CARROLL COUNTY, GA - BIOS Elijah H. Lewis ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Rodric M. Phillips rodsr@oklahoma.net Family Bible is posted: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/carroll/bibles/bb57doveymae.txt ELIJAH H. LEWIS 14 August 1823 -12 May 1864 by great grandson Rodric M. Phillips My first knowledge of the traditional family story about great grandfather Elijah H. Lewis came from Cousin Mary Gray Searcy, of Carrollton, GA. Mary got it from her mother, Dovey Mae Phillips Gray, who was a daughter of Lucretia Araminta Lewis, who was a daughter of Elijah. I will repeat the story - as I remember it. Elijah was married to Harriett Veasey, and had at least two children by the time the Civil War started [Sarah J. Lewis and Mary C. R. Lewis]. Elijah, who is supposed to have been born in the North, made the decision to return to the North to fight on the side of the Union. Of that service nothing was documented in the family. Sometime during 1864, legal or otherwise, he managed to return home to see about his family. Some time after he arrived home, Elijah was seen and the Home Guard summoned (he would have obviously been branded as a traitor to the South). Family tradition says that Elijah was found hiding in an apple tree (in bloom) and shot to death in front of his family. It seems obvious that such a tragedy would stick in the minds of a mother and her children, since the girls were about 6 and 8 years of age. In addition to tradition, Cousin Mary later found an old Bible that had been wrapped in newspaper and stored by Aunt Dovey. Due to the large number of Lewis' listed, I would guess that the Bible had belonged to Harriett Veasey Lewis. In that Bible was found this entry: "Elijah H. Lewis was shot dead, May 12, 1864." in his book, "Marching Through Georgia", Lee B. Kenneth, says: "A man with pro-Union views could not count on much toleration if he were on the other (low) end of the social scale. He could expect to be hounded by the authorities and threatened by his neighbors. If a mob gathered it was not to burn his effigy, but his barn or house, and he might have cause to fear for his life." Pg. 34 Some years later, while entering family data into my genealogy software database (Family Tree Maker), I noted that their was an obvious date discrepancy. Elijah was killed on May 12, 1864, and my grandmother, Lucretia Araminta "Minta" Lewis Phillips, was not born until January 20, 1865. Such occasions make one's heart beat very rapidly when you seem to find some part of your past crumbling before your eyes. And then I started counting months, and discovered that the time between her fathers death and her birth had been about nine months. This one event, where disparate pieces of information mesh together like pieces of a puzzle seemed to whet my appetite for more data……. In my efforts to verify family tradition that Elijah went back North to fight for the Union during the Civil War, I have identified five (5) Elijah Lewis' - all of whom served in the Union Army: 1. Elijah Lewis, Union Cavalry, 1st Regiment, AK Cavalry 2. Elijah Lewis, Union Infantry, 6th Regiment, TN Mounted Infantry 3. Elijah Lewis, Union Infantry, 88th Regiment, Ohio Infantry 4. Elijah H. Lewis, Union Infantry, 94th Regiment, Ohio Infantry 5. Elijah W. Lewis, Union Infantry, 67th Regiment, Indiana Infantry I ruled out number 5 because of the middle initial disparity. Numbers 1, 2, and 3 had no given middle initial, so I started with number 4 - and the 94th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. What follows represents my research into Elijah. On March 8th, 2002, I discovered more of the possible data I have been seeking. I began to research the Elijah H. Lewis who "was" as Private in Company "E", 94th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. Was this unit of the Union Army ever in close enough proximity to Elijah's home in western Carroll Co., GA? The three States, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio supplied half of his (Sherman's) infantry, and it is estimated that one soldier out of four was from Ohio ("Marching Through Georgia", by Lee B. Kenneth, pg. 42). 94th Regiment, Ohio Infantry History Mustered: August 22, 1862 Service: 1. Pursuit of Gen. Bragg's forces into Kentucky, Oct 1-15, 1862 2. Battle of Perryville, KY, Oct 8, 1862 3. March to Nashville, TN, Oct 16 thru Nov 7, 1862 4. Duty in Nashville until Dec 26, 1862 5. Advance to Murfreesboro, Dec 26-30, 1862 6. Battle of Stones River, Dec 30-31-1862 and Jan 1-3, 1863 7. Duty at Murfreesboro until June, 1863 8. Tullahoma Campaign, Jun 23 thru Jul 7, 1863 9. Hoover's Gap, June 24-26, 1863 10. Occupation of Middle TN until Aug 16, 1863 11. Passage of Cumberland Mountains and TN River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign from Aug 16 thru Sep 22, 1863 12. Davis Cross Roads (Dug Gap), Sep 11, 1863 13. Battle of Chickamauga Sep 19-21, 1863 14. Rossville Gap, Sep 21, 1863 15. Siege of Chattanooga, Sep 24 thru Nov 23, 1863 16. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign, Nov 23 thru Nov 27, 1863 17. Lookout Mountain, Nov 24, 25, 1863 18. Mission Ridge, Nov 25, 1863 19. Pea Vine Valley and Graysville, Nov 26, 1863 20. Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge, Nov 27, 1863 21. Dalton, GA, Feb 22-27, 1864 22. Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Faced Ridge, Feb 23-25, 1864 23. Atlanta, GA, Campaign, May 1 thru Sep 8, 1864 24. Rocky Faced Ridge, May 8-11, 1864 25. Buzzard's Roost Gap, May 8-9, 1864 OUR ELIJAH Of course, the 94th Regiment's story goes on for many more battles until they had their Grand Review in Washington, D. C., and they Mustered out on June 6, 1865 - but our Elijah was not there at the end. He (we) got off some time before May 12, 1864, when he was shot dead at his home in western Carroll County. However, what stories could he have left behind for us had he lived? What "war stories" could he have left for us about his time with the 94th? It appears he would have been there to see the rout of Gen Thomas' forces at the Battle of Chickamauga, and he would later have had the jeers of Sherman's and Grant's troops taunting him on (about the defeat at Chickamauga) to the extent that he and the rest of Gen. Thomas' force charged Missionary Ridge, and were so angry from the taunting that they went right on up to the top of Lookout Mountain - forcing a Confederate retreat towards Atlanta. He would have been there when the 94th was combined into the Army of the Cumberland, and forced Gen. Johnson to retreat again after Johnson tried to make a stand. The 94th, was also part of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, but Elijah would have departed for home some time between the Battle at Tunnel Hill and the Atlanta Campaign. I feel confident that I have located "our" Elijah H. Lewis, and put a few more pieces of his puzzle together, but I sure would like to see Film Number M552 roll 64 - wherever it is - to confirm or refute all this.....