Civil War Burials - Johnson County, Kentucky

 On July 17, 1862, Congress passed an act that those who gave their lives in defense of the Republic should rest forever within the guarded confines of a national cemetery. Immediately following the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Quartermaster Department, being tasked to care for the Army's dead, initiated plans plans to locate and exhume human remains from battlefields and other temporary graves to concentrate them in national cemeteries. General Orders No. 40, issued July 3, 1865, sought lists of interments registered during the war, but only documentation for less than 30 percent of the dead was produced; it then became necessary to review casualty reports. As a result, General Orders No. 65, issued on October 30, 1865, requested the locations of cemeteries and gave recommendations for their preservation.

A joint resolution of Congress, approved April 13, 1866, authorized and required the Secretary of War “to take immediate measures to preserve from desecration the graves of soldiers of the United States who fell in battle or died of disease in the field and in hospitals during the war of the rebellion.” National cemeteries were officially established with the Act to Establish and to Protect National Cemeteries, approved February 22, 1867.

The work of the Quartermaster Department proved to be enormously challenging, especially in regard to making identifications. The vast majority of the graves were marked with temporary wooden headboards which were either decaying, had fallen to the ground  or were completely destroyed. Efforts were made to locate witnesses who could point out the graves and/or identify the soldiers and the circumstances of their deaths. However, only 58% of the disinterred and reburied soldiers were identified. Despite the difficulties encountered the work went forward so rapidly between 1866 and 1870, that the Cemeterial Division had disinterred the remains of nearly 300,000 war dead and laid them to rest in 73 newly created national cemeteries. In September 1871, Assistant Quartermaster J. D. Bingham submitted a report to Quartermaster General Meigs, listing seventy-four national cemeteries containing the remains of 303,536 Union soldiers. Bingham reported that 2,295 Union dead had been removed to the nearest national cemetery that year, and that he believed few, if any, remains were unaccounted for.

While working in the Big Sandy Valley, the Quartermaster Department located four burial sites in Johnson County. The remains of the Union soldiers were taken to New Albany National Cemetery in New Albany, Indiana. The largest site by far was what is known today as the Old Town Cemetry, located on Church Street in Paintsville.

According to records, the majority of soldiers who died in Paintsville served during J. A. Garfield’s Eastern Kentucky Campaign of 1861/1862. The continuous mix of rain, snow and sleet quickly turned the camps into swamps. Crowded living conditions, with 12-15 men cramped into one company tent, quickly aided the spread of disease. Many tents lacked stoves which forced the men to stand around campfires in knee deep mud in order to keep warm. The weather also hampered the food supply and the men had to live on half rations. In consequence, disease became rampant and reduced the ranks drastically. Only the most urgent cases were admitted to the hospital because of lack of sufficient room. Regiments mostly affected were the 14th Kentucky Infantry and 42nd OVI. 

Old Town Cemetery, Paintsville (23 Union burials plus 1 Confederate grave)

 Described as a “public graveyard in an old cultivated field.” The graves in the soldiers’ burial lot were in poor condition and the headboards mostly non-existent (mainly because they were made from wooden boards and deteriorated quickly). With the exception of two graves, none of the twenty-three burials were identifiable and were logged as “unknown.” In addition, the Quartermaster’s burial register also noted a “rebel grave” as well as two citizens graves which were located among the Union burials.

Sketch of cemetery found in the US QM Burial Register

14th Kentucky Infantry (13 deaths)

The highest casualty rate at Paintsville was sustained by the 14th Kentucky Infantry who lost thirteen men. Much can be attributed to the fact that the regiment was ordered to remain in Paintsville until the end of March when Garfield’s campaign ended, in order to guard the stores of the brigade while the remainder of Garfield’s troops moved up the Big Sandy River to Piketon on February 9/10, 1862.

James W. Rose, Co. B - January 18, 1862, wound in the thigh received in Battle of Middle Creek

Jeremiah Fitch, Co. I -  January 22, 1862, typhoid fever

James B. Arthur, Co. C - Camp Buell, Febuary 6, 1862, disease

John Taylor, Co. H - February 7/15, 1862, camp fever

John Keen, Co. F - Camp Buell, February 10, 1862, typhoid fever

Samuel Vermillion, Co. H - February 10, 1862, camp fever

Ambrose Jones, Co. C - February 15, 1862, disease

George Bruner, Co. F - Camp Buell, February 17, 1862, typhoid fever

Lindsey Lambert, Co. C -  February 25, 1862, disease

Isaac Johnson, Co. B - March 3, 1862, congestion of the lungs

Solomon Quillan, Co. K - March 6, 1862, fever

Henry Adkins, Co. C - March 16, 1862, disease

Robert P. Elam, Co. I - Camp Buell, March 24, 1862, accidental discharge of musket

42nd OVI (10 deaths)

William Gardner and Frederick C. Coffin were the first two burials in the regiment which took place on January 14, 1862. Captain Henry noted, “Today the wounded boys of Companies F and G, two of them, were buried. The ceremony was impressive and many looked sad when they saw the escort march up that hill to the graves.” Another comrade stated that they were buried “in the evening with military honors. A very solemn scene.”

 Corporal William Gardner, Co. G - January 12, 1862, wounds received in Battle of Middle Creek. Gardner’s body was buried under a cedar tree. His headboard bore the following inscription: In Memory of Crpl Wm Gardner who was wounded in the battle of Middle Creek and died Jany 12-1862, aged 24 years ~ Co “G” 42# Regt  OV U.S.A

(USVA, grave # 1234, Section B; Find A Grave Memorial ID 3283781)

Frederick C. Coffin, Co. C/F - January 13, 1862, wounds received in Battle of Middle Creek

Frederick C. Coffin had succumbed to his wounds while being transported by boat on the Big Sandy River from Prestonsburg to Paintsville. A head board was not located for his grave. Therefore, he is one of the unknown soldiers in the cemetery.

John Beachley, Co. H - January 22, 1862, measles.

According to a comrade, on January 23, 1862,  “at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Beachley was buried with military honors.” His grave had no headboard.

Reuben Blunt/ Blunot/Blanot, Co. E - January 28, 1862, drowned in the Big Sandy River near Paintsville, by falling overboard a steamboat. His grave is one of two that were positively identified.

(USVA, grave # 1237, Plot Section B; Find A Grave Memorial ID 168793811)

Five more deaths were recorded in the 42nd OVI:

Corporal Julian W. Smith, d. Jan. 29, 1862, hospital, Paintsville

Milton Flint, Co. E - February 1, 1862, hospital

Luke Flint, Co. E - February 7, 1862, hospital

George Sexton, Co. E - February 7, 1862, hospital, disease

Milo A. Hobert, Co. K - February 28, 1862, typhoid fever

1st Kentucky Cavalry (4 deaths)

Wm. John Noland (Andrew J. Nolan), Co. F - January 10, 1862, typhoid fever

Robert F. Raborn (Raybourne), Co. L - January 14, 1862, fever

Moses Teater, Co. G - January 15, 1862, disease

Wm. A. Branch, Co. L -  January 26, 1862, fever (his horse died Feb 10, 1862)

40th OVI Soldiers who died at Paintsville (3 deaths)

James M. Radenbaugh, Co. E - 1862, buried soldiers’ burial lot in Paintsville

Jefferson Postle, Co. C - February 7, 1862, disease, buried soldiers’ burial lot in Paintsville

Charles C. Henderson, Co. A - January 1862, disease (may have died at Ashland; records are inconclusive)

2nd WV Cavalry (2 deaths)

Amos McKee, Co. B - January 8, 1862, kia, body taken home

Albert Leonard, Co. C - January 8, 1862, kia, body taken home

Union Deaths in Paintsville 1862 to 1865

McLaughlin’s Squadron (1 death)

James Bunting, Co. B - Sept. 4, 1862

In December of 1863, sickness raged through the ranks of the soldiers in the District of Eastern Kentucky. For the month of December 1863, the returns to headquarters show 911 aggregate present while the total aggregate present and absent show 1,901 men, a difference of 990 soldiers. A typhoid outbreak among the troops stationed at Paintsville claimed several victims, mostly new recruits, who may have been buried at the Old Town Cemetery.

14th Kentucky Infantry (3 deaths)

Thomas Marshall, Co. F - Dec. 2, 1863, of typhoid fever

Henry C. Power, Co. F - Dec. 8, 1863, typhoid fever

Emanuel J. Hickem, Co. F - Dec. 17, 1863, typhoid fever

45th Kentucky Infantry (1 death)

James Burchett, Co. C - December 4, 1863/Jan. 4, 1864, of typhoid fever. According to the late local historian Janet Horn, James Burchett is still buried in the cemetery although there is no stone marking his grave. No notation is found in the Quartermaster Department’s burial register that a body was left behind in this cemetery. However, there is a slight possibility that his grave may have been overlooked when the bodies were taken up. James Burchett was the 16 year old son of Leonard Burchett and Lydia Osborn who lived in Flatgap, Johnson County, Kentucky. His father served three weeks each in the 5th Kentucky Infantry (CS) and Fields’ Company of Partisan Rangers (CS) during the Civil War.

39th Kentucky Infantry (2 deaths)

Isaac Vicars, Co. C - KIA, April 13, 1864, gun shot wound, a “rebel ball passing through his body.” He was killed during the “Battle of Paintsville.”

Jason Bennett, Co. K - December 13/8, 1864, pneumonia fever, hospital

6th US Colored Cavalry (1 death)

Joseph Nelson, Co. C, d. December 20, 1864, in hospital in Paintsville

Final analysis of the burials in the Old Town Cemetery

During the Civil War, a total of 40 US soldiers died in Paintsville, Kentucky. However, the US Quartermaster burial register document 23 Union graves, two of which were positively identified. The bodies of two men were taken home soon after their death and were probably never buried in the Old Town Cemetery. What remains are 36 casualties yet only 21 graves. Since the remaining 21 burials were marked as unknown, it begs the question who of the 36 men not identified in the register were still in the cemetery, had been taken home or were perhaps buried at an unknown location? It is possible, even though unlikely, that some burials in the cemetery were overlooked by the Quartermaster  Department or that they failed to locate other burial sites in or near Paintsville. Unless more documentation surfaces, these questions may never be answered.

Aside from the Old Town Cemetery, the US Quartermaster Department located three additional burial sites in Johnson County.

Old family cemetery opposite Big Paint Creek (2 burials)

This cemetery contained the graves of two soldiers. The cemetery is described as an “old family grave yard” which was located “600 feet from Bend of River opposite Big Paint Creek.”

Sketch of cemetery found in the US QM Burial Register

Unknown soldier

His grave was enclosed by a fence.  His remains were not taken up by the Quartermaster  Department.

William A. Lackey, Co. I, 39th Kentucky Infantry

Drowned in Big Paint Creek, April 20, 1864. Lackey was on picket duty and after being  relieved, he was returning to camp on the northside of Paint Creek which was much swollen. In attempting to cross, he became disengaged from his horse in deep water and was drowned. The Adjutant was present at the time and assisted in getting his body from the water.

Lackey was buried in his clothes. William N. Randolph, Co. A, 39h KY, Commissary Sergeant, attended the burial and later helped the Quartermaster Department to locate Lackey’s grave and identify him. Lackey's grave was located opposite of the fenced-in unknown soldiers’ grave, and 15 feet south of a Beech tree. A stone with the initials W. A. L. carved into it, was placed at the head of grave.

USVA, grave # 1241, Section B; Find A Grave Memorial ID 3284789

Burial site on George W. Auxier's land, Big Sandy River & Little Paint Creek (1 burial)

“Located on Big Sandy River on left hand side, coming from Piketon, 250 yards below Little Paint Creek, 600 feet from the river and 12 feet west of a small white walnut tree on George W. Auxier's land, on a bluff on the opposite side of River from Auxier's house.”

Sketch of cemetery found in the US QM Burial Register

George Washington Auxier was the son of Nathaniel Auxier and Hester Ann Mayo.

Corporal Keanas F. Lacy, Co. C, 39th Kentucky Infantry 

Keanas F. Lacy drowned in Middle Creek, on March 16, 1864. Stone at head and foot of grave, no marks on them. The grave and soldier was identified by Lindsey Maners (possibly Linsey Manard (wife Martha) from Pike County, Kentucky) who helped bury him. He was buried without a coffin. Lacy was wearing cavalry pants, spurs and “two good boots.”

(USVA, grave #1216, Section B; Find A Grave Memorial ID 3284786)

Jefferson Conley Farm, Little Paint Creek (1 burial)

“Located at Little Paint Creek, six miles south of Paintsville, on Jefferson Conley's farm, 3/4 of a mile west from Mr. Conley's house, on the outside of a fence in bank and 22 feet east from where a branch puts into Little Paint Creek and 35 feet to middle of State Road where it crosses Little Paint Creek and 3/4 of a mile west of bend in River, opposite J. Conley's house.”

Sketch of cemetery found in the US QM Burial Register

Unknown US Colored soldier (possibly 5th or 6th US Colored Cavalry)

Unknown soldier, who “froze to death in December 1864 while returning from raid to Saltville, Va.” He was buried by a citizen. This soldier was possibly a member of the 5th or 6th US Colored Cavalry who participated in Stoneman’s Raid into Southwest Virginia, which lasted from December 10 to December 29, 1864.

Of the 27 remains located in Johnson County, which excludes the unknown Confederate burial, 26 were taken to New Albany National Cemetery in Indiana. One soldier was left in his original grave, by request of family or friends. Most of the men were re-interred in Sections A and B, with the exception of the US colored soldier who were laid to rest in Section C. 

Links of Interest

Roll of honor; names of soldiers who died in defense of the American union, interred in the national [and other] cemeteries. 27 volumes. (Available on Hathi Trust Digital Library)

Burial Ledgers. The National Cemetery Administration, Washington, D.C. (Original records transferred to NARA: Burial Registers, compiled 1867-2006, documenting the period 1831-2006. ARC ID: 5928352. Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773–2007, Record Group 15. National Archives at Washington, D.C. (Available on Ancestry.com) 

Nationwide Gravesite Locator
National Cemetery Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs

New Albany National Cemetery
New Albany, Indiana

Researched, compiled and written by Marlitta H. Perkins. Originally published in 2018 by the Johnson County Kentucky Historical Society. Published on-line April 2022. This specific article is under full copyright. Copyright © 2018, 2022, All Rights Reserved.

A Future President Comes to Visit!

One episode in the history of the Garred-Burgess House

The Garred-Burgess House, April 2004

On May 9, 2012, Lawrence County, as well as Eastern Kentucky lost an integral part of its history with the destruction of the Garred-Burgess House. Burned, bulldozed and torn down, with obviously little regard to its importance as a historic landmark, not a trace remains of the once stately home. A familiar sight for many generations of Eastern Kentuckians, it stood for nearly 170 years like a beacon on the Levisa Fork of Big Sandy River, near Patrick Gap in Lawrence County, Kentucky. The house had a rich history and served, among other things, as a hotel and maintained a reputation during the late nineteenth century "second to no other hostelry in the valley". Its final inhabitant was Dr. Francis Elam “Doc” Burgess, a much beloved local physician and poet.

And once upon a time, the Garred-Burgess House also sheltered a future president within its stone walls which is a little known fact.

In 1820, David and his wife Jennie (Graham) Garred, originally from Monroe County, Virginia, arrived in Kentucky and first moved to the falls of Tug River. The couple later settled on the property situated on the banks of the Levisa Fork and built a log house where they raised three sons and eight daughters. David Garrett died about 1838 and his wife in 1853. Both are buried in a stone vault above ground, located on top of the hill across the highway from the house. The entrance is of Vermont marble which was shipped to Kentucky from New Orleans by boat up the Mississippi, by push boat up the Big Sandy, and ox team up the hill. It was the first stone vault in the Big Sandy Valley, and could be seen two miles up and down the river - steamboat captains used it as a landmark.

After the death of their father, sons Ulysses and David W., continued to live with their mother in the log house, and began construction of the stone house. Built by slave labor, the native sandstone was brought by ox team from a quarry site one mile distant. The two Garred brothers later divided the farm and property. Ulysses retained the stone house and surrounding lands, while David W. received the adjacent property to the south where he built a two-story frame house.

Eastern Kentucky historian William Ely noted in 1887 that Ulysses Garred, "has been ranked as one of the foremost citizens of this section" and "a model farmer and trader.” He was elected to the State Legislature in 1848, and again served from 1873 to 1875. He "filled many other offices of note in his county, always with satisfaction to the people."

During the early stages of the Civil War in Kentucky, Union Colonel James Abram Garfield, future president of the United States, arrived in Louisa on December 22, 1861, to take command of the 18th Brigade, consisting of the 14th and 22nd KY Infantry, and 40th and 42nd OVI. His given objective was clear - to drive the Confederates under General Humphrey Marshall, whose advance up the Big Sandy Valley had reached as far north as Prestonsburg, out of Kentucky.



James A. Garfield



On December 23, 1861, Garfield mounted his horse "Billy" and led his forces out of Louisa, consisting of nine companies of the Forty-second Ohio and three companies of the Fourteenth Kentucky. During the night the rain had turned into snow, and an icy north wind had frozen the mud in the roads and made the hills slippery with ice. Garfield's men marched along the Big Sandy, on a wretched road that closely hugged the river. After a march of nine miles, during which the soldiers forded a single stream twenty-six times, they reached the "Stone House".

One soldier in the 42nd OVI noted that Ulysses Garred was, "the only slave owner I have met outside of Louisa, and he is a strong Union man." It was here that Garfield decided to spend the night. He found in Ulysses Garred a congenial host. A fellow Mason, he also had a jovial nature, "knew lots of jokes and was a good mixer."

Meanwhile, the soldiers established their camp in a muddy cornfield adjacent to the Stone House, amid the dreary discomfort of a cold, wintry rain, without tents or food. The push boats, carrying the men's supplies, were expected to keep up with the column but much to their dismay, were nowhere in sight. Thus the boys helped themselves liberally to Garred's chickens and pigs, "which passed away like a vision," and used his fence rails as firewood to warm themselves. The following morning, before taking up their line of march once again, the drums sounded the long roll, and the Ohio boys, sensing trouble, ran to assemble at attention. They formed a hollow square in front of their colonel, who looked down on them from his horse with obvious anger.

"Men of the 42nd, I thought when I left our old Buckeye State at the head of this fine-looking body of soldiers, that I was the proud commander of a Regiment of gentlemen, but your actions this evening, were I not better acquainted with each and all of you, would bitterly dispel that illusion. Soldiers, we came to KY to help her sons free her scared soil from the feet of the rebel horde ... Show these Kentuckians, who are your comrades under one flag, that you did not come to rob and steal ... and hereafter I shall believe that I command a regiment of soldiers, not a regiment of thieves!" After this brief lecture on the sin of confiscation, Garfield paid his disconsolate host for his losses out of his own pocket.

Around noon, the push boats finally arrived and the soldiers filled their haversacks with dry crackers, killed two beeves and distributed them among the men, "giving to each man a small slice which they took and roasted in the fire on the end of their ram rod, as we had no cooking utensils with us." An hour later, the soldiers were on the move. In the late afternoon hours, the column reached the mouth of George's Creek which was the appointed rendezvous for reinforcements and supplies. "Camp George", as the camp was named, served as a base of operations until Garfield was able to unite his brigade and continue his operations against Humphrey Marshall which finally culminated in the Battle of Middle Creek on January 10, 1862.



The Garred-Burgess House, with Flower Moon, May 5, 2012.

Life continued in the Garred-Burgess House for another 147 years. It witnessed the end of the Civil War and slavery, and many other historic events that followed.  On March 2, 2012, it was hit by a tornado but stubbornly withstood the force of the winds. Sadly, the owner determined that it was beyond repair.  I respectfully disagree.  As of May 9, 2012, the Garred-Burgess House, once called "the most commodious stone house in the Sandy Valley", ceased to exist.

Demolition Crew at work, May 11, 2012

However, it will never fade from the memory of those who loved and revered it. It is memorialized in one of Dr. Burgess’ poems – a most fitting epitaph.

An Old Stone House

Homes are many and vary in kind-
All havens of rest for the body and mind.
An old stone house is this kind of home,
Built of colorful native sandstone.
Of stone hauled on a lizard to the building site-
A machine back then was man and his might.
When one's daily bread was more earned than now,
By the hardest of work and sweat of the brow;
When to church on Sunday was a family must,
And in God our Father there was more trust.
Yes, homes are many and vary in kind-
All havens of rest for the body and mind.
An old stone house is this kind of home,
Built of colorful native sandstone.
May it ever proudly stand,
A memory of once a frontier land.

Francis Elam Burgess, M.D. (Echoes From The Highlands, p. 121)


Links of Interest
End of a 150 year legacy in Lawrence County. The Levisa Lazer, May 11, 2012
Photo of the burning structure. Big Sandy News, May 15, 2012
Garred House, Chapel, and Burial Vault (NRHP, text)
Garred House, Chapel, and Burial Vault (NRHP, photos)
Garred House. Photographed by Abandoned.
Dr. Francis Burgess Abandoned House | BluegrassPhotography.Net
Lawrence County (KY) Landmarks - Garred-Burgess House, History
Lawrence County (KY) Landmarks - Garred-Burgess House, Property Tour

Article researched and written by Marlitta H. Perkins, May 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication without express written notice by Marlitta H. Perkins is strictly prohibited. © 2012. All Rights Reserved.

James Aldridge - Outlaw or Avenging Angel?

The Civil War in Eastern Kentucky as well as the western part of Virginia was not about glorious battles fought with large armies. The character of the land, with its mountains and hollers, shaped the nature of warfare and lend itself to guerrilla tactics. It was a bitter and oftentimes bloody struggle and fought with no mercy in which the general population was easily caught in the middle between the two contending sides. Confederate units such as Rebel Bill Smith, as well as guerrilla bands were roaming the boarder between Eastern Kentucky and Virginia, plundering and robbing civilians as well as waylaying or bushwhacking federal soldiers. This gave rise to local home guard units, militia groups and scouts whose objective it was to aid the federal army in keeping Confederate activities at bay and safeguard their neighborhoods from incursions by the enemy. In some instances, men banded together to exact revenge and hunt down the guilty parties without mercy. Driven by their principles, answering more or less to their own laws, these men walked a fine line between outlaw and avenging angel.

One of those men was James Aldridge. He was the son of Samuel Aldridge and was born about 1828 in Logan County, Virginia. By 1850, James was living in John and Sally Chapman’s household in the Elk Creek area in Lawrence County, Kentucky.

It would not be long before James Aldridge became involved with John Chapman’s grand-daughter Mary Muncy. Three children soon followed - Sarah, born in Virginia abt. 1854, Lovinca, born November 13, 1855 and William, born October 2, 1857. The following year, James stole a horse and saddle from his father who promptly had him charged with Grand Larceny and thrown into the Lawrence County jail at Louisa. According to Joseph M. Kirk who had known James Aldridge from the time he was a little boy, his character was anything but respectable and he believed Aldridge could be persuaded by his friends, “to do anything that they might want done no matter how low it was and even to the shedding of blood.” This incident was just a shadow of things to come.

The following year, his widowed father Samuel went to Logan County, Virginia and married Susan Dingess, nee Crum, likewise widowed, on November 9, 1859. The newly-wed couple established housekeeping in Pike County, Kentucky.

A second wedding soon followed, when James Aldridge finally tied the knot with Mary Muncy in Lawrence County, Kentucky, on February 27, 1860. The marriage rites were performed by C. M. Pack and witnessed by Mary’s uncle William Muncy. Census records seem to indicate that, following their wedding, James moved to Sprigg Township in Adams County, Ohio, with Mary, leaving the children behind in Kentucky, perhaps with relatives. It may have been an attempt by James to get a new start on life away from his old troubles at home, establish financial security and provide a stable home for his family. However, James and Mary did remain in Ohio but a few months. By August 16, 1860, the couple was back on Elk Creek in Lawrence County, KY and re-united with their children. A new baby had been added to the family as well, a girl named Lydia.

In 1861, the Civil War began and, according to James Aldridge, he first joined the Confederate side although there are no records to substantiate his claim. His time with the rebels lasted less than a year. He allegedly deserted, later exclaiming that, “he was as good a union man as ever was manufactured from secesh principles or Rebel material.”

In April of 1862, Aldridge went up the Big Sandy River and enlisted under the name James M. Aldridge at Camp Paxton, Guyandotte, Virginia as private in Captain Turner’s Company (later Co. I), 9th VA Infantry (US). His name appears on the Company Roll, dated April 30, 1862. Aldridge was enrolled on May 9, 1862 at Guyan, VA, for three year service. Aldridge soon became fed up with military life in the 9th WV Infantry and deserted on July 11, 1862, Gauley Bridge, VA.

Service Record for James M. Aldridge
Captain Turner's Company, 9th Virginia Vols.(US)
He returned home but soon joined Captain Ira G. Copley Company, attached to the 167th Militia, in Wayne County, Virginia. He enlisted as a private on August 2, 1862. No sooner had Aldridge enlisted, the Confederates began their invasion of Kentucky. Within two weeks, things were beginning to look rather bleak in Eastern Kentucky. By August 18, 1862, CS General John S. Williams’ Brigade was reported in the Big Sandy Valley and General Humphrey Marshall’s division, estimated between 4 and 12,000 strong, was expected to cross the border into Kentucky at Pound Gap at any given time. Additionally, it was feared that Confederate cavalry under Menifee, Witcher and Jenkins would attack and plunder Ceredo, Virginia, Catlettsburg, Kentucky and finally Ironton, Ohio. Since there virtually was no military presence in the area, leaving it without protection whatsoever, this was a realistic fear . The nearest troops, Colonel Cranor’s 40th OVI, were stationed at Louisa, thirty miles south of Catlettsburg. Unfortunately, the soldiers, aside from their commander, seemed to be blissfully unaware of the impending danger. One of the 40th OVI soldier noted, “there was no duty other than picket, daily drill and dress parade. For the first time in our Sandy life, dress-parade became a matter of interest. The town contained a few hundred inhabitants, nearly all of whom came out to see our dress-parades, which gave to our camp a somewhat lively appearance.”

Post 1906 view of Cassville (Ft. Gay), in the foreground,
and Louisa, Kentucky, across the river.
Image collection of the author
It may have been during this time, that Aldridge was overheard making threats against Colonel Cranor at Cassville, Wayne County, Virginia (modern-day Ft. Gay), which is situated directly across the Big Sandy River from Louisa, KY. He devised a plan to assassinate Colonel Cranor but Aldridge’s motives are unclear. Together with James Smith, Aldridge bought a gun for that very purpose, and hung about the hillsides, watching for Cranor, with the intention of shooting him the first time he came out with his regiment on dress parade.

Colonel Jonathan Cranor, 40th OVI
However, nothing became of the assassination plot and soon thereafter, Aldridge made the acquaintance of a recruiting officer from the 27th OVI. On Aug. 25, 1862, Aldridge signed up with the regiment and enlisted as a private in Company K. It was a déjà-vu experience for Aldridge because within less than two months, he once again deserted and made his way back home to Kentucky.

Upon his return, Aldridge found that a new regiment was being formed in the Big Sandy Valley, the 39th KY Infantry, under the command of John Dils, Jr. Captain Joseph M. Kirk, from Lawrence County, KY, was raising a company for the regiment and set up camp in Wayne County, Virginia to recruit. Aldridge appeared at Camp Radcliff and reported to Kirk, stating that he was a deserter from the Rebel army. Aldridge was later released. Kirk stated that, “since that time the said Aldridge has been acting with the home Guards of the state of Virginia.”

Apparently, Aldridge had returned to the ranks of Captain Copley’s Company and was doing service with them. However, when the 39th KY began moving up the Big Sandy River from Catlettsburg towards Piketon at the end of October 1862, and stopped in the Louisa area, Aldridge once again made an appearance in the camp of the 39th Kentucky. Colonel John Dils, Jr. noted, that, “shortly after the said Aldridge came to my camp I received an order to arrest the man Aldridge as a deserter from the ranks of the 27th OH Inft.” Orders were to convey Aldridge to Portsmouth, Ohio. Aldridge was promptly arrested but remarked to Dils, “that he would not stay at Portsmouth and that he would desert and go to the secesh.” He pointed out that, “has been always treated better there than any where else and that he would go back again.”
Nevertheless, Aldridge did not make good on his threat to join the Rebels. “It was not long after he was taken to Portsmouth,” noted Dils, “untill (sic) he was again back with my Regiment and laboured about and eventually followed us towards Piketon.”

Aldridge did not remain with the 39th Kentucky very long. Before he left, he helped himself to one of the horses of the regiment and an Enfield rifle. Thus armed and equipped he made his way back toward Louisa.

Upon his return, Aldridge set out to terrorize the suspected Southern sympathizers and others in Wayne County, Virginia. Aldridge, in company of Holbert Walker, a former member of Captain Thomas Damron’s Company, 167th Militia, appeared one day at the house of Lewis L. Howard, a Pennsylvania native who had moved with his family into the Round Bottom P.O. area from Ohio within the last four years. Both men demanded Howard’s mule and threatened to burn down his house if he didn’t produce the animal. Howard gave up the mule and Aldridge pointed out to him, “if he ever made any fuss about the mule he would waylay him and shoot him.”

In a short time, Aldridge had made quite a reputation for himself. According to John Stone, Aldridge, “bears a bad name in the county and he believes him to be a bad and dangerous man.” Lewis L. Howard was of the opinion that, “the character of the said Aldridge is very bad and that he was not to be trusted and no one would be willing to have him sit upon a Jury or ever swear against him or them.”

Aldridge’s next victim was 54 year old John Grizzle, who lived on a farm in Wayne County in the Fort Gay area with his wife Mary and six children. Grizzle was considered a harmless and in-offensive man and a good citizen. Aldridge thought differently. Undoubtedly, he was aware that in September of 1862, Grizzle’s son Hiram had enlisted in Captain Hurston Spurlock’s Company E, in Milton J. Ferguson’s Battalion which, in January 1863, became part of the16th Virginia Cavalry under Colonel Ferguson’s command. Hiram Grizzle served with the rank of sergeant.
Aldridge went to Grizzle’s house, accused him of harboring rebels about his house, shot him and left him for dead. He soon discovered that Grizzle had survived the attack. He let it be known that if Grizzle got well of his wounds he would return to his home and shoot him the 2nd time or bayonet him to death.

It was obvious, that Aldridge’s deeds were beginning to escalate. William Vinson noted, that, “whatever place the said Aldridge staid long enough to be known that the citizens were all afraid of him and that they do not and never did feel safe while encountered with his presens (sic).” The citizens had every right to feel unsafe around Aldridge who claimed that, “he had often killed men by calling men up to him and then when they were not on their Guard he would shoot them.” It was noted that Aldridge cold be bribed with a pint of whiskey or, “ten dollars to take the life of any man, or even the life of his best Friend.”

Next, Aldridge had his sights set on James Coburn, a 30 year old Wayne County farmer, who was living with his wife Fanny and four small children in the Palmetto P.O. area of the county. John Bromley, who had been acquainted with Coburn for eight or ten years, stated that he, “was a harmless quiet hard laboring & harmless citizen” and “very poor.” He noted that, “at the Commencement of the present rebellion Coburn was said to be a rebel sympathizer but the said Coburn did come to the camp of the portion of troops of the 5th Regt. Va Vol US & commanded by Lt. Col. Colvin and that he Coburn did take an oath to support the constitution of the State of Va as it were before the ordnance of secession & the constitution of the US And was released by the said officer .” Bromley noted that as far as he knew, Coburn, “acted in obedience to the aforesaid oath.” It may also be noted that James Coburn’s brother, Gordon C. Coburn, served in the 22nd KY Infantry (US).

Regardless of the facts, Aldridge was convinced that Coburn was a Rebel and decided that a visit was in order. When Aldridge showed up at Coburn’s house, he was accompanied by a group of men, including D. H. Walker. The men took Coburn and tortured him by placing, “him upon a peach kiln and did this to punish the man,” according to Aldridge’s own admission. He was then struck with a gun by D. H. Walker and shot by Aldridge who later stated when he did shoot Coburn, “he never heard a man hollow” as he did. According to witnesses, Aldridge shot Coburn twice, with an Enfield rifle. For reasons unknown, perhaps to ascertain that he, indeed, had killed his man, Aldridge returned the following day and helped bury Coburn’s body. Aldridge remarked that Coburn was the fattest man that he had ever killed “of the grass” and that “he had killed several.”

Aldridge’s activities did not go unnoticed by the military authorities in Louisa for very long. In March of 1863, he was arrested and brought before the Provost Marshal in Louisa. On March 16 and 18, 1863, a series of interviews were conducted and affidavits taken from witnesses.

Testimony by James H. O'Brien

The charges brought against Aldridge were as follows:

Charge First
= for Maliciously murdering James Coburn, a citizen of Wayne County Virginia, the deed done in the State aforesaid and the county of Wayne

Charge Second
= For shooting and wounding the body of John Grizzle with intent to kill.

Unfortunately, at this point, the records do not tell us if James Aldridge was ever punished for his crimes. It is also unclear whether he acted as part of Captain Copley’s Militia Company or if the deeds committed were self-motivated and more or less a private war Aldridge conducted on who he perceived as enemies, Rebel or otherwise. Circumstantial evidence seems to point to the latter, given the fact that his known associates were not part of Copley’s unit. Whatever the circumstances may be, it appears his case was handled with leniency, despite the damning testimony by witnesses, including two Union officers, and he was given a short sentence, if at all. Surely, this must have made the witnesses who testified against Aldridge uneasy to a certain degree, including William Vinson who stated that, “he would shoot Aldridge upon first sight if he thought Aldridge had any malice against him … for his own personal safety.”

We encounter Aldridge again the following year, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. On May 21, 1864, he enlisted as private in Company H of the 68th Kentucky Enrolled Militia, and was mustered in the same day. Aldridge was 36 years old, had a light complexion, light hair, light eyes, and stood 5' 6" tall. His profession was farmer. He was still present with the 68th KY Enrolled Militia when the unit was mustered out at Louisa on July 23, 1864. This is the last time James Aldridge appears in any Civil War related records.

Service Record for James H. Aldridge
Co. H, 68th Kentucky Enrolled Militia
John Grizzle survived Aldridge’s attack and managed to escape a possible second attempt on his life. He is found living with his family in the Butler District of Wayne County, WV in 1880.

The widow of James Coburn, Fanny, remained in Wayne County as well, but moved with her children into the Ceredo area. By 1880, however, she was living near Patrick Gap, Lawrence County, Kentucky.

After the Civil War, James Aldridge and his family lived in Lawrence County, Kentucky. They are subsequently found in Martin County census records after the formation of the county. James Aldridge applied for a pension on Nov. 4, 1889, based on his service in the 68th Militia but was denied. In 1890, he was enumerated in the Federal Veterans and Widows Census, Martin County, KY, Precincts 1 & 6 (Warfield & Emily), claiming service as a private in the militia in 1864. His post office was Warfield.

Aldridge died between 1900 and 1910. During this time, either James Aldridge or his heirs filed a claim for his militia service Wayne County with the West Virginia State Service Commission. Established in 1901, it was to help provide payment to claimants for services rendered in the state militia and home guards. The papers are now part of the West Virginia Adjutant General’s Papers and can be found at the State Archives in Charleston, West Virginia.

The article is in part based on facts and testimonies contained in the James Aldridge case file which is located in the Union Provost Marshal Records. Supporting evidence, such as service records, census listings as well as biographical data was researched and provided by the author, Marlitta H. Perkins. Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.