Civil war names in Keith Cave

CIE

CIVIL WAR NAMES IN KEITH CAVE
Marion O. Smith

Keith Cave, a few miles southwest of Cowan on an outlier of the Cumberland
Plateau, has long been examined by curiosity seekers. Some 900 feet long and
eighty or ninety feet deep, this grotto has copious amounts of graffiti, both
legible and illegible, from at least the early 1850s to aes Included
in this array of names are "Cawthon 1868 Selma Ala," late 1800s-early 1900s mixed
groups of young men and women, and in a very obscure spot, "G H Fullerton 15 Regt
OM 1862" and "Tieut D Regan ie Va.

"Cawthon" was Alexander W. Cawthon (b. January 2, 1841), who was a clerk in
Mobile before serving in the 2lst Alabama Infantry, CSA, and as a hospital steward.
After the war he entered the drug business in Selma and in time had one of the
largest such stores in the state. His visit to Keith Cave can be explained by his
April, 1867, marriage to Laura J., daughter of Thomas A. and Adelaide Keith of
Franklin County, Tennessee. He no doubt toured the cave during a sojourn to his
in-laws.

In June, 1862, after fighting at Shiloh and participating in the advance on
Corinth, Mississippi, the lst Ohio Infantry, except for Companies B, D, and F, was
shifted to northwestern Alabama. As part of the command of Major General Don Carlos
Buell it marched on July 5 to Huntsville and the next day moved by rail to Stevenson,
Alabama. On July 7 the men rode another mee to Cowan, Tennessee. Near there,
along the Boiling Fork of the Elk River, the regiment camped and was probably em-
ployed constructing bridges and stockades until August 24. In mid-July it was sent
by Brigadier General William Sooy Smith, the cannander of the railroad guards, ona
four or five day expedition to Tullahoma during the scare occasioned by Nathan
Bedford Forrest's successful attack on Murfreesboro. Afterwards, the ist Ohio: went
to Kentucky to help turn back General Braxton Bragg's Confederate invasion of that
state. Undoubtedly, Fullerton and Regan visited Keith Cave sometime during their

unit's presence in the Boiling Fork area. More complete identifications of these

CQ

two soldiers are as follows:

GEORGE HUMPHREY FULLERTON (February 27, 1838-March 31, 1918), a son of Hugh S.
and Dorothy Boies Fullerton, was born at Bloomington, Fayette County, Ohio. A Presby
terian minister, he resided at S. Charleston, Clark County, Ohio, when in mid-October
1861, he became chaplain of the lst Ohio Infantry. He resigned at Louisville, Ken-
tucky, September 27, 1862, due to affliction "with diarrhea for the past six weeks"
as well as having a "low fever." The succeeding May 12 he married Mary Ellen Work
at Lancaster, Ohio, and within three years they had two sons, After his military
service he was pastor at churches in Lancaster (December, 1862-August, 1864), San-
dusky (1864-67), Cincinnati (1867-74, 1879-86), and Springfield, Ohio (1874-79,
1886-91). His last address was 314 Stanton Avenue in Springfield and he is buried
in Fernclitt Comarery.

DENNIS REGAN (ca.1836-July 6, 1902), a natiye of Ireland, was.a resident of
Dayton, Ohio, from about 1853 until his death. Reportedly a blacksmith before the
war, he was a sergeant in Company D, lst Ohio Infantry during its "three months"
organization, April 16-August 16, 1861. Reenlisting the next day in the regiment's
"three years" service, he was 2nd lieutenant in Company F, and later lst lieutenant
in Companies I, G, and D, receiving his discharge at Chattanooga August 17, 18064.
From November 30, 1862, to July 17, 1864, he was detached to the Pioneer Corps,
functioning as "Quarter Master of the Pontoon Train for nearly one year." On Sep-
tember 8, 1864, he married Bridget McNarama in Dayton and by 1876 they had three
daughters and two sons. He was a constable (ca.1868-75), superintendent of the
levees (ca.1880), and a guard at the Work House (1893). His last address was 104
S. Plum Street, and he is buried in Dayton's Calvary Cemetery.

SOURCES

William O. Putnam, Caves and Caving in TAG (n.p., 1989), 122; Diary of Marion

O. Smith (Knoxville, Tennessee), August 17, 1998; Thomas McA. Owen, History of

Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (4 vols,, Chicago, 1921), 3:308-9;

Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (DesMoines, Iowa, 1908),

1496; War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official. Records of the Union and

Confederate Armies (70 vols. in 128 books, Washington, D. C., 1880-1901), Ser, 1,

Vol, 16, Pt, 2 105) 106, 127, 253,.051, 198, 0G, 17, 290, 321; vanet By Hewece,

ed., Supplement to the Official Records: of the Union and Confederate Armies, Vol.

50, Pt. 2, Serial No. 62 (Wilmington, N. cl 1997), 540-77; Cincinnati directories
(1880-81); Dayton directories (1866-81); 1880 Census, Ohio, Hamilton, Cincinnati,

2nd Ward, 113th Enum. Dist., 37; Montgomery, Dayton, 156th Enum, Dist., 27; Canpried
Service Records, Record Group 94, National Archives, George H, Fullerton and Dennis
Regan; and Pension Records, Record Group 15, National Archives, Mary W. Fullerton

and Bridget Regan.