DOB:  About 1828 DOD:  October 21, 1875 Age at Enlistment: 33 Date of Enlistment:  May 9, 1861 Place of Enlistment:  Franklin, TN Rank at Enlistment:  1st Lieutenant Rank at Discharge:  Lieutenant Colonel Casualty:  None Comments:  John was born in Williamson County about 1828 and not much else is known about his early life.  He is living with his brother, Samuel, in 1850 and on August 6, 1851 he married Matilda Bowen and had three children.  He owned J & M Dry Goods before and after the war which stood right next to the courthouse where modern day Mellow Mushroom Pizzeria stands now.  In February 1860, his wife passed away.  When the Williamson Grays were formed he was elected 1st Lieutenant and the day the Williamson Grays left for Camp Cheatham, House yelled from the train to the crowd that he would take care of their boys.  Which one woman said all the soldiers in the company were loyal to him the rest of his life.  Captain Hanner became ill before the company left for Virginia and House commanded them during all of their campaigns in the East.  Chaplin Charles Quintard mentions letting him ride his horse in Virginia when John was feeling ill. In December 1861, Hanner officially resigned and House was elected Captain.  At the regiment’s reorganization he was elected Major of the 1st Tennessee on April 16, 1862 at Tupelo, MS.  He is listed as being sick in Chattanooga in July and August of 1862. Lieutenant Colonel Patterson was killed at Perryville and House was promoted to fill his position.  On December 6, 1862 he was ordered to report to General Forrest in Columbia, but does not state for what purpose.  Colonel Feild was promoted to Brigade command after the Battle of Franklin in 1864, and House took command of the 1st Tennessee.  He was noted by another Confederate officer at the Battle of Nashville trying to rally the 1st TN after the Confederate left flank had been overrun but realizing none would stop decided to retreat with them.  He was present at the surrender in N.C. in 1865 as Field & Staff.  It is uncertain if House had a temper before the war but he definitely had one after the war.  Following the war, a group typically referred to as the Colored League had formed in Franklin and was under the leadership of a white man named Jesse C. Bliss.  In the summer of 1867 tensions had gotten high between the Colored League and the staunch Conservatives in town and on several occasions there were shots between the two groups that never resulted in blood shed.  On July 6, 1867, a black man named Joseph Williams was running for office on the Conservative ticket and was asked to make a speech in Franklin on his way to Nashville.  He agreed and from there the story gets sketchy based on who you believe as there are a good number of dispositions taken on the shootout that eventually occurred.  U.S. General Carlin, who was sent to Franklin with troops to keep the peace, wrote a report afterwards that seems to generally have a neutral view of what unfolded.  While Joseph Williams was making his speech, some of the black members of the audience (who it is generally noted were members of the Colored League) began to get upset with what Williams was saying and began playing drum and fife music in the square to disrupt William’s speech.  John House, whose store was next to where Williams was speaking, got upset by the disruption and sought out Jesse Bliss who he blamed for the music.  Most sources seem to agree that Bliss did not order or condone the music, but either way all sources agree House slapped Bliss in the face and told him to silence it.  Bliss was insulted and began asking around for a pistol but claimed no one would give him one.  The speech came to an end, the Colored League members held a meeting in a grove near downtown, and House returned to his home for dinner where he stated one of his former slaves warned him that Bliss was arming the Colored League to attack him.  House went to the back of his store, which was immediately west of the Court House, with several other men (both black and white).  Both the Conservatives and the Colored League seemed to know the other was armed and both groups refused to be intimidated by the other.  After the Colored League’s meeting ended, they began marching through the square.  A.N.C. Williams, a prominent black man from Franklin, stated he approached House and let him know the Colored League was going to disband on the square and return home when Michael Cody from the Conservative group decided to step out and fire his pistol into the Colored League.  Williams states that House yelled, “Don’t fire” after Cody shot but it was too late, and both sides began firing on each other.  Cody who fired the first shot was killed and at least eight others from the Conservative Party were wounded (including three black men).  At least 30 members of the Colored League were wounded.  After the Colored League retreated from the Square, House ordered all the Conservatives into the Court House incase the Colored League returned, but hostilities had ceased for the night.  U.S. troops were sent to Franklin and General Carlin said the fighting had stopped and the whole town seemed embarrassed it had happened.  It appears no charges were brought against anyone in either group. House’s troubles did not end there.  His store did not do as well post war since most of the county was still recovering from the war.  In October 1875, he was arrested for Lewdness and plead guilty but there is no information on what exactly he had done to bring charges against him.  A few weeks later, on the night of October 20, 1875, the police officer in town named Daniel Griffin had found out that House had been telling people that a shotgun used in the recent shooting of Jim Neely by William Shy had been loaned by Griffin.  Griffin found House in a saloon and confronted him about what had been said.  A fight ensued and Griffin struck House on the head with a mace.  Another man named William Allison tried to break up the fight and House claimed Allison hit him with a stick while he was down while others claim he pressed it against him to keep him from getting back up to fight.  House had his wounds dressed by Dr. Gentry and in the process Allison showed up with a pistol, presumably to shoot House.  Dr. Gentry was able to deescalate the situation and Allison left.  The next morning, October 21, House went to Allison’s office wanting to fight him.  Griffin showed up and got him to go away, but House then found Shy and chewed him out, claiming he started all of the problems in the first place.  House and a few others went to Griffin’s saloon and where they talked to Allison and Griffin and apparently left thinking the matter was settled.  Afterwards, Allison encouraged Griffin to arrest House, which he agreed to do as long as Allison would come and watch out for House’s son Manse.  One witness brought up that House was a much bigger man than Griffin in size and Griffin may not have felt he could take House by himself.  Griffin found House on Main Street and announced he was arresting him.  Griffin then pulled on House’s shirt collar which seemed to have set House off and he claimed he was not going to be drug around.  As this occurred, House’s son appeared in the doorway of Carother’s store where the events were unfolding.  What happened next depends on the witness, some say House pulled his pistol first when Griffin became distracted by Manse appearing and some say Manse’s appearance startled Griffin into opening fire (maybe he suddenly felt outnumbered and panicked).  What was confirmed is John House attempted to fire twice at Griffin and both shots misfired and Griffin attempted five shots with three hitting John House, one hitting Manse House, and the last one misfired.  After John House was shot he ran across the street trying to get away and unknowingly ran directly into Allison who was lying in wait as back up.  Allison fired two shots at point blank range and killed John House.  In all John House had five gunshot wounds, the most fatal being one that went through his ribcage and lungs but the others were one in the left groin and pelvic cavity, one through the hip and penetrating to his buttock, one in the right arm, and the last one through the right shoulder.  Dr. James P. Hanner, formerly company commander of the Williamson Grays, did the final examination of the body.  John’s son Manse House had been shot in the hip but survived his wound.  Griffin and Allison were put on trial in June 1876 but the jury found them Not Guilty (most likely viewing it as self defense).  John L. House’s was buried beside his wife in Rest Haven Cemetery in Franklin. 

Left:  Civilian Photo of John L. House Right:  John’s tombstone in Rest Haven Cemetery.  I ordered and installed the tombstone in 2006.