Picture of Floyd Clayton (most called him F.C.) Salling at the General's Memorial in Slant, VA

Marcella Pauline Salling Taylor (F.C.'s Daughter) and Mr. F.C. Salling at the General's Memorial in Slant, VA

a few of the markers from the cemetery

Pioneer History by Richard C. Schmal

Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was once called, has been observed nationwide to commemorate the members of the U.S. Armed Forces who gave their lives in service to their country.

The practice began in 1868, only three years after the end of the Civil War, when General John A. Logan, then commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, designated May 30 as a day for decorating with flowers the graves of men who had fallen in the Civil War. The ceremonies were sponsored by the men of the G.A.R., a Union veterans group, until after World War I, when the old veterans urged the newly formed American Legion to take over the task of sponsoring programs on that important day. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and other veteran groups have also become sponsors.

In Lowell, soon after World War I, Burnham Post of the Grand Army of the Republic turned over their sponsorship of the Memorial Day Program to Lowell American Legion Post 101, which faithfully carried on the tradition of honoring their fallen buddies. Soon after World War II, the newly formed Lowell Veterans of Foreign Wars Post also began taking part in the ceremonies each year.

Lowell's last surviving Civil War veteran was John R. Taylor, who in 1940 was also Lake County's oldest native-born citizen. He celebrated his 97th birthday that year by telling stories about his boyhood home at Tinkerville, the early settlement which is now Creston.

John Randall Taylor was the son of Sylvester (1825-1909) and Lydia L. (O'dell) Taylor (1824-1893), born Mar. 12, 1943, at the time Lake County was six years old. He experienced the hardships and the adventures of the pioneers and early settlers of the area. [Note -- Although John Randall Taylor is not listed on the Three Creeks Monument, the following comes from the History of Lake County, Vol. XI,, page 198, published in 1934: "Enlisted men of Company G, 12th Cavalry, 127th Regiment, all from Lake County, showing name and rank, date of muster, and remarks. . . . Taylor, John, December 15, 1863, Mustered out May 18, 1865."]

He was nearly 30 years of age when he enlisted in the Indiana Volunteers at the time of the Civil War. He passed away in 1941, at the age of 98, at the home of his daughter, Lydia Pixley, on West Main St. in Lowell. His two sons were Hamlet and John A. Taylor, and his three daughters were Pixley, Maud Wheeler and Cora Schofield. Victor Taylor, a current Cedar Creek farmer, is a grandson of John R. Taylor.

In 1955 there were only four living veterans of the Civil War, one from the North and three from the South, the last of some two million men who fought in the war of 1861-1865.

The four veterans, the final survivors of the Blue and the Gray, were: (in 1955) Albert Woolson, 107, of Duluth, Minn. was the last of the Union veterans; Walter Williams, 108, of Franklin, Tx; William A. Lundy, 107, of Laurel Hills, Fla.; and John Salling, 109 years, of Slant, Va.

These last remaining veterans of a bygone era were colorful characters, and each enjoyed to the full their final years. Lundy went hunting at the age of 106 and claimed that he could hear the chatter of a squirrel as well then as he could fifty years earlier. Salling, with bad eyesight and no teeth, claimed that his fine head of hair was due to his not washing it, ever! He said that he used only a fine comb.

Albert Woolson, the only one who saw combat, joined Company C of the First Minnesota Heavy Artillery on Oct. 10, 1864, at the age of 17, and went on to Chattanooga, where he was placed in charge of some captured Confederate cannons. In 1955 he was receiving a pension of $135.45 from the U.S. Government. On his 97th birthday, he tapped out a snappy roll on a snare drum, recited part of the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic,' and then proceeded to kiss all the ladies present.

In 1959 "General" John Salling, 112, one of the last two surviving veterans of the war between  the states, passed away near Slant, Va., where he spent most of his life. He had been in good health until his 110th birthday.

The last survivor of the Civil War was Walter W. Williams, still brave enough at 107 to take his first plane ride, who was 116 in 1959, bedridden and totally blind. He lived in Houston with his daughter and claimed correctly for many years that he would be the last one.

The last veterans of the North and the South were buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, where again this Memorial Day they will be remembered during ceremonies.

The Battle of Gettysburg will be re-enacted this year on the 125th anniversary of the actual battle, and many Lake County Re-enactors, including some who took part in the television movie "North and South," will journey to Pennsylvania to join 10,000 troops, several hundred cavalry and over two thousand civilians and 'sutlers' in costume. The event is scheduled for June 24, 25 and 26 and is expected to draw thousands of Civil War buffs and spectators from all parts of the United States. Many of the Re-enactors who marched in the Three Creeks Memorial Dedication Parade in Lowell on May 1 are planning to attend.

Some of the area men who lost their lives at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 were: Col. John Wheeler of Crown Point and George W. Edgerton, both of the 20th Indiana, Company B, and J. Richmond, also of Co. B. John F. Tarr of West Creek died at Washington, D.C., in 1862.

Many veterans and survivors organize each year to make sure those who gave their lives for their country will never be forgotten.

Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, CA 20 Dec 1959

Old Reb, Last Civil War Vet, Passes

Houston , Tex - Walter (Old Reb) Williams, the last of the 4,000,000 men who fought the War between The States, died yesterday. He was 117 years old. Williams succumbed to his fourth attack of pneumonia within a year which he had amazingly fought almost to a standstill for 13 critical days.

His death closed a chapter in American history. It was a signal for President Dwight D. Eisenhower to proclaim a day of national mourning.

Death came to the old Confederate at 3:20 PM CST in the arms of a son in law, Ed Bielamowlcz, and a grandson Sydney Boyd.

Dies Quietly

"He just quit breathing" said Bielamowiez. "He had done that before, and we just lifted him up and he'd catch his breath and start breathing again.

"But this time he didn't start breathing again. There was no struggle, no sound, nothing. He just went to sleep"

Dr. Russell Wolfe, his personal physician visited the old soldier 30 minutes before his death. Although Williams had been ill with pneumonia the physician said he had recovered from this aliment.

"He just died from the natural complications of old age" Dr. Wolfe said.

Other relatives present were Mrs. Willie Mae Bowles at whose home Williams died and two other daughters, Mrs. Beatrice Bielamowicz and Mrs. Lola Kintz, both also of Houston.

A Confederate Flag under which Williams served as a Cavalry Forager with General J. B. Hood, hung on the wall across the room from Williams bed. It was flanked by the United States Flag and the Lone Star Flag of Texas.

The street outside was quiet. Small clusters of relatives called at the little five room house set in a cluster of sycamore and oak trees.

One last look

Mrs. Bowles, a widow in her 50's, asked once more to see her father before his body was taken to the Jack Carswell Funeral Home in downtown Houston.

"I'm going to miss you so much, " she sobbed as she looked down at the body of the wizened old soldier.

"I never did get tired of taking care of you."

Williams' body will lie in state in the foyer of the Harris County Courthouse for 48 hours beginning at 9 AM tomorrow. An honor guard of soldiers from the Fourth Army will stand at attention.

At 9 AM Wednesday, a military guard will march with the body from the courthouse to the South Main Baptist Church four miles away for funeral services which will begin at 11 AM

Tentative plans call for sending the body to Franklin, Tex, Williams old home, for Burial.

Texas Governor, Price Daniel ordered all flags on the State Capitol and other state buildings be flown at half staff as a tribute to Williams.

Daniel sent telegrams to governors of the other 10 states which comprised the Confederate States of America advising them of Williams' death.

"All Americans, north and south, mourn the passing of Walter Williams," Daniel said. "This is the end of an era in American history, General Williams has passed over the river to rest in the shade of the trees with the hundreds of soldiers in Blue and Gray who went before him.

Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson (D) of Texas said the death of the last Civil War veteran "seals the door on a great but tragic era."

General U.S. Grant III, Civil War centennial chairman, said Williams’ death is an occasion for nationwide mourning.

Williams received the title of last survivor with the death of John Salling of Slant, Va., March 19 1959, in Kingsport, Tenn. Salling also wore the Gray.

The last Union Soldier, Albert Woolson of Duluth, Minn., died in 1956.

Although some persons questioned whether Williams served in the War between The States, the president, the army and congress cited him, and historical societies recognized him as the last of the 4,000,000 who fought for the Blue or the Gray.

In his first attack this fall, doctors despaired of his life. Mrs. Bowles feed him egg, milk and water with an eyedropper, But still the rugged oldster clung to a thread of life and railied time after time.

He received $300 a month from Texas Confederate pension fund and a special $135.45 pension from the federal government.

Williams was a jolly fellow who liked to fox and deer hunt.

His favorite music was hillbilly and western and as his deafness increased, so did the volume on his record player beside his bed until it resounded through the neighborhood.

But he was spry until near the end and he suffered few illnesses until he was well over 100 by his own calculation of his age.

At 110, doctors pronounced his heart and blood pressure normal. Occasion for the medical test was his first plane ride.

“I’d ride all day if they’d feed me,” he said after the flight.

He often was preoccupied with food, liking simple varieties.

Some of his statements on how to live long;

“I get up for breakfast, turn around for dinner and go to bed after supper and fox hunt for exercise.”

“If more of you would get along with your wives better, you’d live a lot longer.”

He liked a nip of whiskey, “Makes a person eat hearty. But you don’t want to be drinking it all during the day.”

Outlives 2 wives

Williams outlived two wives who bore him 19 children, 10 of whom survive.

Besides Mrs. Bowles, Mrs. Bielamowicz and Mrs. Kintz, the survivors include Mrs. Elizabeth Booth, of Houston and Mrs. Currie James of San Antonio: and five sons, Bud Williams of Macy, Tex., Jack and Gene Williams of Franklin, Tex. And Henry and B. W. Williams of Houston.

Also surviving are 40 grandchildren, 86 great grandchildren and more then 100 great great grandchildren.

Dr. Wolfe signed the death certificate showing the Civil War veteran’s name to be Walter Washington Williams. It had been listed on other documents as Walter Green Williams.

The Certificate showed Williams to have been born on November 14, 1842, at Itawamba Co. Miss., and that he was the son of George Washington Williams and Nancy Marcus.

The following story comes from:  http://www.omalco.com/salling-faq.htm Dated Feb. 19, 1998 (it appears to come from a question that someone posted on a message board / forum

Q3.4: Who was the last surviving veteran of the Civil War?

However, Marvel concluded that their claims must be rejected, since (among other reasons) census records indicated that, in 1860, Williams was only 5
years old and Salling was just 2 years old. 

3. The last surviving Civil War general was Union Brig.Gen. Adelbert Ames, who died in 1933 at age 97.
4. The last surviving Confederate general was Brig.Gen. John McCausland, who died on 22 Jan 1927 at age 91. Felix H. Robertson, who
was appointed B.G. in 1864, who served at such, but whose nomination was rejected by the CSA Senate in 1865, died on 20 Apr 1928 at age 89.

Sources: William Marvel in "Blue and Gray", Feb 1991; Jim Epperson (epperson@math.uah.edu); Ron Kolakowski (rkola@ida.org ); Stephen E. Brown (sebrown@prairienet.org); _The Civil War Notebook_, by A.A. Nofi; _New York Times_ article, Dec. 19, 1959;_Civil War Dictionary_, by M.M. Boatner;_Handbook of Texas_

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The following is from:  http://www.mycivilwar.com/facts/csa_general_facts.htm