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Note: Civil War Record: Elisha enlisted on August 2, 1862 in Co. D of the 13th Regiment of the Tennessee Cavalry under Col. Dibrell. There is no record of his being in another regiment before this one, although Lee Ann mentions enlisting in 1861.
On Sept. 15, 1862 this division became the 8th Regiment, still under Col. Dibrell. This regiment moved from Sparta to Murfreesboro on Oct. 8, 1862 and was placed under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. They fought at Murfreesboro (Stone River, Parker's Crossroad) on Dec. 31, 1862 where brother Ed Meredith was captured. This regiment went on to fight in many skirmishes, such as the local battle that took place on "August 2, 1863 General Dibrell, four hundred strong, engaged the Federals in battle at Meredith's Mill on Wild Cat Creek three and one-half miles North of Sparta. The Federals, four thousand strong, were commanded by Colonel Minton from Michigan. Twelve men and twenty-four horses were killed on the Federal side, and several Confederates wounded. This was in the forenoon. In the afternoon the Federals returned to the attack, reinforced by three additional regiments, while Dibrell was reinforced by two additional companies from Starnes's regiment. The Federals were driven back with a loss of forty-two. Fate Quarles and another scout were sent to see where the Federals went. They followed as far as Young's Mill and the Federals kept going." History of White County by Rev. Monroe Seals (with correction of year)
This regiment was also involved in the Battle of Chickamauga on Sept. 19-20, 1863. Forrest, angry with Gen. Bragg's leadership decisions to not pursue the Union army after their victory at Chickamauga, quit the Army of Tennessee for a time and the regiment was placed in Gen. Joseph Wheeler's Corps where they joined Lt. Gen. James Longstreet. They remained in eastern Tenn. until March, 1864. Constantly engaged, by August 10, 1864, the regiment was reduced from the original 921 men to 140. On September 2, 1864 the regiment was furloughed to Sparta, which corresponds to Amanda Meredith's records when she remembers Jonathan Scott being killed and the Confederate and Union soldiers being there. From there scattered remnants pulled together a force of 1100 men, but only 300 guns. Some part of the 8th moved out, but others (Elisha) were on detached service in Middle Tennessee. Sources: The Civil War by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ric and Ken Burns, pp. 255-260., Tennesseans in the Civil War, Vol. 1, 1964. Elisha's muster records.
Official records show one Elisha Meredith, a private in Regt. 8, who volunteered on Aug. 10, 1862, was 5' 10" with blue eyes, and brown hair, as having deserted the C.S.A. on Dec. 14, 1864 and then on January 28, 1865 he took an oath of allegiance to the United States in Nashville. Roll No. 572, sheet 13. Under remarks it states: "His family." as the reason for desertion. Because of this record, Lee Ann Meredith was denied a Widow's Pension in 1915 when she applied from her residence in Texas. She provided a document from J. M. Paul who states that he knew Elisha his whole life, was present when he was sworn in, and was with him when they surrendered in 1865. She seems very surprised to learn of the rejection, and appealed the decision by having Elisha's 2nd Lt. W. J. Little, who was living in Coleman Co., Texas at this time answer a series of questions, to which he replied that at one time in the war, Elisha obtained a substitute (Hop Vaughn) so he could go home and deal with family matters, but that he returned and served the duration of the war, and did not desert. Application #4523.
In the Compiled Military Service Record of W.J. Little, he is shown as a Private throughout the war, and he was captured at Readyville Tenn. on Sept. 6, 1864. He was shipped to Louisville Kentucky, and then spent the rest of the war at Camp Chase, Ohio from Sept. 16 through Feb. 12, 1865. J.M. Paul, is John M. Paul, the husband of LeeAnn's sister Lizzie. John was 14 years old in 1862, and may have been in the service, but I can find no record of his presence in any Confederate army. He states in the pension request that he was in Co. B, 4th Tennessee. In the 1860 census, he was living in Fentress County, 12 years old, with his father Edley Paul, and mother. He would not have been old enough to serve until 1864. It is possible he joined at the end and the records were never official. It does seem that a lot of musters and promotions at the end of the war were never turned into official records for the Confederate armies in Tennessee.
Land Records:
In Deed Records Vol. Z, p. 266, shows an agreement where Elisha Merideth and Crocket D. Tracey will operate a distillery in the 1st Civil District for 4 years for the purpose of distilling spirits. They were purchasing the right from M.L. Clark and must pay taxes and penalties to the U.S. Government first. Dated March 26, 1879.
In Deed Records Vol. 32, p. 428, reference is made to a lawsuit between Elisha Meredith Adm. vs. W.R. Hill et.al. This is to be found in Minute Book 18, p. 248, and the Minute Book of June term 1884, p. 562.
In Minute Book Vol. 27, beginning on Sept. 5, 1881, defendant Mollie Evans is appointed a guardian to protect her interests in the Sevier Evans estate. Next the court orders that the full accounting of the debts owed and land owned be made to the court. The issue seems to be a lawsuit between Elisha who was administering the estate of Sevier Evans for his daughter Amanda, and his son-in-law William Ransom Hill, who is now married to Amanda. When Amanda's first husband died in 1874, she inherited his 360 acres of land in the 1st Civil District next to the lands of Thomas Snodgrass and Swofford and Scott. Since she was so young, her father Elisha must have been appointed the administrator of the estate. When she remarried Wm. Ransom Hill, he must have gone to court to get the land transferred to her and her heirs. On pages 247 - 249 on October 3, 1881 the accounting is presented to the court. A judgment was made in 1881 that the land would be sold at public auction. W.R. Hill paid $1750 for the land (Evans Cove), but the dispute must have continued. The public record in Deed Book Vol. 32, p. 428 signed Jan. 13, 1887, records the transfer.
Another deed record in Vol. 31, p. 184-186 dated July 7, 1885, records that Richard Hill and wife Martha J. sold to Elisha Meredith land in the 1st Civil Dist. on both sides of the Turnpike Rd. leading from Sparta to Crossville where "said Meredith now lives" next to James Scott's land. It is 167 1/2 acres, purchased for $2500. In 1884 Elisha paid taxes on 150 acres worth $1200, bounded by Scott land on two sides. These are the last taxes Elisha pays in White County. I have not found a record of this land being sold.
According to Amanda's memory, Elisha and LeeAnn returned to Alvarado, Texas in 1884, although the deed records seem to have him in Sparta at that time. He committed suicide in 1888 in Texas, after becoming despondent over losing a lawsuit over contested land (according to his daughter Amanda). There is no reference to which land left him despondent, although it seems it was the Evans Cove land, that was finally recorded in 1887. Lee Ann continued to live in Texas, burying Elisha in Alvarado, and then moving her family to Hillsboro, where her house still stands.
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