Columbus Allen Bailiff
Buried Alexandria Eastview Cemetery
Columbus Allen Bailiff was the oldest of four brothers that served in the Confederate Army. The youngest brother, James Monroe Bailiff, was my great-great grandfather. The Bailiff brothers grew up in the Lower Helton Community just a few miles down the road from here. The home where they lived still stands and is currently owned by the Bob and Kathy Hale family.
The middle two brothers, Joab and William, served in the 7th Tennessee Infantry, Company A. William was discharged with a statement of disability early in the war when a shell of some sort exploded near him and burst his ear drums. He carried a hearing device with him for the remainder of his life.
Joab Bailiff was at Gettysburg and was shot through the neck at Willoughby Run. He didn't die right away. He lingered almost two weeks before passing. One can only imagine that infection and gangrene played a role in his death. Not a pleasant way to die.
Columbus and my great-great grandfather, James Monroe Bailiff, took horses from home and enlisted in Allison's Cavalry Battalion, Company A.
They were present during the battle at Chickamauga serving in Dibrell's Brigade lead by Colonel George G. Dibrell.
My great-great grandfather told in a document dated December 23, 1918 that he was wounded at Chickamauga when a ball went through his cartridge box and lodged just above the third rib from the bottom on the right side. It was never removed. My own grandfather often told that he could feel the ball while sitting on his grandfather's lap as a small child.
Shortly after the battle, Columbus was taken very ill with Typhoid fever. He and my great-great grandfather were left behind at a private residence to recuperate from their injury and illness. They were eventually captured and transported by train to Louisville, Kentucky.
After the war, Columbus married and raised a family at his childhood home on Lower Helton. He served as a deacon in the Alexandria First Baptist Church.
My great-great grandfather married and raised a family in the Dry Creek Community of Dowelltown. My family and I still live on his farm today.
In a letter dated April 14, 1916 his son writes:
"He is getting very old, his locks have been whitened by the snows of more than four score winters – but he hopes to live a few years longer. In his younger days, when the North and the South were arrayed against each other, he faced the cannon’s mouth for his loyalty to the South – our Dixie’s land. He followed Lee and Johnson and Forrest, our great generals of the South and fought with an army of the bravest men that the world has ever known. He helped accomplish some of the most illustrious deeds of valor and heroism we shall ever know."
Columbus Allen Bailiff was born May 9, 1833 and passed from this world on August 22, 1910. Buried here in Alexandria Eastview Cemetery, just a few feet from his mother and sister.
written by Kevin Bandy for 2023 memorial service Alexandria Eastview Cemetery | Photos from the 2023 memorial service can be found in Photos & Videos, Trips & Misc folder
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