Alexander was my great-great-great grandfather.
Alexander was born in 1831 in Yancey County, North Carolina.
It is important to note that Mitchell County was not formed until 1861 so there are no "Mitchell County" residents prior to that day although they may have actually been in the Spruce Pine or Grassy Creek areas. Mitchell County was carved out of Yancey, Watauga, Caldwell, Burke and McDowell counties.
Alexander was the son of James Lowery (1800-1860) and Barbara ? (1791-?)
James Lowery was the son of Alexander Lourie (1745-1840). I have not been able to locate the mother of James.
The first Alexander Lourie hailed from Dumdries-shire, Scotland and died in 1840 in McDowell County, North Carolina.
But... back to our Alexander Lowery (1831). He married Rachel Louise McKinney Deweese on November 8, 1850. She was 34 and he was 19. Rachel was the daughter of Charles "Charlie 40" McKinney and Elizabeth Lowery.
Saying "I do" garnered Alexander a ready made family as Rachel had been married to Lewis Deweese and they had three children together:
Elizabeth Jane (b. June 20, 1837)(married Daniel Moses Washburn)
Nancy (b. February 2, 1842)(married William A Buchanan)
Mary (b. January 9, 1844)(married France Biddix)
After marrying, Alexander and Rachel have five children:
Elmira (b. 1852)(married Jesse Wilburn Biddix)
Aletha (b. 1854)(married Isaac Abram McGee)
Samuel Alexander (b. January 2, 1857)(married 1. Laura Loven 2. Mary Elizabeth Chapman)
Beunavista (b. 1858)(married Joseph Todd McKinney)
John Fleming (b. September 28, 1960)(married Sarah Jane McKinney)
Samuel Lowery is highlighted because I am his descendent with his first wife Laura Loven.
In 1860, the Census takers came to McDowell County and Alexander Lowery is listed as a farmer and is 28 years old. Rachel is listed as being 36 years of age. The remainder of the household is listed as:
Barbary - age 7
Samuel - age 3
Buanevista - 2
Nancy Deen - 18
Mary Deen - 14
I assume that one of the girls either had a middle name of Barbary or this was a nickname. It is most probably Elmira as the ages would match. Nancy and Mary are the Deweese girls and it is important to note that spelling was not very accurate in those early Census records. I assume that Elizabeth Jane, at an age of 23, is already married and in another household. I am unsure about Aletha and believe that Rachel must have been pregnant with John Fleming.
On March 11, 1862, Alexander enlisted as a Private in the Confederate Troops. He lists his occupation as "farmer" and his age as 31 years.
On April 15, 1862, he enters the Confederate Army out of Camp Mangum, Raleigh in Company A of the 49th Infantry Regiment North Carolina. He marched under the Battle Flag of the 49th. The Battle Flag would eventually be captured at the Battle of the Crater.
On July 1, 1862 the 49th fought in the Battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia. The battle was bloody. The Union troops had cut down the trees around Malvern Hill and had a clear view of Robert E. Lee's troops. The swampy land below the hill slowed down the Confederates and they were beaten badly. More than 5,000 men died as a result of that day of intense fighting. Currier and Ives depicted that battle in one of their pieces of art but the idealic painting certainly fails in depicting the enormous amount of blood shed on that day.
Alexander Lowery was one of the gravely wounded in that battle. He was taken to the St. Charles Hospital (also known as General Hospital #8) in Richmond, Virginia and he would die there on July 6, 1862. He was buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
The beloved Son of the South, Robert E. Lee once said, "It is well that war is so terrible, lest we should grow too fond of it." The Civil War stands out as one such war.
There is much debate as to the real cost of this war and the results of the bloodshed. In my studying, I have come to firmly believe that most events are directly tied to money and there were many financial reasons to start a war. There were many reasons for states to succeed from the Union. Countless books have been written on the real causes of the Civil War and the basic premise is that there were reasons for the South to succeed and there were reasons for the government to force them to stay.
There are many valid reasons for states to succeed today and in 2013, several states have filed petitions to do just that. Rather than argue the reasons for succession, I shall instead go back to the quote from General Lee and wonder what the coming generation will believe about War. I know of the major conflicts... American Revolution, Civil War, two World Wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
I teach my children about those crucial times in the history of our nation but they view war very differently than I do. My children were very young when planes hit our buildings on September 11, 2001. They have not since known a time when we were not "at war" in either Afghanistan or Iraq.
War is complicated.
There is always a political agenda of some sort.
There is always a money trail.
There is always blood shed.
It is my hope that we would never take for granted the fact that "war is so terrible" and that we would never "grow too fond of it." Nevertheless, there will always be causes worth fighting for. There will be tyrants to take down. There will always be people who need to be saved at the risk of spilling our own blood. As long as those things remain, there will always be people like Alexander Lowery and the nearly 620,000 men like him who rise to the challenge and fought in a "civil" war that was not so very civil at all. May we never take for granted that the soil we freely walk on was never free. It is drenched with the blood of men like my grandfathers, uncles, and cousins. It was never free and we would be wise to recognize that.
