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Two days after Christmas in 1893, John N. Sloan, a veteran of the Confederate army, had to swallow his pride and do
something that no man in that day and age ever wanted to do: ask for charity. It had to be a difficult decision, but with a wife and children to support, the battle-scarred old soldier sat down and penned the following letter:
Pontotoc, Miss., Dec. 27, 1893
To the United Confederate Veterans and all Charitably Disposed Persons and Friends:
My Dear Comrades – I was captain of Company G, Forty-Fifth Mississippi Regiment, Wood’s and M.P. Lowry’s Brigade, Pat Cleburne’s Division in the late war between the States. I was fearfully wounded and disabled in the great and memorable battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863, when in command of my company in front of the enemies’ lines and temporary works, and under a heavy fire of shot and shell, I had the misfortune of having my under jaw, upper teeth, and part of my tongue shot away and my face terribly mutilated by the explosion of a shell from the enemy’s guns, since which time I have had to lie on my back when taking my meals and fed by others on fluids. I cannot masticate any food whatever.
Notwithstanding my unfortunate and irreparable condition, I managed so as to support myself and family for twenty-five years, but am unable to do so longer without assistance. Comrades, I dislike to beg. I had rather that it were different, but I cannot help it. I received this ugly and unfortunate wound in a just and honorable cause. I did my duty in defending our beloved Sunny Southland, homes, property, and firesides, will you please see to it that myself and family do not suffer for the necessaries of life? I have a wife and two daughters dependent on me for support, and one of the daughters has been an invalid for the past eighteen years.
Please contribute something to our relief, and I assure you that the amount will be gratefully appreciated by us.
Your comrade,
John N. Sloan
We fully endorse the above statement of Captain J.N. Sloan. He is very poor, a good, moral man, lawabiding citizen, and merits all that can be done for him.
C.B. Mitchell
Frank Sauier
Captain Sloan’s heartfelt plea was published in Mississippi newspapers, and was later picked up and published in Confederate Veteran, the monthly magazine of the United Confederate Veterans. (The Daily Commercial Herald, Vicksburg, Mississippi, September 2, 1893; Confederate Veteran Magazine, Volume 2, Number 2, February 1894, page 37)
The Daily Commercial Herald published Captain Sloan’s appeal based on the recommendations of several former soldiers that knew him, including General Stephen D. Lee. The endorsement of General Lee was included in The Herald:
Mississippi Division, United Confederate Veterans
Headquarters, Columbus, Jan. 18, 1894
Comrades of the Division and Unattached Veterans:
The enclosed appeal of Comrade John N. Sloan, 45th Mississippi Regiment, M.P. Lowry’s Brigade, Cleburne’s Division,
Army of Tennessee, is before you. His terrible wound was received at the battle of Chickamauga, September 20, 1863. He has done all he could, and supported himself for twenty five years. Now he calls on us for aid. Let those of us who were spared and were more fortunate now come forward and share our scanty purses and means, as we once did our haversacks and canteens during the war. He is now old and cannot help himself.
His is an exceptional case. Probably no other such disfiguring and disqualifying wound was received on either side during the war. ‘My under jaw, upper teeth, and part of my tongue shot away, and my face terribly mutilated by the explosion of a shell from the enemies guns, since which time, I have had to lie on my back, taking my meals and fed by others with fluids. I cannot masticate any food whatever.'
Comrades of the war, and all charitably disposed persons: Let us contribute of our means to this unfortunate soldier, so well vouched for. He was once a splendid soldier, who was disabled fighting for our beloved South land.
S.D. Lee,
Major-General Commanding, Miss., Division U.C.V.
(The Daily Commercial Herald, Vicksburg, Mississippi, September 2, 1893)
Included with Sloan’s appeal was a note from Charles H. Otken, who was the chaplain of the 45th Mississippi Infantry, and the man who initially found the captain and was responsible for obtaining medical care for him. Chaplain Otken wrote:
Summit, Miss., Jan. 4, 1894.
I was the chaplain of the 45th Mississippi regiment. I saw Capt. Sloan on the field of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863. Four surgeons pronounced his case hopeless. The chin dangled in front of the breast, the shell made a gash from the outer edge of the right (?) eye to the corner of the mouth. From Sunday noon until Tuesday about 2 p.m. no relief was given him – not a drop of water could be given him. I obtained private physicians from Ringold, Ga. They cut away the chin, and sewed the nose to the face. An old physician who had served in the Mexican war and who saw him said that he knew of only one man similarly wounded on record. Capt. Sloan was frightfully mutilated. Over thirty years, he lies down supine three times a day on two chairs and is fed as a child. I have made several efforts for relief in his behalf. To the last, the first response came from Hon. G.F. Bowles, of Natchez, a negro, a representative of Adams county; he sent $25. The next came from Mrs. Sarah E. Marshall, from Bartow-on-the Sound, Westchester County, N.Y. She sent $10 to me through Rev. Dr. Stratton, of Natchez, Miss., and $10 direct to me from her home.
Dear Comrades of the Lost Cause: I know not how to commend my friend to your generous consideration. He is now an old
man, he has an afflicted family, he is poor, and he himself is fearfully disfigured in the face. I am sure as long as there are surviving Confederate soldiers, who can aid, Capt. Sloan ought not to suffer for material comforts. Shall we not let in a little sunshine into this dreary home?
Chas. H. Otken
(The Daily Commercial Herald, Vicksburg, Mississippi, September 2, 1893)
John N. Sloan enlisted in the “Mississippi Volunteers,” Company G, 3rd Battalion Mississippi Infantry, as a sergeant on December 10, 1861, at Grenada. The battalion was increased to a regiment in April 1862, and was officially designated the 45th Mississippi Infantry in November 1862. (Compiled service record of John N. Sloan, 3rd Battalion Mississippi Infantry, accessed on Fold3.com, September 22, 2018)
John N. Sloan proved himself an effective soldier, and promotions in rank came quickly; advanced to 2nd Sergeant on June 15, 1862, by November – December 1862 he had received a commission as First Lieutenant in Company G. In December 1862, Sloan was captured by the 6th Illinois Cavalry, led by Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson, in North Mississippi, and turned over to the provost marshal at Holly Springs. He must not have been held in captivity long, as he was soon back with his regiment, and shortly thereafter he was promoted to Captain of his company on January 1, 1863. He was serving in this capacity when he was wounded at Chickamauga on September 20, 1863. (Compiled service record of John N. Sloan, 3rd Battalion Mississippi Infantry, accessed on Fold3.com, September 22, 2018)
After recovering sufficiently from his wound to be able to travel, Sloan was sent back to Mississippi, and in November 1863 he appeared before a medical examining board in Meridian. After inspecting the captain’s wounds, the examining board made the following report:
Office Examining Board
Meridian, Miss., Nov. 13 / 63
Sir
Captain John N. Sloan Company G 45th Regiment Miss. Vols., having applied for a certificate on which to ground an application for leave of absence. We hereby certify that we have carefully examined said officer and find him unable to perform the duties of a soldier because of gunshot wound received at Battle [of] Chickamauga 20th September 1863, resulting in the loss of the inferior maxillary bone and neat injury of the soft parts around the cheek & mouth.
We further declare our belief that he will never be able for duty in the field & it will be a long time before he will be able for any duties. We therefore recommend for him an indefinite furlough as he does not wish to resign at this time.
Examining Board
J.M. Hoyle, Surgeon, P.A.C.S.
Geo. W. Pearce, Asst. Surgeon, P.A.C.S.
To Secretary of War, Richmond, Va.
(Compiled service record of John N. Sloan, 3rd Battalion Mississippi Infantry, accessed on Fold3.com, September 22, 2018)
One thing stands out to me in the examining board’s report – the doctors stated that Sloan ‘does not wish to resign at this time.” That says something to me about John Sloan’s character and his commitment to the cause for which he fought. Even though he had been terribly wounded, and no one would have thought less of him for resigning and going home to his family, he still wanted to serve his country in whatever capacity he could. Unfortunately Sloan’s service record ends with his wounding at Chickamauga, so there is no documentation of how he spent the remainder of the war.
Once back home in Pontotoc County after the war, Sloan decided to run for public office, throwing his hat in the ring for the position of chancery clerk. In a history of reconstruction in Pontotoc County, I found the following:
‘J.N. Sloan, an ex-Confederate soldier and excellent citizen, became Chancery Clerk in 1866 and served in that capacity through the reconstruction period, with the exception of two terms. When the county officers were rejected by General Ames and men of his own appointment put in office, J.B. Roseman became Chancery Clerk. He was perhaps the most illiterate white man that ever held office in Pontotoc County.” (Reconstruction in Pontotoc County by M.G. Abney, Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Volume 11, page 242.)
The next trace I found of John Sloan was in the 1870 U.S. Census for Pontotoc County, Mississippi. 41 year old John Sloan, a native of South Carolina, was living with his wife, Susan, and children Alice, Mary, John, and Sarah. He listed his occupation as ‘Hotel Keeper,’ and reported a personal estate valued at $1,415 and real estate worth $3,000.
In 1885, Sloan set his sights on higher office, and ran for the position of Auditor of Public Accounts for the state of Mississippi. He was aided in his quest by his friend Charles H. Otken, the former chaplain of the 45th Mississippi Infantry. In an article published in the Memphis Daily Appeal, Otken had this to say about Sloan:
“Capt. J.N. Sloan, of Pontotoc County, comes before the people of Mississippi as a candidate for the office of auditor. His credentials are unlike those of any other of the honorable gentlemen in the field for the office. They will secure for him a hearing wherever gallant services are appreciated and wherever gratitude is the generous and spontaneous tribute that manly hearts bestow upon the valiant.
Capt. Sloan entered the Confederate service as a private. He was soon after elected captain of Company G, Forty-Fifth Regiment of Mississippi. He fought in every battle from Shiloh to Chickamauga. On the field of Chickamauga he was wounded September 20, 1863. His face was mutilated forever. The fatal shell made a terrible gash from the corner of his right eye to the edge of the lip, so that his nose dangled on his face; the chin was torn from the face so that it hung on the breast. Every tooth was torn from the upper mouth, and part of the tongue was removed. Four surgeons pronounced his case hopeless and left him to perish. A friend inspired him with hope and came to his rescue, providing him with private physicians and securing for him a private house where he could be cared for.
From 11 o’clock Sunday morning, when he was wounded until the Tuesday following about 2 p.m., he had neither food nor water. One of the private physicians, formerly a surgeon in Forrest’s command, said Sloan’s case was the most remarkable on record.
Nearly twenty-two years have passed since he was wounded. During this period it has not been his privilege to eat at the table with his family. He cannot eat, he can only swallow. Three times a day, in an inclined position on two chairs, he is fed as an infant. These cruel mutilations are the seals of loyalty and of faithful service to the State of Mississippi, whose summons he obeyed, and of whom he asks an office that he may support himself and family. For sixteen years he served Pontotoc county as chancery clerk. He is indorsed by his county, by the merchants of his town and by the prominent attorneys as thoroughly competent to fill the office. He is a high-toned gentleman, whose private and public reputation is without reproach. He is thoroughly honest and thoroughly competent.
Chas. H. Otken,
Ex-Chaplain, 45th Miss. Reg’t.
(Memphis Daily Appeal, June 13, 1885)
In his quest to become State Auditor, John Sloan traveled the state of Mississippi, introducing himself to voters. After visiting Vicksburg the local newspaper wrote:
“The Captain is an intelligent and agreeable gentleman, and has indorsements of the highest character. The Captain was terribly wounded during the war, while serving with the 45th Mississippi Regiment. His wounds occasion him great personal inconvenience, but he is in no wise incapacitated from performing the duties of the office to which he aspires, and his claims are certainly entitled to the consideration of the people of the State. No Confederate soldier – we might add no Union soldier – could have anything but sympathy for Capt. Sloan, and good wishes for his success. He goes from Vicksburg to the counties south of us; and we commend him to the favorable consideration of the press and the people.”
(Vicksburg Evening Post, June 23, 1885)
Captain Sloan continued south to Natchez, where The Weekly Democrat made this report:
“His physical condition will appeal strongly to the sympathies of his Confederate comrades, while a personal acquaintance with him will very soon show him to be a gentleman of most sterling worth and intelligence. This is Capt. Sloan’s first visit to Natchez, and he will doubtless make as favorable an impression on our citizens as our beautiful city seems to have made on him.”
(The Weekly Democrat, July 1, 1885)
After visiting Natchez, Sloan headed up the river to Memphis. The Daily Appeal made note of his arrival in the city:
“Capt. J.N. Sloan, of Pontotoc, Miss., is in the city visiting friends. He is a candidate for State Auditor and is believed to stand so well with the Democracy of the State that he cannot be beaten by any of his antagonists. Capt. Sloan was a gallant Confederate soldier and bears on his face the marks that testify of his conspicuous bravery. With his surviving comrades of the army he is a great favorite for, notwithstanding his affliction, he retains the genial and pleasant manners that made him popular at the outset of his career in life, and with it all is an earnest, hard worker.
(Memphis Daily Appeal, July 7, 1885)
The trip made by Captain Sloan through Mississippi garnered him some excellent press coverage, but unfortunately this was not enough to win him the Auditor’s race. The Democratic Party held its nominating convention in Jackson in August 1885, and Sloan finished dead last in the voting. The Democratic Party delegates gave the nomination to W.W. Stone and he went on to win the election that November. (The Vicksburg Herald, August 21, 1885, and The Weekly Democrat, Natchez, December 9, 1885)
A few years later, Captain Sloan traveled to New York City to seek medical attention. The Yazoo Herald ran the following story about Sloan:
“We find the following item in the New York World of the 10th inst., in reference to a gentleman well known in Mississippi. In common with all who know him we heartily wish that his efforts may be crowned with success:
Capt. John N. Sloan, of Pontotoc, Miss., had his left jaw torn away by a shell at the battle of Chickamauga, a quarter of a century ago. He entered Bellevue Hospital Friday, and next week visiting surgeon Bryant will attempt to furnish the sixty year old veteran with a new jaw. The Captain now takes all his food from a tin cup always fastened to the lapel of his coat. He is six feet tall, in good health and wears a mask over the lost jaw. The surgeon will cut away the ends of the fractures and let nature restore a new jaw. Some years ago a similar operation was performed by the late Dr. Jas. R. Wood.
(The Yazoo Herald, April 12, 1889)
By the early 1890s Captain Sloan's poor health made it difficult for him to support his family. In a letter to Captain Phares W. Shearer, a comrade who served with him in the 45th Mississippi, Sloan explained the circumstances that led him to ask for charity:
"Pontotoc, Miss., Dec. 13, 1892
Capt. P.W. Shearer, Vicksburg:
Dear Captain - I am sorry to have to appeal to you for assistance, but I am in great need of clothing and food. My health continues to fail and my invalid daughter is a constant care. My condition is, as you know, a pitiable one. For any aid you can render me in my distress I am my family will be grateful.
Your friend and comrade,
J.N. Sloan"
(Vicksburg Evening Post, December 20, 1892)
Shearer was moved by Sloan's letter, so much so that he had it published in the Vicksburg Evening Post, along with the following endorsement:
"Having known him in his young, vigorous manhood, when he freely shed his blood in defense of his native South, I feel in duty bound, now he is old and destitute, to make this public appeal in his behalf, and at this Christmas season, when acts of kindly charity are so fitting, I trust a liberal contribution may be made to this maimed, needy veteran. A list may be found at the jewelry store of Mr. Henry Yoste, who will receive and forward to Capt. Sloan such contributions as are made." (Vicksburg Evening Post, December 20, 1892)
Captain Sloan continued his appeals for assistance over the next few years, writing to newspapers and to other publications such as Confederate Veteran Magazine. In September 1893 Sloan wrote to editor of The Daily Commercial Herald in Vicksburg, asking that the paper thank those that had recently aided him:
"Dear Sir - Yours of the 6th inst. containing post office money order for $56.10 for my benefit, came to hand in due time. Will you please be so kind as to tender my grateful, sincere and heartfelt thanks to each subscriber through your valuable paper, for this generous contribution. May God bless each and every one who took my part in the matter and every needed blessing in this life and a home in the sweet by-and-by, when they shall have crossed over the river. May we meet where there will be no more wars or rumors of wars, no old, disabled, wounded, begging soldiers, but where all will be peace, love, joy and happiness through all eternity; where we will have for companions comrades who fell on the battle-field or in the hospitals and friends who died at home and the good friends and comrades who have contributed to the relief of a poor, old, disabled Confederate soldier. The 20th of this month it will have been 31 years that I have had to lie on my back when taking my meals - being fed by others with fluids. Just think of that, please! God bless my good friends in Port Gibson and Vicksburg, again and again! Hurrah for Dixie!! Your old, disabled soldier friend,
John N. Sloan" (The Daily Commercial Herald, September 13, 1893)
Although his health was failing, John N. Sloan traveled to Georgia in September 1895 for a very important occasion: the
opening of the Chickamauga National Military Park. A Vicksburg newspaper said of Sloan's trip:
"Last week he attended the dedication of Chickamauga National Park at Chattanooga, Tennessee. In company with two other old soldiers, Messrs. H.C. Cowardin and W.T. Baldridge, of Martin, Tenn., visited the scenes of carnage. As they walked over the ground, so peaceful and still, it was hard to believe it was the same place they had seen many years ago covered with suffering, bleeding humanity. (Vicksburg Evening Post, October 4, 1895)
While visiting Chickamauga, Sloan found a very grim souvenir to take home with him - he wrote about it in an article for Confederate Veteran Magazine:
"After locating the place where I believe I was standing when shot down and lay among the dead and dying, more dead than alive, I remarked to my comrades that I thought I would see if I could find my teeth and jaw bone. In a little while my two comrades remarked: 'Captain, here are your teeth.' They had picked up three teeth, which I believe are mine." (Confederate Veteran Magazine, Volume III, No. 11, November 1895, page 329)
Captain John Newton Sloan died on December 13, 1897, at the age of 68. He had survived the terrible wound he received at Chickamauga by over 34 years. He is buried in the Pontotoc City Cemetery with only a simple headstone giving his name and year of birth and death. Nothing about that stone gives any indication of the truly remarkable individual who lies in that grave. A man who refused to give in to despair despite ample reasons to do so; a man who made the most of the hand that fate dealt him, who provided for his family as best he could, and was truly thankful for all the kindnesses bestowed on him by strangers. His is truly a story that is worth remembering.