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John Bond (Bounds) Cross

John Bond (Bounds) Cross

Male 1835 - 1906  (70 years)

 


 

 

John Cross Sgt: Co. B: 14th Infantry, Lived in Stewart Co. TN.  He was shot in the foot and lost toes at Fredericksburg.  He was shot in the hip and suffered a fractured hip at Chancellorsville.  He returned to Stewart County and Houston County, married Lucy Ann Claxton, and raised a large family.  He died at this home place on Guices Creek and is buried in the Dowdy Cemetery in Houston County, TN.  John Cross served in the 14th Tennessee Infantry during the Civil War.  He joined the regiment at Camp Duncan, TN on May 17, 1861.  He enlisted at the rank of Private and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

 

On July 12, 1861, the regiment left Clarksville, TN for Nashville, TN.  They arrived in the afternoon and marched to the fairgrounds where they spent the night.  The next morning they disembarked for Chattanooga, TN.  Here they changed trains and in open cars, traveled to Knoxville, TN on an unseasonable cold night.  In a blinding rainstorm they boarded cars for Haynesville, TN.  This wet and cold train ride caused much damage to the health of the regiment.  At this point they were assigned to guard the railroad from Knoxville to Va.

 

The regiment was ordered from Knoxville to Lynchburg, VA where they changed trains and proceeded to Manassas Junction, VA.

 

Following the battle of First Manassas, the regiment was ordered to join General Robert E. Lee at Staunton, VA where they were assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia.  The regiment continued from Lynchburg to Valley Mountain.  On this hot August day the regiment marched up the mountain without a sufficient supply of water.  Many of the men passed out from heat and exhaustion.  When the men finally reached water many of them passed out from drinking too much.

 

Camp life was not all hard work and marching for the men of the 14th Tennessee.  Horseplay, gambling, card games, music and dancing were forms of entertainment.  When no women were available as dance partners, the men filled in as female partners.  Tying a handkerchief around the man’s wrist designated the female partner.

 

After the battle of Cheat Mountain (September 1861), the 14th Tennessee took part in the following battles:

 

Bath Expedition (January 4, 1862),

Yorktown Siege (April-May 1862),

Etham's Landing (May 7, 1862),

Seven Pines (May 31-June 30, 1862,

Seven Days Battle (June 25-July 1, 1862),

Cedar Mountain (August 9, 1862),

Second Bull Run (August 28-30, 1862),

Harper's Ferry (September 12-15, 1862),

Antietam (September 1862),

Shepherdstown Ford (September 20, 1862),

Gettysburg (May 1, 1863).

 

On December 13, in the Battle of Fredericksburg, John Cross was wounded when he was shot in the foot.  He was treated at Wayside Hospital #9 and sent to Chimborazzo Hospital in Richmond, VA for treatment of a gunshot wound to the right foot.  He lost two toes from the wound.  He returned to duty on August 8, 1862.

 

In his application for a Tennessee Civil War pension John Cross wrote, "I was wounded in the heat of battle at Fredericksburg".  He also stated that he returned to his regiment early, preferring that to the hospital.

 

John returned to duty and received new clothing at Camp Winder, VA.  He arrived May 3, 1863 in time to engage in the Battle of Chancellorsville.  He was again wounded in this battle.  He was treated at Wayside and Receiving Hospital #(and was then sent to Chimborazzo Hospital #1 in Richmond.  He was treated for a leg wound.

 

John described this would, "I was shot in the thigh about halfway between my knee and hip and the ball ranged up and out under my hip bone, which gave me much pain".

 

John Cross recovered from this wound and returned for duty on September 2, 1863.  His hospitalization had caused him to miss two major battles, Gettysburg (July 1-5, 1863) and Falling Waters (July 14, 1863).  He returned in time to fight in the following battles:

 

Bristoe Campaign (October 1863),

Mine Run Campaign (November-December 1863),

The Wilderness (May 5-6, 1864),

Spotsylvania Court House (May 8-21, 1864),

North Anna (May 23-26, 1864),

Cold Harbor (June 1-3, 1864),

Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865),

Squirrel Level Road (September 30, 1864),

Jones' Farm (September 1864),

Pegram's Farm (October 1, 1864),

Harmon Road (October 2, 1864).

 

Robert E. Lee surrendered John and his regiment on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House.  He and his regiment were paroled and returned to Tennessee.

 

W. F. Thomas and J. M. Lewis, two old friends, wrote about John Cross, "he was a good and true soldier, who fought from the first of the war to the finish and he has his parole he got at Lee's surrender.  He has been an upright honorable citizen ever since the war and is totally disabled to do any work as his hands shake so he can't write his name".

 

John returned from the war to Stewart and Houston Counties in Tennessee where he lived the remainder of his life.  He raised a large family of twelve children.  His occupations included mining iron ore, blacksmithing, and farming.  He died on his farm in Houston County, TN on July 4, 1906.

 

In 1906, Dr. Glasgow wrote in John Cross' pension application, "I find him suffering from nervous tremble, known as palsy, caused from the wound he got in the hip and thigh.  I have been his physician for 10-12 years and have noticed this tremble increasing all the time.  He is unable to do manual labor at all.  While he can walk some, he can't use his hands.  They are continually shaking all the time.  He is disabled from any work and will continue to get worse".

 

(Source: Tommy Allen, great grandson of John Bond Cross)

 

 

General Robert E. Lee’s Final Speech

 

The following is Robert Edward Lee's farewell to the Army of Northern Virginia (which included John Bond Cross and Tennessee Regiment 14, Company B) at the surrender of his troops to General Ulysses Simpson Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865:

 

"After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.

 

I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.  By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged.

 

You may take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.

 

With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell."

 


General’s Robert E. Lee & Longstreet

Civil War History on John Bond Cross


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