Jesse Sutton
Company F, 6th Texas Infantry
| CONFEDERATE ANCESTOR OF STEVE WOOLEY, RICHARD SUTTON & HAROLD SUTTON | |
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| Jesse Sutton is shown here with his family. His sons in the rear are (l-r) Andy Alonzo, William Josiah, George Baylus, Walter Lulan and Robert Elza. Seated (l-r) are Alice May, Jesse Sutton, Jessie Catharine, Susan Catharine (Turner) Sutton, Clara Ann and Margaret Rhody. Not pictured, Belle Orie, died very young. | |
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Jesse Sutton was the son of Anderson Sutton and Rhoda Lancaster. He was born October 30, 1839 in Izard County (Blue Mountain Township) Arkansas. He was one of ten children born to Anderson and Rhoda. Andrew Sutton, one of his brothers, fought in the War Between the States, also. Jesse and Andrew joined the same company from Bell County, Texas. Andrew was killed at the battle or Arkansas Post (Fort Hindman).
Before the war the brothers and their father were part of the home militia put together to protect the local settlers from Indian rainds. The last such raid was in March 1859. On March 14th a raiding Indian party attacked Judge John M. Perryman on the Cowhouse Creek. They stole his horse. On March 16th the same raiding party was in the area of Bell County known as Sugar Loaf Mountain. The John Riggs family had recently settled in this area. About a quarter of a mile west of the Riggs' home was the home of Young Pierce. He was killed in this raid. Prior to the discovery of Pierce's body, David Elms and John Riggs were attacked by Indians. Thomas Riggs (brother to John) ran toward the scene of the attack and the Indians fled. Thomas immediately put a warning out to all the neighbors in the area. John Rigg's wife Jane and his children also witnessed the attack and fled the area. When John Riggs realized the Indians had fled he rushed to join his wife and children. The Indians witnessed this and charged the Riggs family. John and Jane Riggs were killed. They were unarmed and defenseless. Their children, two girls, Rhoda, aged nine, and Margaret, aged five were kidnapped. The boys, William, aged three, and John, aged nine months, were left behind. The Sutton family were close friends to the Riggs family. In fact, Rhoda Riggs was named after Anderson's wife. The families put together a posse to track the Indians. Among those in the posse were Anderson and Jesse Sutton, X. B. Saunders (who put together a company to fight in the War Between the States), Milton W. Damron (leader of another Bell County company) and William and Joel Blair (Cochran, Blair and Potts Hardware Store, Belton, Texas). The posse eventually recoved the Riggs girls and the Indians got away. This led to the fighting experience that would help Jesse Sutton in the coming storm of 1861. Jesse's company was formed in Belton, Texas in the summer of 1861. Elected captain of this company was Henry E. Bradford. Captain Bradford is buried in South Belton Cemetery and his gravesite is one of those that our camp placed Confederate Veteran's markers on in 2001. In September 1861 the unit met in a vacant lot in Belton on Pearle Street and elected their officers. On the day of their departure to protect their homeland, the ladies of the community presented the men with a flag and they were off to Victoria, Texas. At Victoria was a camp of instruction known as Camp Henry McCullough. The men took up winter quarters there. On May 22, 1862 they finally got their marching orders to join the fray in Arkansas. They passed through Halletsville to Eagle Lake, Texas. Here they boarded a train to Houston and on to Navasota. They marched from Navasota to Camp #25 in Smith County (near present day Tyler, Texas). They were then on to Arkansas passing through Dangerfield and Gilmer and crossing the state line at Texarkana. They proceeded to Pine Bluff, Arkansas in September 1862. The unit had orders to go to Arkansas but no real destination. Along their journey they spent a lot of time in camps. On one instance, they stayed in Tyler for two weeks. At Pine Bluff, almost the entire 6th Texas Infantry came down with the measles. Jesse was one of those lucky ones that caught them. A lot of men died there. Jesse Sutton came back to Bell County on 60 days furlough. Accompanying him back to Bell County was Captain Milton Damron, Co. D, 18th Texas Cavalry. Jesse and Captain Damron were friends and neighbors before the war. The 6th Texas finally got orders to join the garrison of Arkansas Post. They were at the Post in October 1862. The battle of Arkansas Post was fought on January 11, 1863. Jesse missed this engagement, but as stated earlier, his brother Andrew was killed there. He dodged the proverbial bullet! Jesse recuperated at home and by January of 1864 he joined back up with Captain Damron who by this time was with Co. E, 17th Texas Consolidated Dismouted Cavalry. This unit only appears once in the Official Records. They show up as being ordered back from the line of the Sabine River in October 1863. It was made up of men from the 15th, 17th, 18th, 24th and 25th Regiments Texas Cavalry and men from the 6th and 10th Texas Regiments that were not captured at Arkansas Post. Somewhere along the line Jesse engaged in some sort of battle. In this battle (skirmish?) the story goes that he took a pocket bible from a dead Union soldier. It was a version of the New Testament. He erased the dead man's name and wrote his own. This item is still in the family's possession, along with a bullet mold for a revolver and four of his buttons from his uniform. They are general service buttons from the State of Texas. After the war Jesse returned to farm in the central Texas area. He was involved in several cattle drives and made enough money to build a new home for his bride. Jesse married Susan Turner on October 15, 1868. The couple had ten children. He built his home in 1868 and it is still standing today. It is located on a place that is still known as Sutton Farms. The log structure is incorporated into the barn on the farm. It can be seen from the roadway. In 1888, at a park in Belton, Jesse and his father, Anderson, joined other War Between the States veterans in an old soldier's reunion This park is now known as Confederate Park. Anderson Sutton, being too old to join the army in 1861, joined a company of home guards in 1864. Jesse remained a true Confederate to the end of his life. He would tell stories of his adventures to his grandchildren, among which was my grandfather. This is how I got interested in the War Between the States and later researched my ancestor and joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Jesse Sutton died October 15, 1917 and is buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Nolanville, Texas. |
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