| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Mike Watson: A memorial day story - Captain John T. McLain This is an old story taken from the Adair County News,, in the "Burksvill" newsletter, about Capt. John T. McLain, who is buried at the summit of the Big Hill overlooking the City of Burkesville, KY. It is an account of Decoration Day, today observed as Memorial Day. Click on headline for complete story with photo(s) The writer of this article, Mike Watson will be among the vendors at the 10am-3pmCT/11am-4pmET, Saturday, June 1, 2013, 2nd Annual Book Fair at the Historic Adair County Courthouse, 500 Public Square, Columbia, KY. By Mike Watson Adair County Historian "Decoration Day has been generally unobserved here and entirely so except the decoration of one grave. Judge J.J. Simpson, County Clerk M.M. Collins, Dr. J.H. Myers and Leslie Cary enwreathed and strew flowers upon the grave of Capt. John T. McLain. Capt. McLean will always be remembered with an intermixture of admiration and curiosity by those who knew him and will be looked upon with some degree of mystery and superstition by those whose information comes second handed. "The grave situated upon the summit of the 'Big Hill', the highest point in Cumberland County and more than 900 feet above the sea-level. Here the body of the once brave Capt. McLain has been resting for more than thirty years, a view from which place down upon the Cumberland valley and the town of Burksville below, the verdured hills to the right and left, and e'en Cumberland mountains the horizon, must rival the grandeur of Yosemite. Capt. McLain was buried at this point at his own request which was made a few minutes before he died by his own hand. "He shot himself in a little house lately used by Dr. J.C. Herriford just below the Burksville Hotel. His request was to be buried by a certain rose-bush on the summit of the Big Hill, and it is told that he said that this was as near Heaven as he could ever get and that he wanted to be buried there for that reason. This is probably not true, however. The grave is marked by one small white headstone containing the inscription: 'Capt. J.T. McLain, Co. J 1st KY Cavalry.' "The following concerning Capt. McLain is copied from the Adjutant General's Report: 'Capt. John T. McLain was enrolled August 20, 1861; mustered in December 5, 1861, at Camp Boyle [Columbia], Kentucky, for three years; was promoted from 1st Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant, August 10, 1862; promoted to 1st Lieutenant July 4, 1863; promoted to Captain June 30, 1864.' "Captain McLain was an eccentric man but greatly beloved by his comrades. He killed a man by the name of Dick Watson, a union soldier, thinking he was a guerrilla. He was an inebriate and it said that this led to his suicide. Mrs. Caroline Williams, of Leslie, is a sister of his." This story, above, appeared in the Adair County News on 6 June 1900, in the "Burksville" newsletter. Recent research on Captain McLain, from Adjutant General's Report of Kentucky and Service Record: John T. McLain, Service Record filed as McLane, Company J, 1 KY Cavalry, enrolled as 4th Sergeant on 26 August 1861 Burkesville, Cumberland County, age 22, mustered 28 October 1861 Camp Boyle, Columbia, KY (AG has Camp Dick Robinson); furnished his own horse and equipment; promoted from 1st Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant 20 July 1862; promoted to 1st Lieutenant, mustered as such 27 August 1863 at Knoxville, TN, to be effective from 4 July 1863, date of his commission; appointed Captain of "New Company B" 1st KY Cavalry, mustered as such 15 July 1864 at Marietta, GA; mustered out 30 September 1865 Louisville, KY. This story was posted on 2013-05-23 14:24:32
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
More articles from topic Mike Watson - History:
Mike Watson: Tobacco as a cash crop Mike Watson: Treasure Trove. A post Civil War story from Marrowbone, KY Mike Watson: Remember when John Lair was at High School Mike Watson: Raves for Backyard Oil Mike Watson created exactly right picture for Historic Courthouse Mike Watson: Do You Remember When...? Mike Watson speaks: Location of Pea Ridge. Pigtail topic Mike Watson vouches for methodology, research of Jim Mike Watson: Some Old Fish Tales Mike Watson: Railroad attempts in Adair County, KY View even more articles in topic Mike Watson - History |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
