DOB:  June 18, 1843 DOD:  March 10, 1916 Age at Enlistment: 17 Date of Enlistment:  May 9, 1861 Place of Enlistment:  Franklin, TN Rank at Enlistment:  Private Rank at Discharge:  Private Casualty:  Wounded on Abdomen surface at Perryville on October 8, 1862 and captured in Harrodsburg, KY two days later.  Exchanged in Vicksburg in December 1862.  Wounded September 22, 1863 severely in the thigh at Chattanooga, TN in skirmishing to retake Missionary Ridge.  Comments:  Lewis was born at his family’s farm called Wildwood, which still stands on what is now Crockett Road in Brentwood, TN.  He and his brother Lewis both were attending school in Brentwood in 1861 when the war broke out and discussed joining.  Lewis joined immediately in May 1861 and John enlisted two months later in July.  Lewis’ cousin Thomas P. Holt also was a member of the company.  John had a rough career in the military.  He is listed as being a nurse at Bath Springs, VA in September and October of 1861.  A year later he was wounded at the Battle of Perryville and captured in a hospital two days later.  Lewis was exchanged in December of 1862 at Vicksburg and returned to the regiment.  Following the Battle of Chickamauga, Bragg pursued the Federal army back to Chattanooga.  The 1st Tennessee fought in a skirmish at Missionary Ridge against Wilder’s Federal Brigade.  According to George Nichols, Lewis and his brother were both shot by the same Yankee mounted on a Gray Horse: “The First Tennessee was formed in the line of battle and Company D and Company K was thrown out as skirmishers.  Capt. Atkeison commanded Company D and Capt. Flourney commanded Company K.  The regiment advanced as the skirmish line advanced.  Col. Feilds was with the skirmish line and there was one yankee we took particular notice of. He was on a gray horse behind a tree. He had shot two of our company, John and Teat [Lewis] Holt.  He then turned to run Col. Feilds and Hogan Moody and the writer of these lines were ahead of him and Col. Feilds ordered us to shoot him.  We both fired but do not know whether we hit him or not for we had no time to look after wounded or dead Yankees.” A medical examination board declared him unfit for duty on April 1, 1864 and he was told to report to General Wright in Atlanta.  Corporal William Pollard mentions seeing him in Alabama as the army retreated to N.C. in 1865.  He surrendered on May 12, 1865 at Gainesville, AL and was paroled on June 3, 1865.  He is described as Complexion: Fair, Hair: Light, Eyes: Blue, Height: 6'0".  Lewis walked around with a cane the rest of his life.  Following the war Lewis married Almira “Allie” Page on November 20, 1872, and the two eventually had at eight children.  After his father, Thomas, died in 1876 Lewis inherited the family farm of Wildwood where he lived out the rest of his days.  He died in 1916 and is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. The Wildwood home has fallen into disrepair.  The Wildwood property was sold to a developer in 2014.  So far the developer has promised to restore the house.  

Left:  Wildwood Plantation, Lewis’ boyhood home Right:  Lewis’ tombstone at Mount Olivet

Left:  Pre-war photo of Lewis (Williamson County Archives) Right:  Lewis and Wife Almira (Courtesy of Williamson County Heritage Foundation)

Left:  Lewis and family with cane visible in his hand (courtesy of the Williamson County Heritage Foundation)