Real Civil War Son John Oliver Jr. Joins Sons Of Union Veterans

By David McReynolds · Originally published December 2016 · p. 15

Real son, John Wilson Oliver Jr., of Morristown, Tenn., joined the Major William McTeer Camp No. 39 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) on a bright Sunday afternoon, September 18, 2016. So, what’s a “real son?” A “real son” means that John Oliver Jr. is the son of a Union veteran who fought during the American Civil War. Only one generation removed from that great conflict. Including John Oliver Jr., there are only four “real sons” of Union veterans that remain with us.

Mike Downs explains meaning of the membership badge L-R Chaplain George Lane John Oliver Jr. Steven Jolley Jason McTeer Mike Downs Jim Claborn and seated David McReynolds. Real son John Oliver Jr. was born November 17, 1924, to John Sr. and his second wife, Emily Taylor Oliver, at La Grande, Oregon. He has many vivid memories of his father donning his Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) medals and attending meetings of the local GAR post, the Oliver P. Morton Post No. 36, and leading parades. He was very proud of his father, and he told the members of the SUVCW, many, many times on his day of initiation, that his father would be proud that he had joined the successor organization to the GAR. He wore his father’s post commander badge and another GAR ribbon to the initiation ceremony. Soon after his father’s death, John Jr.’s mother became very ill and could not continue to care for him and his sister, Ruth. As a result, they were placed in an orphanage in Portland, Oregon. About a year later, they were sent to live with an Aunt and Uncle in Grainger County, Tennessee, who would become their legal guardians. When he reached the age of 18, John Jr. dropped out of school, moved to Knoxville and secured a job with C. M. McClung Hardware. He later moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he worked in a steel mill but returned to Tennessee in 1956 to work at the new Magnavox television plant near Morristown. During the 1970s, he learned to play the organ, became a church organist and was a much sought-after organist for various shows around the region. He also became a motorcycle enthusiast and continued this passion until he had to stop only very recently.

His father, Union veteran John Wilson Oliver Sr., was born May 27, 1845, in Grainger County, Tennessee. At age 18, he was mustered into service into Company F, 4th Tennessee Infantry with the rank of private. The unit had been earlier organized at Camp Garber, near Flat Lick, Kentucky. The 4th Tennessee Infantry was then re-organized into the 1st Tennessee Cavalry at Camp Dennison, Ohio under the command of Colonel Robert Johnson. The unit was engaged in numerous actions in Eastern and Middle Tennessee, Father’s GAR Post Commander and Membership Badge Worn by John Oliver Jr.

Northern Alabama and Northern and Central Georgia, including the Battles of Franklin and Nashville and the pursuit of General John Bell Hood. He was honorably discharged August 2, 1865. After the war, he returned to Grainger County, married his first wife Nancy, and moved in with his parents and helped work the family farm. He was also a deeply religious man and during this time became a fiery Baptist preacher. By 1880, he, his wife and four children were living on their own in Grainger County. In 1893, it is known that he was the pastor of four Baptist churches in the Grainger County area of East Tennessee, riding a circuit on alternating Sundays. In the 1900 census, we find him living in La Grande, Oregon with his four children but without his first wife, who had likely passed away. He remained unmarried until about 1920, when the census shows 74-year-old John Oliver Sr. and his second wife, 30-year-old Emily living in La Grande. By the time of the 1930 census, we find the children of his second marriage, John Jr., age 5, and his sister Ruth, age 8. John Oliver, Sr. was very active in the GAR. We know that he was elected Adjutant of his local post on more than one occasion and that he served at least one term at Post Commander in 1919. He also served as a National Aide-de-Camp to GAR Commander-in-Chief Elbridge Lafayette Hawk during Hawk’s term in office from 1927 to 1928. The SUVCW’s ritual for initiation follows that of the GAR. Oliver Jr.’s initiation was made even more special because it included the initiation of a new Junior Member, Steven Jolley of Harriman, Tennessee. Born 81 years apart, they both shared a love for history and a desire to honor their Union ancestor. McTeer Camp Commander and recently elected National Treasurer David McReynolds, representing SUVCW Commander-in-Chief Donald Martin, led the ceremony with Michael Downs, Commander of the Department of Tennessee (with Mississippi and Alabama), and McTeer Camp Chaplain George Lane participating. Downs presented Oliver Jr. with an engraved membership badge in honor of the occasion. Oliver Jr. received both a framed Camp Membership Certificate from the McTeer Camp as well as a framed National Life Membership Certificate that formally recognized him as a “real son” of a Union veteran. The Major William A. McTeer Camp No. 39 is based in Maryville, Tennessee and serves a broad geographic area from Athens, Tennessee in the south to the Tri-Cities in the north, including the Knoxville metropolitan area. The camp holds a monthly Camp Mess meeting the second Tuesday of each month at the Calhoun’s on the Creek Restaurant in Maryville. It also holds three quarterly educational meetings and an Annual Encampment, which are currently held at the East Tennessee History Center and Museum in Knoxville, Tennessee. All who are interested in Civil War history and honoring those who served to preserve the Union, whether they have a direct ancestor or not, are welcome to join. Information and an application to join may be found on the camp’s website, www.mcteer39.org. The camp was honored to have received the 2014-2015 Abraham Lincoln Commander-in-Chief’s Award as the Most Outstanding Camp in the SUVCW. Publishers Note: It would be interesting to publish stories that were either verbally or written stories directly from Civil War veterans from people alive today who actually met them. If you are one of these precious few we’d like to read about your contact with them. Mail to the address in the front or email to [email protected].