Cleveland Train Wreck (Men of the 33rd AL, CSA) - Butler Co., AL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with the USGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. ALGenWeb File Manager - Lygia Dawkins Cutts ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Contributed By Mildred S. Brown Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 03:16:13 EDT Subject: Cleveland Train Wreck A sincere appreciation for the help of Homer Jones for providing me with the following article on those men of the 33rd Ala. Inf. who died in the November 1862 train wreck near Cleveland, TN. Included in this zeroxed copy of the newspaper clippings is a copy of a photo of members of the Edward Nix family and the marker, and a copy of a close up of the marker itself. If anyone would like a copy of either zeroxed copy, please send me a personal email requesting which photo you would like a copy. Mildred 4--Cleveland Daily Banner--Sunday, November 5, 1989 MONUMENT unveiled, dedicated By Allen Mincey Banner Staff Writer ------------------------------------------------- A monument honoring 17 men 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, somehwere 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 Jeffer Davis Chapter No. 900 of the United Daughters of te 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 trin 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 wa 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. ********************************************************************************************** Here is a transcribed article from an 1862 newspaper clipping believed to have come from the Cleveland (TN) newspaper. Mildred Stinson Brown Gatesville, TX ------------------------------ (communicated) The Killed on the Railroad. Cleveland, Tenn., Nov. 7, 1862 The following is a list of the killed on the train on the Cleveland and Chattanooga Railroad on the evening of the 4th inst., all of whom are buried at Cleveland., Bradley, County, Tenn. There are about 70 wounded, who are at the hospitals at this place, receiving all the attention that a well organized corps of army surgeons can give them: 33rd Regiment Alabama Volunteers Captain R. G. Cooper Co. G Private T. A. Pritchard " M. Noblin " L. M. Bush " John Hughes " L. G. Lewis " Wm. M. Watson " O. M. Broxton " H. Clark (died 6th) " B. Lloyd Co. H Wm. M. Smith " G. L. Smith " T. Z. Nichols " E. Chandler " Edward Nix Co. C Clinton Evans " Lieut. Scott Co. E