Monument

33rd alabama volunteers

Cleveland Daily Banner--Sunday, November 5, 1989

MONUMENT, unveiled, dedicated

By Allen Mincey Banner, Staff Writer

A monument honoring 17men who died in a local train accident during the Civil War, and were buried along that accident without any kind of special tribute, was officially unvailed Saturday at Fort Hill Cemetery. The train wreck occurred on Nov. 4, 1862, somewhere south of Cleveland. The dead men were all members of the 33rd Alabama Volunteers, a group who were involved not only in battles around Cleveland and Chattanooga, but also fought around Murfreesboro and Franklin, and into Georgia and around Atlanta. Many dignitaries and historians showed up at the dedication Saturday, which was sponsored by the Jefferson Davis Chapter No. 900 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. And, several spoke on the specific unit itself and on what was said to have occurred at that time. "Back 127 years ago, this country was at war, not with another nation but with itself. Our country was divided," said Larry

Holcomb, the Cleveland man who has been instrumental in not only gettin the monument placed in Fort Hill, but for an increased cleanup campaign for the cemtery. "More Americans died in the Civil War than in a combination of the firat and second World Wars, Vietnam and Korea, all combined," he stressed. "And though we had no major battles here in Badley County, it was a very strategic location, and the railroads played an important role in the Civil War." He explained that the train that the men were on had left from Knoxville on the way to Chattanooga, with the unit which had just fought a battle in Kentucky on board. Seventeen of those did not continue through this area and 7 more were injuried. "And there was no time for burials. These men were apparently laid in their graves and returned to earth... known only to God, who have "gave them body and life. In this Tennessee soild, the remains found a refuge where they might forever be at reast," Holcomb said. Major Bob Willis delievered a brief history of the 33rd Alabama Volunteers to those attending the dedication, including families of some of the men who were killed in the train accident. Willis said that he come across a soldier's diary that detailed the train wreck, and that diary read that the men that died in accident were buried "in unmarked graves... and it kind of got to me." The historian said that as he was attempting to find out the names, an article in an Alabama paper asked for descendants of those killed in the train wreck to call. At that point, a member of the Edward Nix family contacted the author, and they has a newspaper clipping that names each man who was killed in the accident. Those names are now placed on the monument. Willis added, in presenting the history of the 33rd Alabama Volunteers, that throughout thier Civil War years, "whenever there was a major battle fought, you could bet that the 33rd was there." He added that two soldiers wrote in their recollections of the train accident that "we were traveling south through Cleveland, Tenn., at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon when a log fell of the tender and knocked the wheels out from under Company B. "The train wrecked and the cars piled on top of each other. We took axes to chop the wood and get the dead out. When we took the 67 men (injured) and brought them to a hospital in Cleveland, and the 17 dead we buried in a long ditch we dug and marked their grave... and they moved on to join the battle in Murfreesboro," Willis continued. Along with Willis, both Todd Groce, the current director of the East Tennessee Historical Society, and Dr. Anthony Hodges, Lt. Commander of the Tennessee Divisions of the the Sons of Confederate Veterans, spoke on the Civil War and its affect on East Tennessee. During the deciation of the monument, Hodges read aloud the 17 names of those who were remembered in the special ceremony. Also, a wreath was placed on the site as Taps was played by local trumpeter Barky Bryant. Bradley Central High School's Ranstrassy sang several Civil War era songs, while Kevin Connell of BCHS also performed the drum roll during the ceremony, and Todd Gregory, a descendant of one of the veterans, unveiled the monument. Steve Goodner, a member of the 20th Tennessee Infantry Living History Group, who has family in Cleveland, fired a traditional musket in a salute to the men who died in the train wreck. A special flag was given to Cora Kerr of Montogmery, Ala., who has helped local officals work on getting the monument placed at Fort Hill Cemetery. Among those attending the ceremony was Clevelander Creed Edgmon, whose father fought in the Civil War. The monument is located in the Civil War section of the cemetery, in the northeast section, It is beside the monumnet honoring the men who died in a similar train accident near the Black Fox community.

A special thanks to Clyde Deavers who sent additional information regarding this accident. Who continued to research the newspapers and finally made a trip to take the photos seen here.

1. The actual monument that was placed near the mass unmarked grave of the seventeen.

2. The marker at the entrance of Fort Hill Cemetery near Cleveland, TN.