Allen Griffith
Allen Griffith (~1837 – April 5, 1864) was a Union soldier from Scott County who died in Confederate captivity during the Civil War.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
Born around 1837, Allen Griffith may have been the son of Richard Griffith (1773-1855) and Sophronia Jane Lawson (1794-1880). Their known children were Sophia Sexton (1838-1909), Joseph Griffith (1838-1917), Elizabeth Sexton (1846-1928), Sarah Ann Robbins (1838-1912) and Maynard Horace Griffith (born 1858). Richard Griffith was the son of Revolutionary War veteran Joseph Griffith, who moved to Brimstone Creek after the war.
Most of the Griffith family of Brimstone were loyal to the Union. Brothers Hamilton and Fielding Griffith served together in the war; Fielding Griffith was poisoned at Camp Dick Robinson in Kentucky. However, another member of the family, Isaac Griffith, fought with the Confederacy and was forced to leave Scott County after the war. They were all cousins to Allen Griffith. Additionally, he was a first cousin to Henry Griffith, who died during the war. An apparent brother who died during the war was Joseph Griffith Sr.
When the 1860 census was taken, 23-year-old Allen Griffith lived with Richard Griffith, 27, and Sofiah (Sophronia) Griffith, 70. Richard, his father, died in 1855. Others not yet mentioned who lived in the household in 1850 included William Griffith, 30; Nancy Griffith, 22; R. Griffith, 17; Lewis Griffith, 14; J.W. Griffith, 2; and T.M. Griffith, 0.
Allen married Rebecca Jane Lowe (1845-1922) on Sept. 30, 1862. She was the daughter of Joseph Lowe (1810-1870) and Ora Griffith (born 1823). They had no children. Ora was an aunt to Hamilton and Fielding Griffith and a first cousin to Allen. Joseph Lowe was the son of Mikel Low, the first settler of Scott County.
Biography
Allen Griffith enlisted in the Union army on June 7, 1862 at Chitwood (Winfield) and was assigned to Co. F, 7th Tennessee Infantry Regiment as a private. He was transferred to Capt. John Newport’s Co. E, 11th Tennessee Cavalry, at Camp Nelson in Kentucky on Aug. 4, 1863.
Those dates are interesting, considering Allen’s marriage to Rebecca Lowe on Oct. 1, 1862.
During a battle at Wierman’s Mill in Virginia on Feb. 22, 1864, Griffith was taken prisoner by rebel forces. He was imprisoned at Belle Isle in Richmond, Va. He died there on April 5, 1864, as attested by William A. Newport and William Thomas, Union soldiers from Scott County who had also been captured by Confederates at Wierman’s Mill.
Aftermath
It’s not clear where Allen Griffith was buried.
Rebecca remarried to John Columbus Henry (1842-1927) on Sept. 10, 1868. They had several children: James Melton Henry (1870-1944), Ardonna Henry Brown (1872-1934), Samuel Cherry Henry (1879-1951), Lorenzo David Henry Sr. (1882-1961), Joseph Henry (1886-1950) and Frances Hamby (1886-1956). Rebecca and John are both buried at Lone Mountain Cemetery.
It is not known where Richard and Sophronia Griffith were buried.