John Jackson Bradford

Born: Dec 1841 in what is now Putnam County, Tennessee

Died: 14 Dec 1917 in the 18th District of Putnam County, Tennessee

Company F, 25th Tennessee Infantry, CSA

Exact dates of service unknown but prior to Aug 1864

Company C, 43rd Missouri Infantry, USA

30 Aug 1864-30 Jun 1865

John is the son of Thomas Jerry Bradford and Rebecca E. "Becky" Kinnaird. He first married Dicy Laycock in 1864. Dicy was the daughter of Martin and Esther Laycock. John and Dicy had nine children from 1866 to 1889. Dicy passed away in 1908 and John remarried to Cordelia Dyer on 14 Oct 1909 in Putnam County, Tennessee. Cordelia was the daughter of Riley Dyer and Mahlie Harper. John and Cordelia did not have any children.

John's service in the Confederate forces is not well documented. The one page of documentation is attached below. It appears that he was "taken" by the Confederates into the service where he soon deserted and went to Missouri.

John joined the 43rd Missouri Infantry, Union in Maysville, Missouri 30 Aug 1864 and was mustered in on 2 Sep 1864 in St Joseph, Missouri. His service record shows regularly present for duty. He was captured at the Battle of Glasgow, Missouri on 15 Oct 1864 but was paroled and returned to duty the same day. This seems unusual but an AI account of the Battle of Glasgow (see below) supports this fact. John was mustered out on 30 Jun 1865 at Benton Barracks, Missouri.

A family story has it that John came home at some point and removed his 13 year old brother, Thomas, to Carthage where the Union forces were encamped. John was afraid the Confederates would take Thomas at gun point into the confederate services. Thomas would later join the Union Army.

John evidently returned to Tennessee after the war as all his children were born in Tennessee beginning with Luvena who was born in Putnam County in 1866.

We do not know where John or Dicy are buried. John's second wife, Cordelia is buried in the Cookeville City Cemetery in Putnam County, Tennessee.

AI account of the Battle of Glasgow:

Details of the Parole

• Immediate Release: The roughly 600–800 Union prisoners (largely consisting of the 43rd Missouri Infantry and local militia) were paroled on the spot. This meant they signed an agreement promising not to take up arms against the Confederacy again until they were formally exchanged for Confederate prisoners.

  
  

• Treatment of Officers: As a gesture of military courtesy, Union officers were permitted to retain their sidearms.

  
  

• The "Same Day" Necessity: For the Confederates, paroling the prisoners immediately was a matter of logistics as much as it was chivalry. General Sterling Price's "Army of Missouri" was a fast-moving cavalry raid. They did not have the resources, guards, or food to maintain a large body of prisoners while continuing their march toward Kansas City.

  
  

• Safe Passage: After being paroled, the Union soldiers were allowed to leave the town. Many headed toward Boonville or other Union-held territories.