Scott Countians killed in war

A total of at least 197 Scott County servicemen and women have died in wartime since the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. The majority of them lost their lives while serving in either the Civil War or World War II.

When considering that number, it should be remembered that there are no complete lists available of Scott Countians who died in the Philippines War, the Spanish-American War, or other small conflicts, and the list of Scott Countians who died during the Civil War is also believed to be incomplete.

There were at least 64 Scott Countians who died during the Civil War, at least one who died during the Mexican Revolution, at least 22 who died during World War I, at least 85 who died during World War II, nine who died in the Korean War, 15 who died in the Vietnam War, and one Scott Countian killed in action in the Middle East conflicts.

In a few instances, these service members did not die on the battlefield but died of wounds sustained in battle. In other instances, they died of illness during the war. During World War II, there were several Scott Countians who died stateside of car accidents that were unrelated to their military service.

The following list is taken from the Memorial Wall at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5669 in Oneida, and from the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville (beginning with World War I), and from Paul Roy’s Scott County in the Civil War. “N” denotes service members determined by the Independent Herald to be non-combatant deaths.

*Denotes names that appear on the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville but not the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida. In at least some instances, it appears names listed on the Scott County Memorial Wall but not the VFW Memorial Wall are service members who died non-combatant deaths during the war. It should be noted, however, that there are also instances of non-combatant deaths listed on the VFW wall.

**Denotes names that appear on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida but not the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville.

Civil War

At least 13 Scott Countians (or, in a couple of cases, former Scott Countians) were killed during the Civil War. Most of them were killed in combat, but some — like Ransom Vanover and Fielding Griffith — were murdered. Larkin Cross, who was killed along with Vanover, is not included on this list because he was not an enlisted man. Additionally, at least 52 Scott County enlisted men died of illness during the war. Of those, 25 died in prison camps (one of the 25 died just after his escape or release from prison). The lists below may not be conclusive, as new information continues to come to light.

Wesley Canada (Union)
James Ellis (Union)
Henry Gibson (Confederate)
Fielding Griffith (Union)
Jesse Laxton (Confederate)
Riley Looper (Confederate)
George W. Marcum (Union)
William Massengale (Union)
Joseph Neal (Union)
Calvin Newport (Union)
John Newport (Union)
Timothy Sexton (Union)
Preston J. Silcox (Union) – Not from Scott Co.
Keelan Slagle (Union) – Not from Scott Co.
William Turner Smith (Union)
Ambers Strunk (Union)
Ransom Vanover (Union)

These are the Scott County enlisted men who died of illness during the war (see more details here).

• Iredel Buttram — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Andrew E. Chitwood — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Andrew Chitwood — Confederate army (Missouri)
• Sgt. Daniel M. Chitwood — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Sgt. Henry Hamby Chitwood — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• James H. Chitwood — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Cpl. John H. Chitwood — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Miley Chitwood — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Sgt. Ransom J. Conner — Not from Scott County
• Capt. Wayne W. Cotton — Co. G, 7th Tennessee Infantry
• Cpl. Andrew Jackson Creekmore — Co. E, 12th Kentucky Infantry
• William W. Creekmore — Co. E, 12th Kentucky Infantry
• Johnson Goad — Co. H, 9th Tennessee Cavalry
• Allen Griffith — Co. F, 7th Tennessee Infantry
• Henry Griffith — Co. D, 3rd Kentucky Infantry
• Joseph Griffith Sr. — Co. F, 7th Tennessee Infantry
• Cpl. Hugh B. Holdaway — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• William Riley Honeycutt — Co. G, 8th Tennessee Infantry
• William B. James — Not from Scott County
• Samuel Jones — Not from Scott County
• Levi Laxton — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Zimmery Lay — Co. G, 7th Kentucky Infantry
• Emerson Looper — Co. D, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Hiram C. Marcum — Co. H, 13th Tennessee Cavalry
• William McCoy — Not from Scott County
• Allen McDonald — Co. G, 7th East Tennessee Infantry
• George McDonald — Not from Scott County
• Cpl. James McDonald — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Sgt. Samuel McDonald — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• James Murphy Jr. — Not from Scott County
• Richard Newport — Co. E, 11th Tennessee Cavalry
• Hymelas Patten — Not from Scott County
• Gaston Patterson — Not from Scott County
• Stewart Pemberton — Co. G, 12th Kentucky Infantry
• Emanuel Phillips — Co. G, 8th Tennessee Volunteers
• John R. Phillips — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Timothy Phillips — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Salem Privett — Not from Scott County
• Solomon Privett — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Allen Reed — Co. F, 7th Tennessee Mounted Infantry
• Claiborn Reed — Co. I, 30th Kentucky Infantry
• William Robbins — Co. E, 7th Tennessee Infantry
• Alfred C. Ross — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Joel C. Ross — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Cicero P. Ryan — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Hiram Sexton — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Shadrack M. Sexton — Co. H, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Robert Shelton — Co. H, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• Pleasant Slavey — Co. I, 12th Kentucky Infantry
• Leon Smith — Confederate army, regiment unknown
• Jonathan Smithers — Co. F, 1st Tennessee Infantry
• Joseph Thomas — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• George Thompson — Not from Scott County
• Jarett Trammell — Co. A, 2nd Tennessee Cavalry
• Reason West — Co. A, 1st Tennessee Infantry
• William T. West — Not from Scott County
• James Manuel Wilson Sr. — Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry
• James “Manuel” Wilson Jr. — Co. G, 7th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry

Mexican Revolution

Andrew J. Watson

World War I

Twelve Scott Countians were killed in action in World War I. Ten more died non-combatant deaths during or just after the war. One man, Guy D. Fryar, is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida but died of illness after the war while serving stateside in the U.S. Army. Another, Elsic Lawson, is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall and the Veterans Memorial in Huntsville but died of illness after the war while serving stateside in the U.S. Army. Fred Sexton is listed on both memorials but died in a homicide in the U.S. a year after the war ended. Mitchel Sexton, Jasper York and Burl Dyer both died during the war but their illnesses occurred stateside, before they made it overseas. Huffman Davis died stateside in an accidental shooting that occurred on base during the war. James Gibson and William Chitwood died of sickness while serving in France during the war, and Onva Phillips died in a train accident in France after the war ended but before troops left the country.

William Blevins
William Brown
Huffman Davis – N
John W. Fletcher
Guy D. Fryar** – N
James Gibson – N
Robert M. Hughett
Elsic Lawson – N
Hugh T. Lewallen
Clovis Jeffers*
Lawrence Phillips
Onva Phillips – N
Hett Phillips
Lonus Reed
Fred Sexton – N
Mitchel Sexton – N
Jesse Slaven
Sherman Stanley
Edson L. Toomey
Jasper York – N

The following names are not included on either memorial wall, for reasons unknown:

William Chitwood – N
Burl Dyer – N

(More information about each of Scott County’s World War I heroes is found on Tim West’s genealogy ebsite.)

World War II

Seventy-three Scott Countians were killed in action during World War II. Of those, nine are not listed on either war memorial in Scott County; most of them grew up in Scott County but moved away before entering the service. Another 12 men and women died near or during the war. Of the 12, several died in stateside car accidents that were not related to the war, including Augrie Adkins, Jesse Boyatt, Fred Cotton, Dillmon Jeffers, and Eugene Lewallen. Adkins died just prior to the start of the war, while Cotton died just after the war ended. Boyatt didn’t die until 1952, while he was still serving in the U.S. Army. Another man, Herbert Smith, drowned while swimming in Mississippi. And two men died of illness during the war: Clay Slaven of infectious hepatitis, and Willie Clark of testicular cancer. The remaining five died in war-related deaths, mostly plane crashes. Additionally, there are eight soldiers listed on one or both war memorials in Scott County who are not actually from Scott County.

Augrie Adkins** – N
Francis L. Allen
Lonus A. Ashburn
Hollis F. Bell
Ora J. Blaw – N
Jane M. Blevins – N
Ralph Blevins
Jesse Boyatt* – N
Billie B. Carroll
Richard Chambers
Willie C. Clark – N
Ralph Cook*
Fred C. Cotton – N
Lenvil Crabtree
Marvin Cronwell* – (Not from Scott Co.)
Clinton E. Cross – N
Marlie Cross
Millard Cross
Floyd Daugherty
Ethon Davis*
George Day*
Vernon W. Duncan
Ray Dykes Jr.
Marion C. Ellis
Albert Epperson
Oliver R. Evans
Ernest Gibson*
Hurstle Goad
Sam J. Goad
James F. Goins – (Not from Scott Co.)
Johnnie E. Gooch – (Not from Scott Co.)
Robert W. Hall
Huston Hamby
Tom Henderson – (Not from Scott Co.)
Claude V. Hensley – (Not from Scott Co.)
Swift Hogue*
Dilmon Jeffers – N
Oliver Jeffers
Theodore S. Jones
Kenneth King* – (Not from Scott Co.)
Murry C. Laster Jr. – (Not from Scott Co.)
James A. Lawhorn
Junior Lawson*
Ben Opal Lay
Junior Lewallen** – (Not from Scott Co.)
Hurst Lewallen
Warren H. Lewallen
Harold E. Lloyd
James M. Lovett Sr.
Archie D. Lowe
Colvy B. Madden
George C. Marcum
Homer Marcum*
John F. Millsap
Howard P. Morris
Virgil L. Neal
Frank Neely*
Burl Newport
Hobert Owens
Kermit Robbins*
David Rosser*
Arthur Sexton
William Sexton*
Charles Sharp*
Woodrow Sharp
John Slaven
Clay Slaven* – N
Herbert Smith* – N
Ova Smith
William Stanfill – N
Oscar Stanley
Audney Terry
James Terry
Theron Terry
Howard Thompson
Herman Trammell
Clarence West
John West
Ray West
Cordell Wilmoth
George Wilson
Mack Yancy
Dana York

The following names do not appear on either memorial wall, for unknown reasons:

Andrew Chambers
Kelsie Duncan
Taskel Evans
Paul Foster
Eugene Lewallen – N
Mearle Massey
George Newport
Ralphard Payne
Earl Phillips
James Phillips

(More information about Scott County’s World War II heroes is found on Tim West’s genealogy website.)

Korean War

Nine men from Scott County died during the Korean War, seven of them in combat situations. Dennis Adkins died in a stateside car accident that was not linked to the war, and Emmitt Marcum died of illness just after the war ended. Another man, Charles Corder Jr., is listed on both local war memorials but does not appear to have been from Scott County.

Dennis Adkins* – N
Charles Corder Jr. – (Not from Scott County)
Roy E. Cross
Bailey Keeton Jr.
Emmitt Marcum* – N
Roy W. Matthews
George D. Russ
Manford Sexton*
Van N. Terry
Willis Watters

(More information about Scott County’s Korean War heroes is found on Tim West’s genealogy website.)

Vietnam War

Fifteen men from Scott County died during the Vietnam War, 12 of them in combat situations. Of the remaining three, Earl Chambers died while swimming in the Clear Fork River when he was home on furlough, Doyle Foster died on base of suicide, and Kenneth Griffith died in a stateside plane crash.

Ralph Byrd
Earl Chambers* – N
James L. Chambers**
William L. Coffey
Doyle Foster* – N
Ernest Gibson
Joe Edd Griffith
Kenneth Griffith* – N
James Wm. Hunley
Phillip E. Ireland
Tommie Keeton
Donald E. Madden
Michael D. Terry**
Denny L. Washam
James D. West

(More information about each of Scott County’s Vietnam war heroes can be found on Tim West’s genealogy website.)

Iraq War

Rusty Washam

See Also: Scott Countians who died in the Civil War