Michael BLACKBURN (VETERAN CSA)

CORPORAL Confederate States Army
Company C 16 Tennessee Infantry
Civil War Confederate
March 1832 - December 1888

Marker placed for Corporal Michael Blackburn, Co. C, 16th Tennessee Infantry on Febuary 26, 2012. He Had been in a unmarked grave for over 123 years.
Michael (Mike) Blackburn was born in Warren County, Tennessee in 1836, the son of John & Sarah Blackburn in a log home in the country. He had eight brothers and four sisters. Michael was a faired skinned six-foot black haired young man that liked to be called Mike. While he was living on the farm, he met a neighbor girl by the name of Mary Ann (Polly) Perry. Polly was born in North Carolina and moved to Warren County, Tennessee after 1844 with her parents James Perry and Nancy Roberts and four brothers and two sisters.
Mike and Polly were married in Warren County, Tennessee on September 7, 1852. They lived on a farm and had five children. Their names were John C. (Cal), born December 1853, Lavender, born 1854, Catherine, born 1856 and Martha born 1857. They were happy and raising their family until the day of March 4, 1861 when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States of America.
The United States was occupying Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina when President Lincoln took office as President. He insisted that the Union hold the fort, and force the Confederate States into a battle. At 04:30 hourson April 12, 1861, 43 Confederate guns in a ring around Fort Sumter began the bombardment, and the war begun.
Mike enlisted in the Confederate Army on August 4, 1861 at Huntersville, Virginia. His commander was Colonel Savage. Mike was in Company C, 16th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, Ben Hill Regiment. Mike's Tennessee Army commander was General Braxton Bragg through out the war. He was in four major battles. The first was Perryville, Kentucky, he was in General Donelson'c Confederate Brigade. In this battle on October 8, 1862, the 16th Tennessee lost half of its men, starting with 400 men.
His second battle was Stones River at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On December 31, 1862, around 11:00 a.m., led By Colonel John H. Savage advanced the attack across the open fields. At Murfreesboro, out a total of 402 men the 16th Regiment had 207 casualities. After the battle of of Murfreesboro, Colonel Savage resigned and D.M. Donnell became Colonel.
Mike's third battle was Chickamauga, Georgia. He was in General Marcus J. Wright's Brigade, they were stationed near were the battle began by Jays Sawmill. They were the Confederates right wing on September 19, 1863 when the battle began. Wtight's brigade had 487 casualities, of which 68 were from the 16th Regiment.
After this battle the 16th under General Wright was holding Charleston, Tennessee until the evening of November 23, 1863. They were moved to Missionary Ridge, Tennessee by the Western & Atlantic Railroad to the Chickamauga Station, and thence to the east bank of Chickamauga Creek to shore up Bragg's right flank, where it operated during the battle. This was between the shallow Ford and the lower railroad bridges. On November 23, 1863 General Grant ordered his Union forces to attack Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. He defeated Lookout Mountain and on November 25, 1863, turned the Army of the Cumberland under the command of General George H. Thomas at 1:15 in the afternoon, with 20,000 men attacked Missionary Ridge.
The Army of Tennessee reported a total of 6,667 casualities in the battles for Chattanooga, that is Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, killed 361, wounded 2,160, and 4,146 were counted counted missing. General Thomas captured over 3,000 men, one of these were Mike Blackburn on November 25, 1865.
Mike was forwarded to a Military Prison at Louisville, Kentucky on December 10, 1863, the next day he was sent to Rock Island Prison, Illinois were he arrived on January 1, 1864. Mike's prison days were under hellish conditions. There was overcrouding, he was exposed to smallpox, together with pneumonia and diarrhea. 1,964 prisoners died and are still buried there. Mike took the oath of allegiance to the United States of America on February 11, 1865 and was released from Rock Island.
He returned to Tennessee by May,1865 and fathered two more children in Warren, County Tennessee. Their name's were Elizabeth Narcissis (Sis) born February, 1866 and Susan F. born 1877. Mike moved to Bardwell, Kentucky Carlisle County with his brother Alfred, In-Laws James & Nancy Perry, sons William, Sollomon and his brother-in-law that Mike was in prison with, John M. Perry in about 1869.
Mike was a farmer in Carlisle County, He fathered three more children, George, born August 28, 1871, Tennessee (Tennie), born February 1875, and my Great-Grand Mother Mary Ann (Molly) Blackburn, born October, 1876. Mike as told by a historian from Arlington, Kentucky said Mike went to Arkansas in December, 1888 where he went for health resons, and died of consumption that he had conceived in Rock Island Prison.
Michael died at Berryville, Carroll CO., Arkansas December 1888 and is buried in an unmarked grave in Gobbler Cemetery, Carroll CO., ARK., on Hwy. 412 between Osage and Alpena, Arkansas. I have received information that his brother Green Blackburn was a resident of Carroll Co., Arkansas from the 1890 cencus from tax records. And I feel that is why Michael was visiting his brother in Carroll Co., Arkansas at his death. Greens daughters were also in Carroll Co., Arkansas. Talitha Catherine Blackburn with her husband William Rose Owens had a son William Rose Owens born about 1888 in Carroll Co., Arkansas. Lucy A. Blackburn and her husband John W. Upchurch had a daughter Dora Almeda Upchurch May 1885 In Carroll, Co., Arkansas.

Contributed on 3/23/14 by cebjeb4
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Record #: 990185

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