Notes |
- Soldier, US Civil War, Union. 12th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry.
According to Descendants of Henry Isaac Newton, in 1862 Newton enlisted "in the Union Army of the Cumberland, 12th Kentucky Cavalry. A corporal by the time the war ends, Newton would be captured in Sweetwater TN during Burnside's abortive campaign to push south and spend nearly a year in Confederate prison."
By PNH's third cousin F. X. Flynn, writing in 2011, posted in 2023 by Jim Alvey to Henry Isaac Newton's Wikitree page:
Newton Mammoth Cave Smoked Names 1866
At the end of the benches past Fat Man's Misery and outside the bathrooms Isaac and his brother John smoked their names in the ceiling in 1866. This act was conflated with his POW status to live in family memory as "Newton was kept prisoner by the Confederates in Mammoth Cave." However, he was captured in eastern Tennessee and the Confederacy never controlled Mammoth Cave and nobody kept prisoners there at any time. Growing up, I heard stories about this from my mom, his great-granddaughter, and in August 1973, at the age of 19, I took a camping trip with two college pals which began at Gettysburg, went thru the Blue Ridge and into W Va, thru the Cumberland Gap into KY and on to Mammoth Cave and finally Owensboro. At Mammoth Cave, I asked at the Park Service information station whether or not there was an index of names in the ceiling of the cave. The question was greeted with derisive laughter, but the senior man said some names were well remembered and I should go ahead and tell them who I was looking for. "Isaac Newton, my great-great grandfather, who is said to have been a POW here during the Civil War," I replied. Lots of head shaking. "No. No POWs were kept here. And I don't remember seeing that name. Anyone else?" No. More head shaking. I turned away from the window, feeling like the whole trip was a stupid waste. A second later, as I took my third or forth step away, I heard a young woman call "Wait...wait..." I stopped and turned. Leaning out the window, a young woman my age, probably an intern. "What name are you looking for?" "Isaac Newton," I called out. She beamed. "You're not going to believe this, but I noticed that name yesterday. It's at the very end of the benches at the bottom of the cave, outside the bathrooms. You get there just after you go through 'Fat Man's Misery.'" And indeed, it was. News of actually finding it and having a location clearly excited my Great Aunt Martine when I arrived in Owensboro. To me, the importance of this story is that oral traditions are extremely important sources of information, and are not to be dismissed, but rather, cajoled into revealing their truths.
From the National Park Service:
UNION KENTUCKY VOLUNTEERS 12th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry
OVERVIEW: Organized at Caseyville and Owensboro, Ky., November 17, 1862. Attached to District of West Kentucky, Dept. Ohio, to June, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 23rd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to August, 1863. Independent Cavalry Brigade, 23rd Army Corps, to November, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Dept. Ohio, to April, 1864. 3rd Brigade, Cavalry Division, District Kentucky, Dept. Ohio, May, 1864. 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, 23rd Army Corps, to June, 1864. Detached Cavalry Brigade, 3rd Division, 23rd Army Corps, to August, 1864. Dismounted Brigade, Cavalry Division, 23rd Army Corps, to September, 1864. 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, 23rd Army Corps, September, 1864. District of Louisville, Ky., to November, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, 23rd Army Corps, to March, 1865. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, District East Tennessee, to July, 1865. Cavalry Brigade, District East Tennessee, to August, 1865.
SERVICE: Action at Owensboro, Ky., September 18, 1862. Sutherland Farm September 19. Action at Calhoun, Ky., November 25, 1862. Operations against Morgan's Raid into Kentucky December 22, 1862, to January 2, 1863. Bear Wallow, Ky., December 23, 1862. Near Glasgow December 24. Bear Wallow and near Munfordsville December 25. Bacon Creek near Munfordsville December 26. Johnson's Ferry, Hamilton's Ford, Rolling Fork, December 29. Boston, Ky., December 29. Duty in District of Western Kentucky till April, 1863. Creelsborough April 19. Expedition to Monticello and operations in Southeastern Kentucky April 26-May 12. Narrows, Horse Shoe Bottom, April 28-29. Horse Shoe Bend, Greasy Creek, May 10. Pursuit of Morgan through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio July 2-26. Marrowbone July 2. Buffington's Island, Ohio, July 19. Surrender of Morgan near Cheshire, Ohio, July 20. New Lisbon, Ohio, July 26. Ordered to Glasgow, Ky., August 4. Burnside's march into East Tennessee August 16-October 17. Operations about Cumberland Gap September 7-10. Carter's Station September 20-21. Jonesboro September 21. Watauga River Bridge September 21-22. Philadelphia October 20. Knoxville Campaign November 4-December 23. Little River November 14-15. Stock Creek November 15. Near Knoxville November 16. Siege of Knoxville November 17-December 4. Clinch Mountain December 6. Rutledge December 7. Bean's Station December 9-17. Rutledge December 16. Blain's Cross Roads December 16-19. Bean's Station and Rutledge December 18. Bend of Chucky Road near Dandridge January 16-17. About Dandridge January 16-17. Dandridge January 17. About Dandridge January 26-28. Flat Creek and Muddy Creek January 26. Fair Garden January 27. Dandridge January 28. Moved to Lebanon, Ky., February 3-12. At Mt. Sterling till April. March from Nicholsville, Ky., to Dalton, Ga., April 29-May 11. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 11-September 8. Vernell Station May 11. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Pine Log Creek May 18. Cassville May 19-22. Eutaw River May 20. About Dallas May 25-June 5. Burned Church May 26-27. Mt. Zion Church May 27-28. Allatoona May 30. Pine Mountain June 10. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Lost Mountain June 11-17. Muddy Creek June 17. Noyes Creek June 19. McAffee's Cross Roads June 20. Cheyney's Farm June 22. Olley's Cross Roads June 26-27. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Lost Mountain July 1-2. Nickajack Creek July 2-5. Chattahoochie River July 6-17. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Ordered to Louisville, Ky., September 14. Duty there at Lexington and Camp Nelson, Ky., till November. Rally Hill November 29. Burbridge's Saltsville Expedition December 10-29. Kingsport December 13. Bristol December 14. Near Glade Springs December 15. Marion and capture of Wytheville, Va., December 16. Mt. Airey December 17. Near Marion December 17-18. Capture and destruction of Salt works at Saltsville, Va., December 20-21. Operations against Sue Monday's guerrillas near Elizabethtown, Ky., and in Green River Counties January and February, 1865. Moved to Knoxville, Tenn., March 20 and join General Stoneman. Stoneman's Raid in Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina March 20-April 27. Boone, N. C., March 28. Statesville April 10-11. Shallow Ford and near Mocksville April 11. Grant's Creek and Salisbury April 12. Catawba River near Morgantown April 17. Howard's Gap, Blue Ridge Mountains, April 22. Near Hendersonville April 23. Asheville April 25. Return to East Tennessee and duty at Sweetwater till August. Mustered out August 23, 1865. Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 22 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 4 Officers and 204 Enlisted men by disease. Total 233.
Owensboro Messenger, 15 Jan 1893:
Henry R. [sic] Newton died yesterday at his home on the Wayne bridge road of pneumonia aged 57 years. The funeral will take place this morning at 9 o'clock at St. Raphael's Church.
|