Allen Dirgin Nash was my third great uncle, a son of William and Lucy Nash. His Civil War record is available from the Tennessee Library and Archives in Nashville.

Allen Dirgin Nash was born February 1833 in North Carolina. Sometime between 1833 and 1836 his family moved to northwestern White County, Tennessee near the Falling Water and Caney Fork Rivers. It is known that Allen Dirgin married Sarah Albert in 1850. They had 11 children in all, with only 6 surviving to adulthood. He was a farmer.

The Civil War played havoc with the Nash family members as they split their allegiances. Some of the Nash men joined the Union (William A. Nash, Edmond Nash)- while Allen Dirgin joined the Confederate Army. Interesting to note that in the fall of 1861 there were several liens put on the land of William Nash where they all lived-probably due to the financial chaos of the time. In 1862, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under the command of General Braxton Bragg encamped at Sparta, Tennessee in White County during the summer. On September 15, 1862, Allen Dirgin Nash enlisted into Confederate service by Lt. W.D. Turlington for a three year period. The South originally enlisted all troops for 3 year periods and later changed it to cover all males for as long as necessary. His home address was listed as in Bellsburg, Tennessee. He served as a Private in Company Cheatham’s Division, Polk’s Corps. This particular company was known at various times as Captain Brown’s Company and Company C as well as Company K with T.B. Murray, Lt. Colonel from Sparta, commanding.

After joining Company K, they traveled to Knoxville, Chattanooga, Tullahoma, and Shelbyville. The unit also participated in action at Perryville, Kentucky on October 8, 1862. Leaving there he spent the winter and spring with his company around Tullahoma and Shelbyville, Tennessee.

The 16^th Infantry was known as one of the bravest and was often assigned the hazardous duties. Their major claim to heroism is their charge at Stone’s River- the Battle of Murfreesboro on December 31, 1862. The Yankees had retreated after a flanking move by General Bragg which encircled the Northern troops on a hilltop commanded by General Hazen of Ohio and his cannon brigade. The South’s first assault on the Yankee position was smashed back by the cannon. General Bragg then ordered Donelson’s Brigade, led by the 16^th, to take the hill. Suffering a 90% casualty rate, they did take the hill but couldn’t hold it. Led by Colonel John Savage they charged the hill. Witnesses said they were “shot down like flies but they kept coming.” There is a pictorial at the Stone’s River National Battlefield Information Center and Museum depicting Savage’s charge. Confederate troops eventually retreated.

Allen Dirgin Nash was severely wounded on December 31, 1862 at the Battle of Murfreesboro-Stone’s River. He was unfortunately part of the 90% casualty rate. If you visit the battlefield, you can look out from Hazen’s cannon position and know that within a quarter-mile- Allen Dirgin was wounded there. His wounds were severe. His war record shows him absent from his company in January and February 1863. He rejoined his company March 17, 1863. He was listed as “sent to duty” April 23, 1863 but then sent to the Atlanta Hospital April 28, 1863. A muster roll taken July 17, 1863 in Chattanooga, Tennessee has him still listed as being in the hospital. He was still in the hospital in August 1863. However, sometime during that month of August he was again sent to duty with his unit.

The Army of the Tennessee had been sent south to defend Chattanooga and the railways to Atlanta. The Battle of Chickamauga saw the 16^th in bloody warfare once again. With Bragg’s army in full retreat to Atlanta, Cheatham’s Division was assigned the job of covering the rear. Many men were captured by the Yankees, including Allen Dirgin Nash. He was captured near Ringgold, Georgia on November 26, 1863 by Union forces under the command of Major General George Thomas of the Army of the Cumberland. The prisoners were sent by rail to Nashville and then on to the federal prison at Louisville, Kentucky on December 9, 1863. At this time the Yankee prisons were overcrowded, and as a result, prisoners were shipped to other facilities when possible. Allen Dirgin was sent to a new prison located in the middle of the Mississippi River called Rock Island in Illinois. He arrived there December 11, 1863. Rock Island was not built to handle the number of prisoners who were eventually sent there. Between 5,000 and 8,000 prisoners were housed there at all times. There was a high fence that enclosed 84 barracks, each with its own cookhouse. Water was scarce and occasionally nonexistent.

The care for the prisoners was lacking. Medical care was inadequate and there was no hospital ward. Upon opening of the prison a small pox epidemic swept through the facility. Hundreds of men died each month. Rock Island has been referred to as the Andersonville of the North. Prisoner labor constructed sewers and a waterworks. Very few prisoners escaped though many tried and died. A story passed down by John T. Nash (Allen Dirgin’s son) and his descendants is that Allen Dirgin did escape and swam the Mississippi, but was captured on the other side. The story that he may have escaped appears to be true as it is noted that on March 18, 1864, Allen Dirgin is listed as “deserted.” Many prisoners took the Oath in December 1863 and were “galvanized” into the Union army to fight Indians. Confederates resisted this by reenlisting their own men (whose terms of enlistment had expired they were imprisoned).Conditions deteriorated in late 1864 and local newspapers began editorially comparing Rock Island to Andersonville, as mentioned. Two editors who did so were imprisoned by Federal authorities for disloyalty and sedition. During the 20 months it operated, Rock Island held a total of 12,400 prisoners; 1,960 died in confinement, 41 escaped, 5,580 were paroled home, and approximately 4,000 enlisted in the Union army. About 200 civilian political prisoners from Missouri also were housed there late in the War. Prison barracks were empty by July 1865 and served as ordinance barracks for the Arsenal until 1909. Confederate and National Cemeteries are still maintained there.

In May of 2002, I was in contact with a Mr. Robert H. Snead of Heritage Specialties in Ft. Mead, Florida. Based on information I gave him about Allen Dirgin Nash, a C.S.A. Purple Heart was awarded him in recognition of his wound(s) in battle. He mentioned that the Confederacy had no such honor for the wounded soldiers during the time of its existence. Also, he informed me that Allen Dirgin should also receive a “Seven Knights of the Confederacy” award. The Order of the Seven Knights of the Confederacy was created in 1863 at Rock Island Union Prison by seven Confederate soldiers as one means of combating desertions among their fellow prisoners. Its members took an oath to stand by each other under all circumstances and to die in prison rather than give in to pressure by their captors to take the oath of allegiance to the Union and join the armed forces of the United States. This oath was to be binding so long as the Confederate government was in existence. The oath spoke to the behavior of these prisoners of war in the absence of a formal code of conduct for POWs such as exists today.         

If Allen Dirgin Nash took the oath of the “Seven Knights of the Confederacy,” the fact remains that he also swore an Oath of Allegiance to the United States on October 27, 1864 at Rock Island Barracks. He had been in prison for 11 months. He also volunteered in the United States Army for frontier duty against the Indians but was rejected. He was released from prison on the same day he took the U.S. oath. His physical conditions were described as: complexion dark, black hair color, color of eyes grey, height 5’ 11” and aged 33 years. His place of residence was noted as New Ark, Tennessee.  

Allen Dirgin Nash eventually went back to White County, Tennessee. In 1867, he and William Nash (son of the elder William Nash), both paid the poll tax on William’s 235 acres then valued at $350.00. In 1871, Allen Dirgin paid the poll tax. There are no other Nashes listed as paying any taxes in White County. In 1872 there is no record of any Nashes paying any taxes. In 1868, William Nash sold his 235 acres for $485.00- as listed in Deed Book V 421. Between 1870 and 1880, Allen Dirgin apparently moved his entire family to Dickson County, The first deed recording his purchase of land in Dickson County is dated 1880. They lived in northeastern Dickson County around his Bellsburg and Jackson’s Chapel communities. They lived near his wife’s family the Alberts. Again, family tradition supplies interesting tidbits about Allen Dirgin. It is said that he and family members owned a brick factory and a logging business. The numerous deeds recorded in the Dickson County Register’s Office tell the tale of a man who “wheeled and dealed.” At one time he had accumulated over 800 acres. He was also part owner in a company exploring for oil in the Bells Bend area of Jones Creek, Harpeth River in Dickson County, 1890. There is no record of any oil ever being found.  That same year (1890), the Civil War Veterans Census was completed. Allen Dirgin is listed as follows:

       NASH, ALLIN D., Di-36-1  Pvt K Co 16^th TN Inf;

      62    to 10-27-64; Bellsburgh PO; CONF

He eventually doled out 100 acres to each of his sons except Joseph because his was used to get him out of trouble. What trouble his son Joseph was in is not known for sure. Some say he rode a mule into the courthouse and shot the judge. Others maintain that he used the allotment to get a friend out of jail.

When Allen Dirgin’s wife Sarah died in 1908, he lived with his son James Nash in Lawrence County, Tennessee. Of historical interest is the fact that one of the first commissioners and justices of the peace from Lawrence County was David Crockett. He ran a water-powered grist mill, powder mill and distillery in the area of the county that is now David Crockett State Park. He was only there for four or five years (1819-1822). James was said to have told stories about the trip from Dickson County to Lawrence County. He said the journey was by wagon train and that it took days. His son was in the lumber business and owned close to 1,000 acres of land. However, he somehow ended up with a great deal of debt which included owing over $3,500.00 to an insurance company in Cincinnati, Ohio. James moved to Arkansas in 1917.

Allen Dirgin Nash died December 28, 1914 in Lawrence County, Tennessee. He is buried in Sweet Home Cemetery preceded by his wife who is also buried there. He has one son, John T. Nash, buried there with him. Allen and Sarah have new markers paid for by Nash descendants.