My Great Great Grandfather

John R. Stalcup

Confederate Veteran & Mexican War Soldier

Click Here for Story About John R. Stalcup Grave Dedication in 2007

John R. Stalcup in 1911 at age 87

Weakley County Soldier Honored at Grave Dedication Service

by Andrew Pritchett ~ Dresden Enterprise

Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Jeffrey Forrest Camp No. 323, and the Tennessee Society of the Order of the Confederate Rose, Mariam Beck Forrest Chapter No. 5 hosted a grave dedication service Saturday, August 25 at the Sand Hill Baptist Church, located at 2697 Finch Road, Gleason, to honor Weakley County Civil War veteran John R. Stalcup (1824 - 1915),

Stalcup, who is the great-grandfather of Gleason Mayor Jack Dunning, has the distinction of being Weakley County's only Mexican War veteran. He also served with the confederacy during the civil war. John Stalcup was born June 20, 1824 at Trenton, Tenn.

His father and mother died when he was six years old, and he was moved to Weakley county to be raised by his grandfather.

Mr. Stalcup joined the U.S. 2nd Infantry at Huntingdon and fought during the Mexican war under Col. Bill Haskell as part of Gid Pillow's brigade. Upon arriving in Mexico he took part in battles of Monterrey, Buena Vista and Cerro Gordo and was present when the U. S. flag was unfurled over the capital of Montezuma. He was the only man from Weakley county to have the distinction of fighting during this war.

In 1861, Mr. Stalcup again went to war, but this time for the South. He joined the 51st Tennessee Confederate Infantry Co. K. He fought during the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Perryville (where he was wounded in the shoulder by a piece of shell), Chickamauga, Missionary  Ridge, Franklin and Nashville. While imprisoned at Columbus and being treated for a broken arm by federal authorities, he escaped from the hospital about the time peace was established.

Upon returning to Weakley County, he found his home devastated and impoverished. He set to work to regain in peace that which he had lost in war. He married twice and had a total of 10 children with only five still living by 1915.

The Dresden Enterprise wrote an article about Mr. Stalcup shortly before his death and described him as "a sterling "Democrat" and that "his life has been marked by honesty and integrity in all his dealings, and no man ever lost a dollar on him".

Prior to his death on March 19, 1915, Mr. Stalcup requested that his coffin be entwined with the U.S. stars and stripes and the Confederate stars and bars. Source: Dresden Enterprise.