A Civil War Story
By: Winfred C. (Ace) Tipton,,, January 2004
Overview:
I became interested in this story several years ago when I read an article which concerned a distant relative of mine by the name of Henry Davis who was involved in the murder of Lewellyn Bush of Wolfe Co. Ky. Sometime later I chanced upon a story which involved the killing of Henry Davis, and while attempting to find more details of the killing I found several other versions plus a more involved story which led to a very intriquing tale of people involved in the Civil War. I know there are many versions of each segment of this story and I don't pretend to have all the answers, however I believe that I know enough to cover the gist of the story plus approximate times of each occurance.
I have used several written accounts from unpublished sources as the basis of this story some of which will be revealed later. some of them are available to anyone if they have the urge to search current archives. With that said I will proceed to tell the story as best I can based on what information I have, and will add Comment's at the end of this story.
Incident #1: Henry Davis;
Hiram Davis and Hannah Crabtree were married in Lee County Virginia in the early 1830's. Hannah was the third child of John Crabtree and Alice Friend and a sister of my great great grandmother Mary Virginia Crabtree.
Following their marriage Hiram and Hannah moved across the mountains from Lee County Virginia to the Big Sandy area of Kentucky where they lived for several years and had two sons Henry and John Davis. In 1843 Hiram was killed for an unknown reason by J. M. Elliot leaving Hannah and her two young sons all alone. Subsequently word was sent to her home in Virginia wherby her nephew Job C. S. Cox came to Kentucky and escorted them back to Virginia where they remained with the family for the next few years as the two boys grew to manhood. By sometime in the 1850's Hannah and the two boys returned to Kentucky who by this time had several aunts, uncles and nephews who also had moved to that area.
Prior to 1860 Owsley County Kentucky encompassed most of the area which is now Wolfe County formed in 1860, and Lee County Formed in 1870.
In march of 1859 when Wolf County Kentucky was in the process of being formed from the surrounding counties of Breathitt, Owsley, Powell and Morgan Counties, the citizenry who lived within the new county now had to pick a location for the county seat. This process became embroiled in many debates and a lot of political chicanery. There were two town's being considered as the county seat one was Hazel Green and the other was Campton. One man who had pushed hard to have his home town of Campton named as the new county seat was a local and wealthy farmer by the name of Lewellyn Bush. Finally at Campton On March 10, 1859 after much wrangling and debating a vote was finally taken and when the votes were counted Campton was the winner. Most of the large crowd that had gathered for the occasion took it in stride, but subsequently a fight ensued and when Lewellyn was attempting to stop the fight Henry Davis stepped out of the crowd and fatally stabbed Lewellyn and escaped into the crowd.The reason for this killing was never made clear.
Some say that Henry was never caught, but another account says that he was caught, brought to trial and aquitted after being defended by a John Elliott Jr. who happened to be the son of the J. M. Elliott who had killed Henry's father several years before. This sounds like a fairy tale and whether it is true or not one can only speculate, but the fact is Henry went free as the rest of the story will attest to.
Incident #2: Henry Davis's demise;
In early 1862 Henry Davis now calling himself Capt. Henry Davis and a cohort of his Lt. Jim Cole were actively working in the area of Booneville Kentucky to recruit men to join the Union Army.
Whether they were actual members of the Army is not known but it is commonly believed they were part of a guerilla group and may or may not have been officially members of the Union Army, however Co. H of the 14th Ky. Inf. lists a Henry Davis as member but he may or may not be this Henry Davis.
Henry during him scavinging for the Army had come into contact with an extremely wealthy plantation owner by the name of Mose Cawood. Mose who lived about three miles north of Booneville was a known Confederate sympathizer, and Henry had taken supplies and horses from Mose several times presumed for use by the Army, and was reported to have bragged that he was going to kill Mose.
Sometime believed to be in probably June or July of 1862 Mose's young son William was headed for Booneville riding his mule and chanced to met Henry and Jim on the road headed for Mose's farm. According to William they stopped and talked to him for a while and indicated they were going to get Mose and take him back to Booneville. As soon as they rode on William tied up his mule and on foot took a shortcut to the house and warned Mose and the family that they were coming to get him.
Mose and the family then secured the house, armed themselves and waited for them to arrive. Henry and Jim arrived and kept banging on the door until finally Mrs. Cawood opened the door and allowed them to enter. They talked for a while and seemed so nice and cordial that Mose finally came down from upstairs where he was hiding thinking they were friendly after all. It soon became obvious that he had made a mistake when they informed him that they were taking him back to Booneville. They put Mose on a horse and was in the process of leaving when a shot rang out from a window killing Henry instantly, wherby Lt. Cole left in a hurry.
When Lt. Cole informed the Army of the killing they surrounded the Mose home at a safe distance to minimize anyone being shot. During this standoff Mose's negro slave Wall, slipped out the back and swam the South Fork of the Kentucky River where he informed Mose's friends and relatives of the situation.
Mose's friends and allies then put a stop to the siege whereby Mose and his young son William were tried and acquitted in Magistrates Court, and because the eldest son John was sick and bedridden they went to his home, tried and acquitted him also. Lt. Cole who testified at the trial said he never saw the shooter and only knew that a single shot rang out from a window killing Capt. Davis.
There has been much speculation as to who the shooter was, some think it was John who was very sick and in bed at the time, some have said it was Mose's wife Emily, some have said it was the negro Wall, but the general opinion is that it was Mose's daughter Nannie, who was known to be a crack shot with a gun and never denied it, rather she seemed to enjoy the fact that people thought she had killed to protected her father. Even though they were all acquitted by the local courts one would think that if Capt. Davis was acting for the US Army that it would not have ended here, but for the time being it did.
Incident #3: Between June 8 and September 16 1862.
A confederate courier by the name of George Brittain Lyttle who was almost captured by Union Soldiers in the area escaped on foot and made his way to Mose Cawoods knowing he was a Confederate Sympathizer and that he would be welcome there. According to clues in Lyttle's account this had to have been shortly after the Davis killing (he said weeks) probably in August 1862.
His account states that during his stay he was well received and that Nannie
Cawood and her brother John's fiance a Miss Jett, who was visiting at that time wished to accompany him back to Virginia where they could be reunited with John who after recovering from his illness had left and was now a Lt. in Co. K. of the 10th Ky. Mtd Riflemen CSA.
At dark with the two ladies in tow Mr. Lyttle headed off toward Cumberland Gap and by daybreak had arrived at Middlesboro Ky. where they were put up for the night by Daniel Garrard the father of Union Col. T. T. Garrard. (Daniel Garrard was also known to be a Confederate Sympathizer, even though his son was a Col. in the Union Army). At nightfall they continued on and by daybreak the next day had arrived within the Confederate lines where they were welcomed by Gen. Frazier. After a brief rest they continued on up Powell Valley to the home of Gen. Chadwell Brittain a relative of Miss Cawood. There they parted company and Mr. Lyttle continued on to his headquarters where he informed Lt. Cawood of the location of his sister and fiance.
During the next 18 months or so of the war it is assumed that Lt. John Cawood and Col. C. Bascom Slemp came into contact with each other due to the war effort which resulted in the eventual marriage of Col. Slemp and Nannie Cawood on June 8, 1864. According to Lee Co. marriage records Page 11, Line 23 dated
June 9, 1864 Campbell Slemp age 24, and Nancy B. Cawood age 22, were married by the Rev. Robert W. Wynn at the home of Capt. Jocelyn at Jonesville Va.
Incident #4, June 1864.
About the same time in June of 1864 William Clark who was the Provost Marshall of Owsley County was captured and killed by Confederate's which infuriated his son Col. Andrew Clark of the 47th Ky. Mtd Inf. who then requested and was allowed by his superiors to go to Owsley Co., find and punish the men responsible for his father death. It has been reported that Col. Clark had a list of 10 prominent men in Owsley Co. that he planned to execute. He did carry out several executions which included the execution of Mose Cawood, which appears to have taken place the fall of 1864. No actual account has surfaced so far but there is little doubt that his death was ordered by Col. Andrew Clark. Here there are several accounts of Mose's killing but it is generally accepted that the Army came and tied him to a tree and then executed him.
Notes:
An account titled "Murder in 1859" by Nevyle Shackelford can be found on the Wolfe Co. Ky. Web Site, which relates the killing of Lewellyn Bush. There are several obvious errors here, one is that he indicated Mose's wife was Nancy but Nancy was his daughter and his wife was Emily, 2nd there is no proof whatsoever that Mose was ever officially a member of either Army.
The Wise Co. Va. Web site has a story about Col. Campbell Bascom Slemp which relates a story told by 90 year old Mrs Goss of Russell Co. Va. She states that following Col. Slemps escape from Cumberland Gap in September of 1862 that he stopped at her farm and was in the company of Nancy Cawood. Most of this story sounds close to the known facts, but one question remains. How did Col. Slemp end up with Nancy?. One answer comes to mind, when Capt. Lyttle left Nancy and Miss Jett in Virginia did Col. Slemp who had just arrived from his escape from Cumberland Gap escort them on the Gen. Brittains home?.
Lyttle said that when he came by Mose Cawoods that the Union Army was in control of Cumberland Gap, which they only held from June 1862 until September 16, 1862, and the Confederates were in control until September 9, 1863, and the Union then controlled it until the end of the war.
Lt. John Cawood was discharged at the end of the war and while returning home to the Plantation was robbed and murdered by renegades. No record has been found to indicate that he was in the Confederate Army, but this was verified by family records.
Mose's family and their slave's continued to live on the plantation many years after the war and the name of Cawood both black and white still exists in the area today.
Mose's children married into many prominent and local families, Ie;
Daughter Nancy married Campbell Bascom Slemp former Col. of the 64th Virginia Infantry, who after the war became a well respected politician who served two years in Virginia House of delegates, was unsuccessful in a bid for the state senate, and also for Lt. Governer, but in 1902 he was elected as a United States Senator where he served almost three terms. Even though his military career ended when he was cashiered from the service all who served under him considered him a hero and never faltered in their support.
A Capt. Franklin Cox a brother of my great grandfather wrote in his memoirs that after he was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness he walked from the battle field toward his home at Dryden Va. using his sword for a cane, and eventually arrived almost dead at Abingdon Va. where Col. Slemp was then encamped. He indicated that Col. Slemp not only had his injurys cared for but also had him escorted back to his home at Dryden Va. He always felt that Col. Slemp had saved his life and in future years always supported him no matter what.
Mose Cawood's involvement in the Civil War is largely unknown and no proof seems to exist except that he was a known Confederate Sympathizer, however he was known to be absent from his plantation for large periods of time which would indicate that he probably was involved somehow. G. Brittain Lyttle indicated in his statement that Mose Cawood as well as Daniel Gerrard was on his list of Confederate Sympathizers.
Drucilla Cawood, married James Hampton the son of H. B. Hampton a merchant in Booneville Ky. and one of the wealthiest men in the county.
John Cawood was killed by renegades while returning home from the war.
This has been verified by family records.
William Turner Cawood married Henrietta Minter from another prominent Owsley County family.
Cornelia Cawood died at a young age...
Henry Bascomb Cawood married Nancy Jane Jett, the daughter of Curtis Jett a wealthy merchant from Jackson in Breathitt Co. Ky. Nancy Jett appears to be the sister of the Miss Jett who was betrothed to his brother John. It also appears that this Miss Jett was Ellen Jet who in 1866 became the 2nd wife of David Yancy Lyttle the father of G. Brittain Lyttle who escorted her and Nancy Cawood to Virginia.
Jane Cawood married Greenberry Rose the son of Robert Rose a wealthy Owsley Co. farmer.
Emily Cawood married Leander Rose the son of Robert Rose a wealthy Owsley Co. farmer
Belle E. Cawood married Alexander P. Crawford whose grandfather owned 22,000 acres of land which spanned Owsley and Breathitt Counties.
Hannah Davis the mother of Henry Davis was living in the boarding house of H. B. Hampton at Booneville in 1870 and working as a midwife.
The interactions of these families could take several lifetimes to straighten out, but it is still exciting to me when I find a connection.
The End