I had written this story for the Newton County Family History Book I
and was printed in that book in 1992 on page 101. These facts were taken from many Civil War depositions and Civil War Pension Records of various men who served in the Union cause from the Newton County, Arkansas area.

On 24 March 1863, Captain James R VANDERPOOL of Company C,First Arkansas Infantry ,under Colonel James M JOHNSON ,was ordered from Fayetteville,Arkansas,along with Captain Abial STEVENS of Company E, First Regular Arkansas Infantry and a group of men to go to Newton County for scouting.
They encountered many Confederate forces and retreated to the post at Fayetteville, leaving several Union men behind. When these men returned to Fayetteville,they found the post had been evacuated on 16 April 1863. They were then at high risk of being captured by Confederates and had to hide.

Those known to have been left behind in Newton County, were:
Gilbert SMITH, David FLOOD, James SMITH (Gilbert's brother and David's brother-in-law), John STANDRIDGE, Kelsey GILMORE, O.C. BRIGHT, and possibly Daniel TENNISON and James CRINER.
All of these men were taken prisoner plus David's neighbor Berry STONE (who may have hidden the men). Berry Stone was living in Union Township of Newton County, Arkansas in 1860 and is not listed as being in the Union Army.

Someone had a knife and some men cut themselves loose and escaped. David FLOOD, his brother-in-law James SMITH and Berry STONE were hanged by Confederates on the same tree, in Newton County, Arkanas supposedly in Limestone Valley.

"You could see the rope marks one year later,"according to Isham
Wheeler in his deposition.

When David FLOOD was taken prisoner, his wife Martha HAMPTON FLOOD followed after the men pleading for the lives of the men, but her pleas were ignored and the Confederates hanged the three men anyway, all three on the same tree. These three men are supposedly buried in the Steel Creek area of Limestone Valley in an unmarked grave.

Limestone Valley of Newton County had many people who were Confederate symphatizers during the Civil War and this may be why the men were hanged in that area. Limestone Valley area is in Union Township and that is the area where David Flood and Berry Stone lived in 1860.

In the History of Newton County by Walter Lackey, the book gives the date of David Flood's death as June 1863. But his Civil War Pension record gives his exact death date as 29 May 1863.

The late Remmel Flud told me that seven men were hung and that is why I ordered Civil War Pension Records on many men. Wanted to find out for myself just who was hung and who escaped. He gave me several names, but I did not write the names down.
Only three men were hung, as noted above.
Remmel said a TENNISON was taken prisoner. I believe James CRINER was one of the names Remmel mentioned.
There were three Criner men who were in the Union Army and in checking their records, I could not find out if it was John W Criner who was killed about that time. But he was not in the group who were hung.The First Arkansas Union Infantry book lists James M Criner as "died 15 June 1863 in Newton County,Arkansas, but James was not killed.He returned to Newton County, married, and died in 1906. Joseph and James M Criner were both in the First Arkansas Infantry. John W Criner was not listed in that group.
I found a J W Criner who had been in the Confederate Army.
See "James Manson Criner Story" in my 'Kinfolks Stories'.

In other pension records I had ordered, Kelsey Gilmore, and others had mentioned they were taken prisoner and escaped. Several of the men's Civil War Military Records stated they were on scout duty in that time period.

John STANDRIDGE and the others who had escaped, returned to their command. John STANDRIDGE later heard of his father's death and returned to Newton County to protect his family. He was killed by bushwhackers on 19 Feb 1865. His widow, Susan Cagle Standridge,was unable to draw his pension, since he had been absent without leave. She was due the bounty the U S Government gave men for joining the Union Army. As far as I know, she was never able to draw her husband's Civil War Pension. I have John's Civil War Pension record also.

Obtained David Flood's Civil War Pension record on 20 Feb 1987.
Sent the story of the Hanging in Limestone Valley to the Newton County Historical Society in 1992 and they included the story in their Family History Book 1 on page 101.

Sent this story to another website on 28 May 2000. So if you read about the incidents in this story on another Newton County website, chances are the information was obtained from my original story. My story was composed after reading the depositions of many men who served in the Union Army during Civil War time and was not common knowledge. It is in my own words and my own composition; therefore it is copyrighted.

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Evelyn Flood
Rkinfolks@aol.com
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