Wilson, John William

The battle that nearly killed Wilson lasted two days. At Corinth, Mississippi, on October 3 and 4, 1862, Gen. Earl Van Dorn's Confederates pushed the Federals back to their inner lines on the first day, then failed against fortified positions on the second and withdrew. The American Battlefield Trust estimates 4,838 Confederate casualties against 2,359 Union. The plaque puts Wilson in a Missouri infantry unit without naming the regiment, so where he fell in those two days is not known. He later farmed at Lake Creek, where the Handbook says he built an early gin.

What the plaque says

Wilson, John William (October 3, 1841 - September 8, 1920) Beloved Methodist minister of early Delta County. Lived and farmed on land surrounding this site. Born in Tennessee. Enlisted in Missouri Infantry in 1862 to serve in Confederate Army during Civil War. Sustained severe wound in left leg at Battle of Corinth, October, 1862, and was left for dead. To survive, he ate grains of corn scattered over field. Leg was partially paralyzed for rest of his life. In 1866 he married Sarah Ann George. They had 12 children. Decided to serve church after his young daughter was miraculously revived after apparently drowning. In addition to preaching locally, he also rode a circuit. He continued farming, however, because pioneer preachers were paid only in goods. He once received a gallon of syrup for his services. Wilson built one of the first cotton gins in Delta County and in 1887 bought the old Cyrus C. Taylor homestead (250 ft. N), which was built in 1859. Throughout his long life, Wilson held the esteem of citizens all over county. His benevolent manner made him a popular "marrying parson." After eldest daughter was widowed, he took her and her six small children into his home. Wilson is remembered for his kindness and charity to his fellow man. (1969)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cooper Lake State Park — 8.8 mi
  Two units on Jim Chapman Lake, a Corps reservoir proposed in the late 1930s, stalled by a lawsuit until 1984 and dedicated in 1991, with a 10.5-mile equestrian trail and wildlife land around it.
• Eiffel Tower — 14 mi
  A 65-foot Eiffel Tower with a red cowboy hat, built by the local welders' union in 1993 beside Paris's Love Civic Center.
• Evergreen Cemetery — 14 mi
  Paris's town cemetery since 1866, with a carved-stone gallery that includes the Babcock monument in cowboy boots, and the grave of the three-year-old whose death led to the 1893 lynching of Henry Smith.
• Sam Bell Maxey House State Historic Site — 15 mi
  The Italian-villa-style house in Paris, finished in 1868 with a lawyer's fees, where a Confederate major general turned U.S. senator and two later generations of his family lived.

More markers nearby

• Thomas Wilson Stegall — 1.7 mi
• Leroy Nelson DeWitt, Pioneer Citizen — 4.2 mi
• Rockford Church and Cemetery — 5.6 mi
• Enloe United Methodist Church — 5.8 mi