Gaston Patterson
Gaston Patterson (Jan. 27, 1841 – Feb. 4, 1864) was a Union soldier who died during the Civil War. He’s listed in Paul Roy’s Scott County in the Civil War, and his family moved to Scott County just after his death, but it does not appear that he was from Scott County.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
Born Jan. 27, 1841, Gaston Patterson was the son of Clark Patterson (1820-1881) and Mary Ann “Polly” Low (1823-1906). His siblings included David Travis Davis (1846-1917), Phillip Davis (1848-1927), Thomas Patterson (1849-1922), Thomas Jackson Davis (1850-1943), Nicholas Patterson (1855-1906), Barbara Patterson (1859-1927) and James Milton Patterson (1875-1916).
Gaston’s father, who also served in the Civil War, was originally from the Frost Bottom area of Anderson County. Polly Low was originally from Scott County, the daughter of Michael Low Jr. (1795-1879) and the granddaughter of Mikel Low, Scott County’s first settler. However, the family lived in Anderson County after her marriage to Clark Patterson in 1838.
Clark and Polly divorced when Gaston was a child. Clark remarried to Jane Marlow (1827-1909) in 1849, while Polly remarried to Thomas Jackson Davis (1822-1906). Gaston lived with his paternal grandparents, Robert and Elizabeth Patterson, when the 1850 census was taken, and lived with William and Susannah Taylor in Anderson County when the 1860 census was taken.
Civil War
Gaston enlisted in the Union army on Aug. 21, 1861 and was assigned to Co. C, 2nd Tennessee Infantry. He was left sick at the Cumberland Gap on Sept. 17, 1862 and was captured by Rebel forces. However, he was paroled on Oct. 2, 1864 and rejoined his regiment.
On Nov. 6, 1863, the 2nd Tennessee was overrun by Confederate forces at the Battle of Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tenn. Many were taken prisoner, including Patterson. He was imprisoned at Belle Isle in Richmond, Va., and died of smallpox and starvation on Feb. 4, 1864.
Aftermath
Patterson is listed on the FindAGrave website as being buried at New Pilot Cemetery in Anderson County. It’s not clear if this is accurate, though it would’ve been unusual. He’s more likely buried in one of the military cemeteries in Richmond, Va.
Polly returned to Scott County in 1865, settling in the Oneida area. She applied for a pension on her son’s behalf in October 1896. At the age of 83, just before her death, she wrote in her family bible: “My oldest boy Died in Bells Island. He starved to death in time of Civil War.”