate against Iuka and Corinth as a blind to his movements. After the capture of the former place by Price, Col. Sypert crossed the river at Eastport, and continued on by himself into Kentucky. Arriving in safety he at once began to recruit a company for Col. Tom Woodward, who was at that time in the neighborhood recruiting his regiment. Before the regiment had completed its organization, however, and before Col. Sypert had recruited a full company they were again compelled to leave the State and retire to Columbia, Tenn. Here the regiment, which had been mustered into service for twelve months only, was tendered to the Confederate Government, but, on that account, rejected. The companies were disbanded, and some of the men returned home, some of them scattered out into other organizations, and the balance re-enlisted for three years under Woodward.
Of these there were about one hundred and thirty men, and among them Col. Sypert and ten or twelve of his men. A majority of these were from Hopkinsville, and among them Hal Sharp, George Bryan, Wallace Wilkerson, Charles Campbell and others. Reenlisting a private under Woodward, Sypert remained in that capacity till the summer of 1863, when, through the kind offices of his friend, Hon. Henry C. Burnett, at Richmond, he was commissioned Colonel and given authority to raise a regiment. On his way back from Richmond the train on which he was returning was intercepted and captured by the enemy. Col. Sypert succeeded in making his escape through North Carolina to the nearest railway, on which he returned by way of Atlanta to Dalton, Ga. Here he found his old command and remained with them till after the battle of Chickamauga. He participated with his regiment in this hard-fought but fruitless victory, and as usual came out unscathed. Shortly after this the regiment was attached to Gen. Wheeler, with whom they made a successful raid into Tennessee, capturing Shelbyville and other points, and doing much damage to the enemy. When near Columbia, Tenn., Col. Sypert left the  command, and, pressing on by himself into Kentucky, was soon among his old friends and admirers on his “ native heath.” It was rather late in the season and the Federals were swarming in every direction. and after a few unsuccessful efforts to recruit, he concluded to return South till spring. In the spring of 1S64 he returned to Kentucky and this time succeeded in raising a regiment of cavalry, recruited principally from the counties of Union, Henderson and Webster. With this small force, most of whom were “ raw recruits,” he began to operate against the Federals wherever they could be found. The first encounter was with Col. Sam Johnson in Crittenden County, a part of whose forces he surprised at Bell’s Mines, and the next day encountered Col. Johnson himself at Blue Lake, whom he completely routed and drove out of the county, with the loss of eighty men and horses. Shortly after this an incident occurred which is well worthy of preservation. A very estimable citizen of Henderson, Mr. James E. Rankin, had been shot and killed by a party of guerrillas, calling themselves Confederate soldiers, and in retaliation two innocent prisoners from Daviess County were brought down to Henderson to be shot. Col. Sypert learning the fact, determined to rescue them. Appearing before the town with such portions of his command as were at hand, and ordering up the balance under Maj. Walker Taylor as soon as possible, he at once sent in an order for immediate and unconditional surrender. The officer in command, in order to gain time, returned an evasive answer. Apprehending his motive and desiring to make a preliminary reconnaissance, Col. Sypert rode in himself under flag of truce,” and unattended. Meeting the Federal officer in command he again repeated his demand for surrender. but was again met with evasion. The commandant assured him that the order to shoot the two prisoners had been countermanded and would not be enforced, and on his part demanded to know what forces Col. Sypert had under him. To this Sypert replied : “ I am here, Col. Seery is here, and Maj. Walker Taylor will be up in a few moments, and unless you surrender in five minutes from now I will make the attack.” This failing to have the desired effect. and knowing the danger of delay, Col. Sypert abruptly ended the conference. mounted his horse and rode back to his men. Everything was gotten ready for a charge upon the town, but before the five minutes had expired the enemy’s gun-boats appeared in view and began shelling most furiously. Seeing the hopelessness of an attack against such odds, he drew off his men in the direction of Taylor’s Spring!, where he went into camp. The very next day the two unfortunate prisoners were taken down the river bank and shot to death, after which the whole Federal force debarked on the gun-boats and left the city. The Union citizens, fearing retaliation upon themselves, began to flee also, but were promptly re-assured by the following proclamation from Col. Sypert:
“ To the Citizens of Henderson:
“On yesterday two Confederate soldiers were shot to death in the streets of your city. They condemned, their entire command condemned, as earnestly as any citizen of Kentucky, the wounding of Mr. James E. Rankin and the plundering of your city. But they are gone, and their murder is another crime added to the damnable catalogue of the despotism that rules you. We are Confederate soldiers. We fight for the liberty our sires bequeathed us. We have not made, nor will we make war upon citizens and ‘women. Let not your people be excited by any further apprehension that we will disturb the peace of your community by the arrest of Union men, or any interference with them unless they place themselves in the attitude of combatants. Such conduct would be cowardly, and we scorn it. We are in arms to meet and battle with soldiers —not to tyrannize over citizens and frighten women and children. We move with our lives in our hands. We are fighting not for booty but for liberty; to disenthrall our loved Southern land from the horrible despotism under which it has bled and suffered so much. We know our duty, and will do it as soldiers and men. Even if what are denominated as Southern sympathizers’ be arrested by the tyrants that lord it over you” we would scorn to retaliate by arresting Union men who had no complicity in the matter, but our retaliation will be upon soldiers. Let not the non-combatants of your community be further excited by any fear that we will disturb them; all Union men who may have left home on our account may safely return. In war soldiers should do the fighting.

“L. A. SYPERT, Colonel Commanding C. S. A.
“R. B. L. Seery Lieut..-(Colonel C. S. A.
“J. WALKER TAYLOR, Major C. S. A.”

To this brave utterance the Henderson News thus responded: “Col. Sypert has been known in peace and war as a thoroughly brave man and a gentleman. When he learned the soldiers had gone he issued this proclamation, which speaks for itself. No eulogy could add to the honor it sheds upon the man. Everything here at the time was absolutely at his mercy, but he refused a temptation to plunder, and an opportunity for vengeance upon citizens not in arms. His words then composed our people, who were in a fearful’ state of excitement. They were grateful to him then, and admire him yet for his manly and soldierly conduct.”
After this incident as related above Col. Sypert removed his command to Sulphur Springs, in Union County, and shortly after, with about 500 men, attached himself to Gen. Adam Johnson, who had come in to recruit a brigade. Col. Chenoweth with about 300 men also attached himself to Johnson, and the two commands became the nucleus thereafter for the proposed brigade. This brigade was never completely organized, but after some uneventful skirmishing with the enemy, and marching and counter-marching from point to point in Southern Kentucky and Tennessee, after the disabling of Gen. Adam Johnson, was transferred to the command of Gen. Lyon. The command then followed the fortunes of this able officer to the close of the scene at Columbus, Miss., where, in 1865, they surrendered to the forces under the Federal Gen. Wilson. After the war Col. Sypert returned home, resumed the practice of his profession at the Hopkinsville bar. He married Martha D., daughter of the late lamented Maj. William R. Henry, of Fort Donelson fame, and who afterward died in prison at Camp Chase.
John .D. Morris.—A Virginian, and son of the distinguished Richard Morris. Col. Morris, after acquiring a finished education, removed to Christian County. After a short stay here, in company with many other young men from the State he emigrated to Texas, then a province of Mexico. He was soon appointed to the responsible post of District Attorney for the more western frontier border of the Rio Grande. He was afterward selected with Van Ess to negotiate a treaty with Gen. Arista, one of Santa Anna’s lieutenants, and on his return found that he had been elected to the Texas Congress. Before the expiration of his term he was selected to fill a vacancy in the Senate, but did not enter upon its duties by reason of his marriage about that time. He had taken an active part in military as well as political affairs in Texas, and participated in the battle of San Jacinto, and the Comanche fight at San Antonio, as well as several others. After his marriage he returned to his farm in Christian County. In 1850 he was elected to the Constitutional Convention from this county with Ninian E. Grey, but aside from this he took no part in politics.
When the war broke out in 1861, he was among the first to respond, and was sent to New Orleans to look after the confiscation of Northern funds deposited in the banks there. The battles of Forts Donelson and Henry interrupted his work, and after a short visit to his family, he returned to Florence, Ala., where he overtook the retreating Confederates. Here he attached himself to the First Kentucky Cavalry, commanded by Col. Ben. Hardin Helm, who sent him to Corinth in charge of a detachment of Federal prisoners. Upon his return he found the army had marched for the front; he followed on foot, and arrived in time to take part in the battle of Shiloh. After the battle he rejoined his command, and remained with it until after its disbandment. He then went to Richmond, arriving in time to take part in the seven days’ fight. After this he was assigned to duty on Gen. John S. Williams’ staff, where he continued about fourteen months, and was then placed in command of a battalion of cavalry. In the bloody campaign from the Wilderness to Petersburg, he was with the Twenty-eighth Virginia, and participated in that series of engagements. He then received a mission to Kentucky from the authorities at Richmond. On his way here, he learned at Abingdon of the impending attack on Saltville, by Gen. Burbridge, and at once attached himself to his old command under Gen. Williams. He was assigned by Gen. Williams to the command of a detachment of irregular troops, and with them started to the front. Before reaching the field, however, his “men in buckram” had dwindled down in the ratio that Falstaff’s men “good and true” increased. After the battle, Col. Morris, with Maj. Steele and Capt. Bob Breckinridge, pushed on into Kentucky, where he fell into the hands of the enemy before he had accomplished his mission. He was sent to Lexington and imprisoned, and the indignity of a ball and chain put on him, and besides received the pleasant assurance that he was to be shot as a spy. Some months after being thrown into prison, he had a severe attack of varioloid and was transferred to the pest-house, but finally recovered. When convalescent, he was returned to his old quarters. at Lexington, but afterward sent to Fortress Monroe for exchange. On his arrival at Richmond he found his old command had been consolidated and turned over to Col. Winfield, and Col. Morris was then furnished with both a Brigadier-General’s commission and chief of” Cotton Bureau” for the trans-Mississippi department. On his way to the new field he received a dispatch at Chester, S. C., of the disaster at Richmond, but continued on his way. On reaching the Mississippi he was unable to cross, and the Confederacy having collapsed he surrendered to the nearest authorities. Since the war, Col. Morris has resided in Hopkinsville, where he is engaged in the practice of the law.
Federals.—Simultaneous with the breaking out of the war, and while the Confederates were organizing at Camp Boone and elsewhere, the friends of the Union also rushed to arms. Their principal rendezvous in the county was near Hopkinsville, on the farm of Mr. Joseph F. Anderson, and was popularly known as “Camp Joe Anderson.” Here (some say about 500, and some 1,000) men were organized into a regiment under command of Col. James F. Buckner, now of Louisville. Ky. It was officered as follows: Col., James F. Buckner; Lt. - Col., T. C. Fruit; William T. Buckner, Major; Maj. John P. Ritter, Adjutant, and Joseph F. Anderson, Quartermaster. Among the Captains commanding companies were B. T. Underwood, Hugh Cooper, William Starling and Summerby. This command, beside arms and other equipment, had on e piece of artillery, manned by Capt. Starling and his company. In the month of September, 1861, Maj.-Gen. Buckner moved from Bowling rig Green through Greenville with a detachment of 4,000 or 5,000 men to attack and capture the camp. Many of the men were absent at their homes, and only about 500 were in camp, when information was received of Buckner’s designs. These moved out on to the Greenville road, about three miles distant, and fired their cannon as a signal to those who were absent. These not putting in an appearance, and word being received that the Confederates who were approaching numbered some 5,000 or 6,000 men, they dispersed. Col. Buckner was captured at the residence of Mrs. Ruby, about twenty miles from Madisonville on the road to Henderson, and carried prisoner to Paducah. Lieut. -Col. William T. Buckner with a squad of forty or fifty men was surrounded in an old church, on the Madisonville and Henderson road, about one mile from Vandersburg, by Capt. James A. Powell and about an equal number of men, and after a sharp, brisk fight surrendered.
Shortly after this Capt. John W. Breathitt organized a company of cavalry, which was mustered into service at Calhoun, Ky., for a period of three years, and assigned to duty December 13, 1S61, as Company A, Third Kentucky Cavalry, under Col. James S. Jackson. The company was officered as follows : John W. Breathitt, Captain ; Charles L. White, First Lieutenant ; N. 0. Petree, Second Lieutenant. Among the names of non-commissioned officers and privates given by the Adjutant-General’s report who were then mustered in are: Calvin A. McCullough, James MI. Clark, E. R. Hambv, C. MI. Grissom, Isaac Walker, B. F. Goode, J. A. B. Ratcliffe, W. H. Barnett, J. Blankenship, Lafayette Phelps, J. B. Barnett, J. P. Clark, W. P. Walker, Thomas McCullough, W. J. Barnett, W. B. Whitaker, J. Ingoldsby, W. H. McIntosh, S. W. Abbott, H. Baker, J. J. Bowen, 4. Brewer, George Bobbitt, W. H. Cansler, N. L. Cavanaugh, F. M. Cooper, I. D. Cooper, S. D. Collins, MI. F. Chesterfield, J. J. Fuller, James Fuller, W. L. Gibson, J. B. Goode, J. C. Hunter, H. H. Jones, J. D. Johnson, A. G-. Johnson, W. 11. Johnson, D. H. Knight, J. W. Kirben, J. J. Long, H. H. Linsey, George L. Lovin, H. McIntosh, F. McIntosh, J. B. Martin, J. C. Martin, J. G. Moreland, John Matheny, Aaron Morgan, F. P. Miller, G. H. Myers, A. H. Perkins, J. H. Phamp. J. R. Phillips, B. MI. Powers, W. H. Powers, William Ray, J. J. Renshaw, Rev. Sol. Smith, J. F. Stephenson, A. P. Smith, J. W. Underwood. U. MI. Underwood, William Vine, A. Vinson, Charles A. White, Moses W. Woosley, J. W. White, W. T. Williamson, Wyatt M. Wright, J. B. Wright, U. MI. West, W. W. West and M. W. West. May 27, 1863, J. W. Breathitt was promoted to Major of the regiment, and Charles L. White became Captain, with Thomas W. Ash-ford as First Lieutenant, and Edward Kelly, Second Lieutenant.
Immediately after organization this company, together with the others, under command of the gallant Jackson, was assigned to Gen. T. L. Crittenden’s division, marched to Nashville, Tenn., and participated in the battles of Sacramento, Ky., Shiloh, Corinth, Iuka, and Pea Ridge, Miss., New  market, Ala., Kinderhook, Chaplin Hills, Stone River, Tenn., and Chickamauga, Ga.
In the month of September, 1861, a company was organized by Capt.B. T. Underwood at Henderson, Ky., and assigned to duty as Company A, Twenty-fifth Kentucky Infantry, under command of Col. James MI. Shackelford. The company was officered as follows: B. T. Underwood, Captain; R. W. Williams, First Lieutenant; Thomas B. Boyd, Second Lieutenant. The regiment was assigned to the division commanded by Gen. T. L. Crittenden, and was afterward (in April, 1862) consolidated with the Seventeenth Regiment, under the command of Col. John H. McHenry, Jr. The roster shows the following names: H. C. Brasher, W. F. McAtee, J. G. Yancey, H. H. Witty, J. H. Wilson, MI. B. Brown, M. A. Littlefield, J. U. Anderson, J. W. Lynn, J. MI. Crag, J. J. Armstrong, T. Russell, Old Daniel Cartwright, James Anderson, Jr., F. Blanchard, S. E. Boyd, U. E. Boyd, W. H. Boyd, James MI. Bennett, J. D. Brown, L. H. Bouland, F. Cordier, I. A. Cook, J. W. Courtney, William Doss, Thomas Ewing, W. Fortner, W. Fletcher, T. Fletcher, Edom Grace, James Gilliland, P. F. Gibson, William Gabert, J. W. Hammond, V. A. Hamby, G. H. Hamby, D. MI. Hamby, L. II. Johnson, Daniel Kennedy, H. J. L. Love, Henry Ladd, W. R. Long, J. W. Morris, J. 0. Menser, S. D. Menser, Joseph Morgan, J. O’Roark, J. F. Pyle, Charles Pryor, A. Russell, J. Rose, W. Sizemore, J. C. Teague, William Teague, 0. F. Trotter, W. J. Witty, W. S. Witty, E. T. Walker, E. Wilkins, J. MI. West and John W. Wyatt. Capt. Underwood resigned April 5, 1862, and J. V. Boyd was promoted to the vacancy, with Samuel T. Fruit as First Lieutenant, and Albert E. Brown, Second Lieutenant.
In December, 1862, the regiment passed to the command of Col. A. MI. Stout, under whom it remained to the end of the war. This company in the consolidation with the Seventeenth Regiment became Company C-,. and participated in the following battles: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Chickamauga, Kenesaw Mountain, Corinth, Atlanta, Marietta, Kingston, Dallas, Cassville, New Hope Church and Altoona Mountain. They were mustered out of service in Louisville, Ky., on the 22d of January, 1865, the recruits and veterans being transferred to the Twenty-first Kentucky Volunteer Infantry.
The Seventeenth Kentucky Cavalry, organized in the winter of 1864-.--65, and commanded by Col. S. F. Johnson, was largely composed of troops from Christian County, but we have no data of their operations, and can only make this brief reference to them.
The Thirty-fifth Kentucky Mounted Infantry, commanded by Col. E. A. Starling, was also largely composed of Christian County troops. It was organized at Owensboro, September 25, 1863, and afterward mustered into the United States service October 2, 1863. Its first field of operation was in Southern Kentucky, between Green River and the Cumberland, which at the time was much infested with guerillas, and small bands of Confederates who were recruiting men and horses. In the summer of 1864 it was assigned, with others, to the command of Gen. E. H. Hobson, under whom it was engaged in many skirmishes with the Confederate Gen. Adam Johnson. In September of this year it took part in the first campaign against Saltville, Va., under Gen. Burbridge, and from thence returned to Louisville via Lexington, where, December 29, 1864, it was mustered out of service. After the war Col. Starling was killed in a political canvass for the sheriffalty of The county, and after his death the following obituary notice of him appeared in one of the Hopkinsville papers:
Edmund Alexander Starling.—An account of the death of Col. Starling from assassination was published last week. He was descended from families of mark and distinction in Virginia and Kentucky. His relationship extended through many of the large families in both of these States, the McDowells, McClungs, Irvines, Bufords, Marshall’s, Prestons, Birneys, McGavichs, Shelbys, Sullivants, etc., all of whom have produced men of character and position. He was no unworthy representative of his family. Born in Kentucky on the 22d day of November, 1826, when a youth be moved to Columbus, Ohio, where in the office of his brother, Col. Lyne Starling, he acquired those exact and comprehensive business habits which characterized him through life. From there he went to New York, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits with eminent success until the defalcation of a partner in the house caused him a loss of the greater part of his acquired capital. He was then appointed Indian agent, and was sent to the tribes on Puget Sound, and the reports of the department of the Government having supervision of such matters show, what the modest reticence of Col. Starling never revealed, that he discharged his duties with scrupulous fidelity and with exceeding ability. After his arduous and responsible services incident to such a position, he removed to Hopkinsville, where he had spent his earliest days and had received the rudiments of his education, and where his mother and many of his immediate family resided. For many years he was the business partner of his brother, William Starling (now deceased), and during the war commanded the Thirty-fifth Regiment of Kentucky Mounted Infantry Volunteers in the Federal service.
Since the war he married Miss Annie L., youngest daughter of the late Dr. John McCarroll, of Hopkinsville, and led, with his devoted wife and in the bosom of his family, that quiet and retired life which his temperament best fitted him to enjoy.
Col. Starling was an undemonstrative man, though strong and faithful in his friendships. He was pre-eminently kind-hearted and charitable, and no worthy, distressed person ever left him empty-handed. There are many in this community among the lowly who rise up and call him blessed, and many others still who will miss his kind and cheering words of advice and sympathy. He was a man of the most refined tastes, and exhibited the greatest fondness for books, music, paintings and flowers. And no one who ever met him in social life, or sat with him at his hospitable board, could fail to be impressed with the ease and dignity of his manners, and with the generosity and kindness of his nature.
But, best of all, Col. Starling was a Christian in the true sense of the word. He was the son of Christian parents who, faithful to their trust, instructed him early in life in Bible truth, as formulated in the doctrines and standards of the Presbyterian Church, of which they were members. While quite young his father died, and he was left with his widowed mother, to whom he was devotedly attached. It was not until after her death, which occurred in the year 1869, that he united with the First Presbyterian Church of this city. Several years after uniting with the church he was elected and installed a Ruling Elder. He filled up the measure of his days with active Christian work, and made the Christian life his chief concern. It seemed to be his great effort to make up in the activity of his last years for the long years of his earlier life which he had failed to devote to the service of the Master. He said to the writer of this sketch, in speaking of this, that he had never, in all his wanderings, been able to shake off the impressions of the Christian instruction given him by his mother in the days of his youth. The regular services of the church, the prayer meeting, the Sunday-school, and all church work commanded his most earnest interest and loving service. From the beginning of his Christian life, he resolutely laid aside all animosities, and the question, What is my duty? had its answer in its fulfillment.
Among others who deserve mention in this connection is the name of Dr. William Randolph, who became Surgeon of the Seventeenth Kentucky Cavalry under Col. Burge, and was afterward promoted to duty on Gen. Hugh Ewing’s staff. He died of erysipelas while in service at Russellville, Ky., June 5th, 1865. Dr. Randolph was a Christian gentleman and an accomplished Burgeon.
A prominent citizen of Hopkinsville relates that since the war, in a conversation with Gen. T. L. Crittenden, at Louisville, that distinguished officer paid a just tribute to the gallantry of two of Hopkinsville’s brave soldiers, by saying: Lieut. Edward Kelly and private Isaac Walker were two as gallant men as were to be found in the army.
Dr. R. M. Fairleigh, whose position as surgeon of the Third Kentucky Cavalry was so ably filled through the entire war, though riot originally a Christian County man, has been for years one of her honored citizens. An extended sketch of the Doctor is given in the biographical department of this volume.
There were many others who deserve mention, but time and space forbid further trespass upon the reader. This chapter is closed with a graceful tribute to one of Christian County’s most gallant and illustrious representatives on the Federal side—the brave Jackson. It is from the State Biographical Encyclopedia, and will doubtless be read with a thrill of patriotism by his many friends and admirers.
Gen. James S. Jackson.—A lawyer, soldier and politician, was Gen. Jackson. He was born September 27, 1823, in Fayette County, Ky., and was the son of David Jackson, a farmer, and Juliet Sthreshley of Woodford County, Ky. He was thoroughly educated, and graduated in letters at Jefferson College. He studied law, and graduated from the Law Department of Transylvania University in 1845. When the war with Mexico began, he volunteered and served for a time as a Lieutenant; but having had an “affair of honor” with Thomas F. Marshall, who belonged to the same regiment, and fearing court-martial, he resigned and returned home. He soon after located in Greenup County, and in 1849 was a candidate for election to the last Constitutional Convention, but was defeated. He subsequently removed to Christian County, and in 1859 was candidate for Congress on the Know-Nothing ticket, but was again defeated. While residing at Hopkinsville, in 1861 he was elected to the Thirty-seventh Congress from the Second District. While serving in Congress, President Lincoln tendered him the command of a regiment, and, accordingly, October 1, 1861, he took command of the Third Kentucky Cavalry, and his regiment was mustered into service December 13, in the same year. Immediately after organization his regiment was used on scout duty in Southwestern Kentucky, a section of the State then under the control of the Confederates. He was subsequently assigned to the division of Gen. T. L. Crittenden was engaged with his regiment on the field of Shiloh ; was at Corinth and Iuka, Miss.; at Florence and Athens, Ala.; and at the latter place his regiment passed into the command of Col. Eli H. Murray, the present Governor of Utah Territory, and himself promoted Brigadier-General August 13, 1862. From Decherd, Tenn., at the head of his brigade he commenced the pursuit of Bragg, who was then advancing into Kentucky. At New Haven, Ky., he assisted in the capture of the Third Georgia Cavalry; and fell, valiantly fighting, at the head of his brigade in the battle of Perryville, October 4, 1862. This was the first engagement of importance in which he had participated after his promotion, and he was thus cut off in the beginning of a career that promised unusual brilliancy. C-en. Jackson was a man of mans peculiar, marked and admirable traits. He was distinguished for his graceful form and almost feminine beauty of countenance. He had the manners of a Chesterfield, and was one of the most knightly soldiers who ever drew a sword on the battle field. Of his death Col. Forney wrote: "To die such a death and for such a cause was the highest ambition of a man like James S. Jackson. He was the highest type of the Kentucky gentleman. To a commanding person he added an exquisite grace and suavity of manner, and a character that seemed to embody the purest and noblest chivalry. He was a Union man for the sake of the Union ; and now, with his heart’s blood he has sealed his devotion to the flag. He leaves a multitude of friends who will honor his courage and patriotism, and mourn his untimely and gallant end.”
From his earliest days Gen. Jackson was a politician; and although undoubtedly possessed of great ambition to rise to eminence, his great love of justice and his warm nature led him to espouse a cause for its own merits; and his love of country led him to buckle on the sword in a cause for which he sacrificed his life. He began his political career in the ranks of the Whig party, and, passing through the Know-Nothing excitement in his State, in the final division of party ranged himself with the National Republicans. He was brave, and his warm impulses may have led him into rashness; yet he never sought personal difficulty. In 1846 he was led to fight a duel with Samuel Patterson; but this, like his affair in Mexico, terminated harmlessly. His remains were deposited in the cemetery at Hopkinsville, March 24, 1863, after having lain in a vault in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, since October 8, 1862. Gen. Jackson was married February 22, 1847, to Miss Patty Buford. who, with their four children, survives him.—Tydings.
 

 

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