DOB:  October 15, 1844 DOD:  April 10, 1915 Age at Enlistment: 16 Date of Enlistment:  May 9, 1861 Place of Enlistment:  Franklin, TN Rank at Enlistment:  Private Rank at Discharge:  Private Casualty:  None with 1st Tennessee Comments:  Nathan was a lifelong resident of Williamson County.  The 1850 Census shows him living with his family in District 8.  In 1852 his father passed away and his Grandfather, also named Nathan Owen, became his legal guardian even though his mother was still alive.  Nathan and his siblings moved into Maple Lawn Plantation off of Moores Lane, the house is still standing.  Nathan’s mother passed away in 1860 and the Census from the same year shows him still living with his Grandparents.  He is also attending school the same year.  He may have been a student at Boiling Springs Academy which is close to Maple Lawn. He enlisted at the Company’s formation in 1861.  His record shows him present on every roster but he was discharged in Tupelo, MS on July 4, 1862 as Non Conscript, meaning he most likely failed a medical examination.  On September 25, 1862, Nathan enlisted in Kain’s Battery and was promoted to 4th Corporal a few days later on October 1.  Kain’s Battery spent most of its time defending the Cumberland Gap.  In September 1863, U.S. General Burnside detached troops to capture the Cumberland Gap.  As Union troops began to surround the gap, the Confederate forces refused to surrender.  On September 8, 1863 the Federals captured the spring that supplied water to the garrison.  The next day the entire garrison surrendered, including Nathan.  Nathan was sent to Camp Douglas and spent most of the rest of the war there.  On March 2, 1865 he was transferred to Point Lookout, MD and exchanged on March 10, 1865.  He was sent to Richmond initially but by the end of April he was in Knoxville, TN where he took the Oath of Allegiance to the U.S. on April 22, 1865.  His Oath of Allegiance record describes him as Complexion: Dark, Hair: Dark, Eyes: Gray, Height: 6'0".  He later stated in his penison record he was disabled from his time in prison from some unstated disease. Following the war he married Mary Susan Boxley on December 19, 1869.  On the 1870 Census he is living in District 15 of Williamson County (the area just south of Brentwood). Starting at the 1880 Census he is living in District 14 (the area between Arrington and Franklin) and he is living there up until at least the 1910 Census.  His death certificate states he died in District 5 of Williamson County (the area just south of Franklin where he is also buried).  His wife marry died in 1883 and remarried to Missie Gleaves on December 23, 1885.  Between his two wives he had 10 children, 9 boys and 1 girl.  Nathan was a farmer his whole life, though he describes his farm on his pension record, “We have managed to make a living on a poor piece of land, it is not very productive.”  Nathan died from Heart Disease in 1915 and is buried next to his first wife in Maury-Boxley Cemetery on Blazer Road in Williamson County.  Special Note:  In 1957, Nathan’s family ordered a VA Marker for his grave.  When I began visiting the graves of the Williamson Grays I found Nathan’s name listed as being buried in the family cemetery but when I went to visit I found his wife’s tombstone but no sign of his.  In 2006, I ordered a VA marker for him as well as a few soldiers who were unmarked.  I made an educated guess where I thought Nathan was buried in relation to his wife.  After digging several inches into the dirt I hit something hard and unearthed his orginal tombstone.  Looking at the ground again I realized there was an unusual hump in the ground and it appears dirt had been piled there and some point and his grave mistakenly covered.  We placed the new VA marker at his feet, so if you visit the cemetery, the flat stone is the original headstone and the upright marker is the one I placed at his feet.

Top Left:  Portrait of Nathan Owen; Top Right:  Original 1957 marker for Nathan buried under a layer of dirt. Bottom Left:  New VA marker I put at Nathan’s feet; Bottom Right:  Members of my SCV camp that helped install the marker.