Scott County’s Chitwood family of the Civil War
The Chitwood family of Winfield was a family that lost a father and three sons during the Civil War, with all of them dying at Confederate prison camps after being captured at the Battle of Rogersville on Nov. 6, 1863. The four men are among at least 51 from Scott County who died of illness during the war, including at least 24 who died in Confederate prison camps.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
John Henry Chitwood (Oct. 27, 1810 – April 24, 1864) was the son of Daniel Chitwood (1796-1882) and Anna Reed. His siblings included Mary, Martha, Hannah (1817-1890), James (1823-1880), Elizabeth, and Joel (1833-1918).
John’s father, Daniel, was a son of James Chitwood (1751-1839) and Martha White (1749-1834), the first settlers of present-day Winfield. James Chitwood was a Revolutionary War veteran.
John married Nancy Hamby (1815-1887) in 1835. She was the daughter of Henry Hamby and Sarah Cross. Their children included Henry Hamby Chitwood (1837-1864), Daniel M. Chitwood (1838-1864), Sarah Ann Elswick (born 1839), James Harrison Chitwood (born about 1841), Loranza Dorsey “Mart” Chitwood (1844-1882), Armelda Duncan (1846-1884), Alfonza Dow Chitwood (1849-1913), Elizabeth Creekmore (1851-1921). Other children may have included: Granville W. Chitwood, Isaac Chitwood, and Laura Chitwood.
John Henry’s brother, Joel B. Chitwood (1812-1884) also served in the war, in Co. A, East Tennessee National Guard. He married Elizabeth Trammell (1813-1884) in 1833. He later married Sarah Ann Duncan (1825-1851) in 1843. Following her death, he married Elizabeth A. Reed (1813-1888). His children included James Granville “Jim” Chitwood (1840-1916), Granville C. Chitwood (1843-1918), Emily Chitwood (1847-1928), Elizabeth Ann Phillips (1851-1940), Nancy Byrd (1857-1894) and Lindsey B. Chitwood (1858-1921). Elizabeth married Riley Phillips, son of Jehu Phillips and Rebecca Sexton, both of whom were descended from Revolutionary War veterans who moved to present-day Scott County after the war.
Civil War
John H. Chitwood and several of his sons enlisted in the Union army during the Civil War.
John was a corporal in Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry. He enlisted on Oct. 25, 1861. His sons who enlisted with him included Henry, Daniel and James. Their ages in 1860 were 23, 22 and 18, respectively. All three of the sons served in Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry, with Henry and Daniel obtaining the rank of sergeant. James Harrison and Daniel enlisted with their father on Oct. 25, 1861, while Henry enlisted on Jan. 8, 1862.
John and his sons were fighting together at the Battle of Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tenn. on Nov. 6, 1863. On that day, the Confederate army launched a surprise attack, overrunning the 2nd Tennessee and other regiments at Rogersville, with 655 men killed or injured.
Of that number, 474 — including 20 officers — were captured from the 2nd Tennessee. Five men from the 2nd Tennessee were killed, and another was wounded. The 7th Ohio Cavalry also suffered heavy losses, with 119 captured and two wounded.
In addition to retaking the town of Rogersville, the rebels were able to capture significant supplies from the town’s railroad storehouses.
Daniel Chitwood died at Belle Isle on Feb. 20, 1864. He was age 26 at the time.
James, age 22, died at Belle Isle on April 6, 1864.
John, the father, died at age 51 in Andersonville on April 24, 1864.
Henry, age 27, died in Baltimore on July 24, 1864, after being transported from Belle Isle to a hospital.
Aftermath
Nancy Chitwood never remarried. She died in 1887 at age 71. She is buried at Davis Cemetery on Alderville Road in Winfield.
Henry was buried at Loudon Park National Cemetery in Baltimore. John was buried at Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia. Daniel was buried at Richmond National Cemetery in Virginia. It isn’t clear where James was buried, though it may have also been Richmond National Cemetery.
There were other Chitwoods who died during the Civil War, though they weren’t part of the same immediate family. Andrew E. Chitwood, who was also in Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry, died of measles at London, Ky. on Dec. 4, 1861. Miley Chitwood, also in Co. G, 2nd Tennessee Infantry, died of typhoid fever at London, Ky. on Jan. 4, 1862.
Miley Chitwood was the son of James Chitwood (1823-1880) and Elizabeth Thompson (born 1818). His father, James L. Chitwood, also served in the war, in Co. A of the 1st East Tennessee Infantry (he is not listed in Paul Roy’s Scott County in the Civil War). James Chitwood, Miley’s father, was a brother to John Henry Chitwood and Joel B. Chitwood, the son of Daniel Chitwood. Miley’s body was returned to Scott County and he was buried at Winfield Cemetery. James L. Chitwood was buried at Chitwood Cemetery. His wife may have also been buried at Chitwood Cemetery, though that’s not certain. Miley had a brother, James Harvey Chitwood (1830-1899), who served in the war and survived. James Harvey served in Co. A, East Tennessee National Guard. After the war, James Harvey married Rosia Acres (1835-1873). Their children included Polly, John, Lucinda Strunk and Henrietta Healy. He’s buried at the Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery at Pine Grove. It’s not clear where Andrew was buried.
Andrew Chitwood was the son of Isaac Shelby Chitwood (1815-1870) and Charity Elswick (1819-1889). Isaac was the son of Pleasant Chitwood and grandson of Revolutionary War veteran James Chitwood, making him a first cousin to John Henry Chitwood and Joel B. Chitwood. Andrew had a brother, John Chitwood (1848-1922) who served in Co. B, 13th Kentucky Cavalry during the war. John married Mary Elizabeth Payne (1851-1911). Following her death, he married Katheryne Olmstead (1859-1940) in 1912. His children included John Wesley Chitwood (1884-1968), Ina May Sill (1887-1914), Myrtle Elizabeth Johnson (1889-1946) and Elbert Joe Chitwood (1890-1934), along with at least eight others. He moved to Kansas after the war, where he married, and later moved to Oklahoma, where he died on Aug. 4, 1922. He returned at Winfield for eight years at one point to have his children educated there.
Another Chitwood, Thomas H. Chitwood, was also captured at the Battle of Rogersville. Not much is known about him.
Granville C. Chitwood (1843-1918) was the son of Joel B. Chitwood — making him the nephew of John Henry Chitwood and first cousin to John’s sons — and served in the war in Co. G, 7th Tennessee Infantry. He married Mary “Polly” Baker (1844-1926) and their children included William Marion (1869-1949), David Henderson (1871-1957), Richard C. (1874-1929) and Armelda (1875-1953). It’s not clear where Granville was buried, though he died at Winfield.
Other Chitwoods who fought in the Civil War included Francis Marion “F.M.” Chitwood (1844-1910), who served in Co. A, East Tennessee National Guard, and Cpl. Calvin Chitwood (Co. A, East Tennessee National Guard).
F.M. Chitwood (1844-1910) was the son of James Lawrence Chitwood (1802-1883) and Elizabeth Elsie Richardson (1798-1881). James Lawrence was a first cousin to John Henry Chitwood, Joel B. Chitwood, and Isaac Shelby Chitwood; his father was Lazarus Chitwood (born 1778), son of Revolutionary War veteran James Chitwood and brother to Daniel Chitwood who married Mary Leiper (1777-1850). F.M. married Sarah Ann Meadows (1845-1876) in 1864. Following her death, he married Emily Chitwood (1847-1928), the daughter of Joel B. Chitwood, in 1876. His children included James L. “Mully” Chitwood (1866-1925), Joseph Andrew Chitwood (1868-1875), Nelson Chitwood (1870-1893), Cynthia J. Chitwood (born 1873), John M. Chitwood (1875-1952), Asberry Chitwood (1878-1946), Sophia Chitwood (1886-1926), Elizabeth Chitwood (1888-1941) and George Harrison Chitwood (1892-1919). F.M. and his wives were buried at Chitwood Cemetery.
Calvin Chitwood (1842-1917) was the son of Pleasant Chitwood Jr. (1819-1905) and Polly Thompson (1821-1904), making him a first cousin to Andrew Chitwood, James Harvey Chitwood and Granville C. Chitwood. Their father, Isaac Shelby Chitwood, was Calvin’s uncle. He was a great-grandson of Revolutionary War veteran James Chitwood. He married Sarah Charlotta Sego (1842-1929) in 1861. Their children included Almedia Vaught (1865-1944), Laura Loretto Smith (1875-1951) and O’Bannon Chitwood (1881-1919). They’re both buried at Chitwood Cemetery.
Not yet mentioned is Andrew Chitwood (1817-1865), the son of Pleasant Chitwood (1775-1851) and Sarah “Sally” Cowan (1778-1847). He was born in Scott County and married Elizabeth Whitecotton (1818-1900) in 1840. Their children included William Wayne Chitwood Sr. (1844-1864), Ellana Delaney Barnes (1845-1935), Baty Chitwood (1851-1905), Henry Thomas Chitwood (1853-1942), Elizabeth China Lewis (1858-1924) and Sally Wadlow (1862-1955). The family moved to Missouri sometime between 1850 and 1860, where Andrew was murdered on Sept. 6, 1865, just after the war ended. There’s no record of him being enlisted during the war. However, his oldest son, William Wayne, fought for the Confederate army. He died in St. Louis on Jan. 10, 1864 and is buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery there. He married Sarah Louisa Burnham (1845-1906) in 1861. His children included Sterling Price Chitwood (1862-1945) and William Wayne Chitwood Jr. (1864-1942). He was a prisoner of war being held in the Union prison at St. Louis when he died.
Andrew Chitwood’s brother-in-law, William Wayne Cotton (Elizabeth’s brother, 1811-1863) was a Union soldier in Co. G, 7th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, who died of illness during the war, on April 21, 1863. He is buried somewhere on Paint Rock Creek in Scott County, though the exact location is unknown.