Adjt. Thomas Jefferson Patton
Killed in Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee
April 7, 1862
Information researched & compiled by
Fern Eddy Schultz, La Porte County (IN) Historian
Adjt. Thomas Jefferson Patton was born 06 June 1836 in Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana. He was the son of Davidson and Abinade (Clarkson) Patton. He had a brother, William Henry, who was born ca 1837-38 in Johnson County and a sister, Elizabeth, who was born ca 1840 in La Porte County. William married Jennie McBride in La Porte County, 20 November 1862. He was a 2nd Lt., 35th Regmt. mustered 11 December 1862 and mustered out with the regiment. He served with the 138th Regiment, 100 days service, mustered 2 May 1864, 1st Lt., promoted to Captain and mustered out with the regiment. He died in 1870 at the age of 31 years of consumption. Thomas also had seven half brothers and sisters.
Davidson Patton came to La Porte in 1838 with his family and a twenty-five cent piece. He was a brick mason by trade. He built the first brick building in the city which was a church and also the first brick building in Michigan City. He was married three times and the father of ten children—6 males and 4 females. His first wife (and the mother of Thomas Jefferson Patton) died 18 February 1844. His second wife was Harriet Knapp and third was Eliza Gregory. Davidson died 26 January 1890 and is buried in the section known as The Plains in Patton Cemetery.
Thomas Jefferson Patton acquired a marriage license 16 November 1856 which is recorded in the La Porte County Clerk’s Office. This license does not, however, indicate that he was married—at least the form returned to the court house is not complete. There is, however, a write-up in the La Porte Union Herald, Wednesday, 12 December 1856 as follows:
Married. On the 19th ult., by Rev. Wm. Lane, Mr. T. J. Patton to Miss Sarah
E. Whitehead, both of this City.
So evidently, the minister, Rev. Wm. Lane, failed to complete the form before returning it to the clerk.
What happened to Sarah E. (Whitehead) Patton is not known. By the 1860 census, Thomas Jefferson is enumerated in the household of Davidson but Sarah is not. It is possible she died sometime between the date of their marriage and the 1860 census but no information is found in the extant newspaper about her death and no burial is recorded.
Thomas followed the same avocation as his father. He was of commanding presence and genial disposition. It was not strange that when Ft. Sumter was fired upon he would have been one of the first to rush to the defense of the flag. He was chosen captain of a company which he was active in raising. It was assigned to the 9th Indiana, thus giving the honor of belonging to the first regiment which left the state for three months service.
He participated in the West Virginia campaign of that regiment, taking part in the action at Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick’s Ford. When he mustered out with his regiment at the close of the three months campaign, he returned home and rendered efficient aid in reorganizing the regiment for three years service. At the earliest solicitation of Col. Milroy, commander of the regiment, he took the position of adjutant, although it relegated him to a lower rank than he had formerly held. He served in that capacity during the subsequent campaign in West Virginia and in February 1862, went with the regiment to Nashville, Tennessee, when the regiment was assigned to Col. Hazen’s brigade of Gen. Nelson’s Division. In March, this division, with others, marched to support Gen. Grant at Pittsburg Landing and the bloody battle of Shiloh which followed.
In his last moments, he requested that his horse should be sent home to his father, which request was granted.
The La Porte Herald, Saturday, 26 April 1862, carried the following report:
The Ninth at Pittsburg Landing—A correspondent of the State Journal, writing on the part of the 9th Indiana took in the battle of Pittsburg Landing says:
“It went in at daybreak with 488, and was engaged up 2 P.M. Our first engagement lasted about two hours, five regiments and a battery at one time pouring in continuous volleys. The enemy fell back and gave us time to replenish our ammunition. Then the rebels rallied and made a desperate struggle for about an hour, when they fell back in utter confusion, but were rallied and attempted a flank movement on the right, at which time the 9th, charged a battery and took it. They fought like tigers, heaping new honors on the worthy name they won in Western Virginia. Its loss was heavier than that of any other regiment engaged that day, being twenty killed and some seventy wounded.
“Adjutant Patton fell early in the engagement. His last words were: ‘Tell my father that I fell at my post on the battle field.’ A greater honor could not be given to a father. He was beloved by all, and his loss is deeply felt.”
In the same issue of the newspaper, it was reported that “Mr. S. C. Foster, who has gone to Pittsburg Landing, after the remains of Adjutant Patton, was at Paducah, on Sunday and left there for the battle field with all the necessary passes, to take him through.”
In a letter to Davidson Patton by Lt. Frank P. Gross from Savannah, Tennessee and noted in the 03 May 1862 La Porte Herald, speaking of Adjt. Patton, Gen. Nelson passed this remark in the field: “He fought like a brave man and died like a hero. The lieutenant went on the say that “And such was the case. He died, as I am told without a murmur or a groan—only that he said in a jocular manner he did not much like their hard way of fighting, but supposed he would have to endure it.”
The following appeared in the Saturday, 03 May 1862 issue of the La Port Herald:
“Funeral of Adjutant Patton—The remains of Adjutant Patton arrived in the city last Tuesday morning from Pittsburg Landing, at which time they were met at the Depot by a large concourse of people. The body was immediately conveyed to the residence of the father, Davidson Patton, on South Main Street, where it remained until two o’clock Wednesday afternoon, soon after which time it was conveyed to the Walker Cemetery for interment. The day of the funeral, Wednesday, was very pleasant, and the attendance was very large—probably much larger than that of any other funeral ever held in the county. The services were conducted by Rev. Geo. C. Noyes, of the 2nd Presbyterian Church. The corpse was placed in the yard in front of the house, shrouded with an American flag, by which lay the sword, belt, cap, &c., of the Adjutant. The discourse of Mr. Noyes was short, but impressive and appropriate. The choir, led by B. F. Coleman, Jr., sang two appropriate pieces, Mrs. W.W. Wallace, with Melodeon accompaniment. The first was a hymn entitled Naomi:
“Father whate’er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at thy throne of grace,
Let this petition rise.”At the close of the anthem was sung entitled “Cast thy burden on the Lord.”
“After the services at the house were concluded, the procession was formed in the following order:
1st. Band.
2nd. Firemen.
3rd. Military Escort, German Rifle Co.
4th. Hearse, finely canopied with a large American flag, drawn by four black horses.
5th. Pall Bearers.
6th. Disbanded soldiers of the 9th Regiment.
7th. Other soldiers.
8th. Clergymen in Carriages.
9th. Family and Friends.
10th. Common Council, City and County officers, in carriages.
11th. Committee of Arrangements in carriages.
12th. Members of the bar in carriages.
13th. Benevolent Societies.
14th. Citizens in Carriages.
15th. Citizens on horses.
16th. Citizens on foot.
“All under the command of Major D. J. Woodward, Marshal of the day, assisted by Newel Gleason, Gen. B. Roberts, L. Sherman, and A. H. Robinson and moved down South Main street to Clay street, down Clay street to the cemetery gate—Minute guns were fired and both the Court House and Church bells tolled the solemn requiem of the grave. The flags in various parts of the city hung at half mast—the business houses were all closed, and truly, the grand pageant as it trod with measured steps through the city, showed that a more than ordinary bereavement had befall us. No other occasion had brought out such a demonstration in our city since it was first organized.
“At the grave the usual order was observed…concourse of people began wending their way back to the city deeply impressed with all that solemnity of the day.”
Since I had been successful with the help of the Sons of the Union Veterans in obtaining a government marker to mark the grave of Col. Gilbert Hathaway in Pine Lake Cemetery, my goal was to do the same for Adjt. Thomas Jefferson Patton. Although I had never found a grave for him in Walker Cemetery, I had never really done a thorough search. Thus began a concerted search for his grave in order to make a request for a Government Marker if he did not already have one.
His burial is not included in the cemetery listing for Patton Cemetery (of which Walker is a part) which was done in the 1960s by the DAR. The Veterans Grave Registration Form on file at the La Porte County Public Library indicated he had a “flat private stone” but it also shows burial in The Plains section which is the location of his father’s burial. The Veterans Grave Registration form on file at the La Porte County Historical Society Museum doe not record a type of stone but it also indicates burial in The Plains.
A walk through the cemetery, reading each stone that is legible, did not divulge any Patton burial other than those in The Plains. A search of the burial books for the cemetery did not uncover any information.
There is a stone directly behind Davidson Patton’s stone which is for members of the Thomas Family. That family is connected to the Patton family and there is a burial there for a T. J. Thomas, Jan. 5, 1840-May 21, 1862, which possibly has been mistaken for Thomas Jefferson Patton’s burial place as recorded on the VGR forms.
Following my presentation about La Porte County Soldiers of the Civil War for the La Porte County Historical Society in August of 2009, I was contacted by a Will Radell who is a member of the David D. Porter Camp #116 of the Sons of the Union Veterans. He is a descendant of one of T. J. Patton’s cousins. He wanted to meet with me and share family information about the Patton Family. His goal is to one day in the not to far distant future present a first-person program as T. J. Patton. I scheduled a meeting with him and the first amazing revelation to me was that T. J. Patton is buried in Shiloh National Cemetery, at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. The first chance I had following our conversation, I brought up the Shiloh National Cemetery site on the internet and found the following:
It was well-known that many, if not most, of those killed on the battlefield during the Civil War were buried in close proximity to where they were killed. In fact, when we held the dedication of the marker for Col. Hathaway at Pine Lake Cemetery, I mentioned this fact to some of the SUV members—that perhaps Hathaway was not ever brought home and buried here. However, with all of the local reports about T. J. Patton having been returned to La Porte and buried in Walker Cemetery, that was never one of my considerations. I am pleased, however, to find his burial place and to record this information for further researchers
A line drawing of the Davidson Patton, Italianate style, house may be found on the first plat map of La Porte County, published in 1862. It was the home of Thomas Jefferson Patton and his horse is also included in the illustration. The house, although somewhat altered, still stands today in La Porte at 1402 Lincoln Way.
This is a very good example of how important it is to document information—and as the old saying goes—“just because it’s in writing doesn’t mean it’s so.”