Nelson T. Boggs was born about 1836 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He was the son of Hugh and Hannah Blevins Boggs. On January 8, 1857, he married Elizabeth Green, born about 1842 in Scott County, Virginia. She was the daughter of William Wellington Green and Sarah "Sally" Hutchinson. The couple lived near Blaine.
When the Civil War began, Nelson T. Boggs enlisted with his three brothers William, James H. and John H. Boggs in Company B, 14th Kentucky Infantry. He enrolled on October 10, 1861, and was mustered into the service on December 10, 1861, at Louisa, Kentucky, with the rank of Sergeant.
When Colonel James A. Garfield embarked on his Eastern Kentucky Campaign in December 1861, the 14th Kentucky became part of his newly formed 18th Brigade, Army of the Ohio. Tasked with driving a Confederate force under command of General Humphrey Marshall from the Big Sandy Valley and out of the state, Garfield began pursuing Marshall's forces. Their first encounter took place on Jennies Creek, near Paintsville on January 8, 1862.
On January 10, 1862, Marshall decided to take a stand at Middle Creek, three miles outside of Prestonsburg, Floyd County, Kentucky. During the battle that ensued, Nelson T. Boggs was shot and killed. One of the Ohio soldiers noted that, "one brave Kentuckian fell after he had sent two rebels to their final account." Before the fighting was done, Sgt. Nelson T. Boggs was found dead on the field by some of his comrades who, in order to keep the body from being trampled underfoot, shoved it into the forks of an apple tree until the battle was over.
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| Middle Creek Battlefield, view from Graveyard Point Garfield Papers, Library of Congress |
The next morning, 1st Lieutenant James H. Davidson, Co. B, 14th Kentucky, was detailed to bury the Confederate dead. In the search of bodies, Nelson T. Boggs was found.
The following is based on the memories of Captain John C. Collins, 14th Kentucky Infantry.
In the search of the Confederate dead, Sergeant Nelson T. Boggs was found. Boggs had been struck by a ball while lying down in line of battle. The ball had entered his head at the top of the forehead in the edge of the hair and in the center of the head. He was carried up to the point where the rebels were being buried. Captain Davidson had him placed apart from the other dead. He supposed it might be the desire of the family to at some time remove the body to the family burying ground on Big Blaine Creek, in Lawrence County. He intended, as soon as the Confederate dead were buried, to select as nice a spot as possible, where a pine grew, and there make the grave of Boggs, with the pine at the head; and to carve on the pine the name of Boggs so that there would be no doubt as to his identity in the future.
William Boggs, the brother of the dead soldier, was with the burying party and sat by his brother's corps while the dead rebels were being interred. He was also a soldier in the same Company as had been his brother.
Lieutenant Davidson selected a beautiful spot on a smooth and moss grown point under a fine pine and began there to dig the grave for Boggs. He had dug about a foot when William Boggs inquired what he was doing. The Lieutenant explained his intentions, and Boggs protested, though he was undecided as to what he wanted done with his brother's body. Davidson began again to dig the grave. Boggs said nothing for a time, but finally he stood up and called to Davidson to stop. Davidson desired to know what dispositions he would have made of his brother's body. Boggs replied, "I do not know. But I cannot let him be left here with these rebel dead. There ought to be some way for us to take him back. But I have no plan."
Davidson said his wishes should be complied with. He had the dead man wrapped in his blanket. Then a hickory pole was prepared; it was some twelve or fifteen feet long. With their gun-straps, the dead man was swung to this pole, and the party carried it over the wooded hills some nine miles to the headquarters of General Garfield which were located in the law office of John M. Burns who lived on North First Avenue. The office was a little building, with a narrow sidewalk in front of it, and beyond the sidewalk was the deep mud of the unpaved main street. The corpse was placed on the narrow walk before the General's door.
Garfield came out, and when the man had unstrapped the body from the pole, he unwound the blanket from the dead and exposed the corpse to view. Many people of the town assembled in an aimless sort of manner, and the soldiers stood about their dead comrade. Garfield examined the wound and exclaimed, "What a pity! What a pity!" Then he delivered an oration, that is so strong in the memory of Captain Collins that he shed tears when he told me of it. He spoke of the devotion of these mountain soldiers to their dead comrade, then a dead hero. He approved of the course of the brother in not leaving the dead to slumber alone on the field where he met a glorious death - the highest honor a soldier can have - to die while fighting for a principle of right and with his face to the foe. Turning to Captain Davidson, he said, "Such a death, such a brotherly devotion, such a bond as binds these mountain volunteer soldiers, deserves the highest reward we can bestow. This dead hero shall be buried in the family burying ground of his fathers, if it takes the command to put him there. Colonel Lindsey is in command at Louisa. You, sir, will make up a raft of the logs now lying moored in front of this town; make it of sufficient size to carry your Company. Place your dead companion in the center of it and float to Louisa. Report to General Lindsey and hand him the order I shall prepare for you. Take every precaution to ensure the safety of your men but bury this soldier in the ground made sacred to his family by the burial there of his ancestors. Every facility for doing so will be furnished you by Colonel Lindsey."
These orders were carried out to the letter, and the dead soldier rests now in the little country churchyard on Big Blaine Creek in Lawrence County, where his Revolutionary ancestors lie with him.
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| Sgt. Nelson T. Boggs Grave Parker-Boggs Cemetery [aka Jesse Boggs Cemetery] Route 3394, Caines Creek, Blaine, Kentucky |
24-year-old George Chapman, a private in Co. D, was wounded in the head by a gunshot but survived the ordeal. He was discharged from the service on October 11, 1863, at Louisa because he was "cursed by an unsound mind, which renders him unfit for the duties of a soldier."
Links of Interest
14th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry (US)
Middle Creek National Battlefield
Middle Creek Facts and Summary
Researched, transcribed and written by Marlitta H. Perkins, May 2025. Copyright © 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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