Stone Gardens: A Soldier’s Story-Pvt. John McClure Bell and his connection to Adair County
- Dennis McCaslin
- Mar 30
- 3 min read
In the peaceful Bell Cemetery, just a stone's throw across the Arkansas and Oklahoma state line in Adair County, a gravestone tells the story of Pvt. John McClure Bell, a Civil War soldier born on February 10, 1846.
The words "CO. H, 12 TENN. CAV." carved into the stone mark the final resting place of a man whose life and family are part of America’s big history.
His tale starts in Tennessee and ends in Oklahoma, tying him to Adair County in a special way.
Next to his grave, you will see a symbol of his service: the Army Civil War Campaign Medal.
It has a ribbon with blue and gray colors--blue for the Union, gray for the Confederacy. The medal was created in 1905 to remember the Civil War’s end 40 years earlier and was made official in 1907 by the War Department.
It honors soldiers who fought between April 15, 1861, and April 9, 1865, a time later extended to August 20, 1866, by President Andrew Johnson.
Pvt. Bell, who was in Company H of the 12th Tennessee Cavalry, fought for the South, so the gray part of the ribbon fits him.
The 12th Tennessee Cavalry, sometimes called the 1st Partisan Rangers, was a Confederate group formed in February 1863 in West Tennessee. The soldiers came from places like Fayette, Tipton, Shelby, Haywood, and Gibson counties.
Company H, where Pvt. Bell served, was led by Colonels John U. Green and Robert V. Richardson. They were part of bigger groups called Richardson’s Brigade and Rucker’s Brigade. By October 1863, they had about 300 men ready to fight.
Pvt. Bell’s unit saw action in some tough battles. They fought Union soldiers in Tennessee and Mississippi, often in quick, small clashes. In August 1864, they were part of a bold attack on Memphis led by Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Later that year, they joined Hood’s Tennessee Campaign, facing big fights like the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, where the Confederates lost badly, and the Battle of Nashville on December 15-16, 1864, where the Union won big.
They even fought in Georgia earlier on. By February 1865, the 12th Tennessee Cavalry was worn out, and some joined another group, the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry, before the war ended.
The medal’s story shows how the war’s memory changed over time. At first, it was only for Union soldiers with "Active Federal Military Service," leaving out Confederates like Pvt. Bell.
But in 1945, Congress changed the rules so it could honor both sides. The medal’s streamers--gray up for Confederates, blue up for Union—kept the two sides separate even in memory.
John McClure Bell was born to Caroline Hawkins Bell, who lived an amazing 101 years, from 1804 to 1905. We’re not sure who his dad was, but he might have been a Bell from Tennessee, maybe a farmer or worker.
John married Nancy Caroline Jones Bell (1850–1936), and they had ten kids: Sarah Ann (1868–1939), Andrew (1870–1948), Laura (1873–1947), Steve (1876–1923), Evaline (1878–1881), Mary Emmeline (1880–1960), Anna Jane (1883–1961), Maggie Lou (1886–1971), Henry (1890–1960), and Willie (1891–18??).
Their lives went from sad times, like Evaline dying at three, to long ones, like Maggie Lou living until 1971. Willie’s end is still a mystery.
John died on December 18, 1900, at 54 years old, and was buried in Bell Cemetery. His brother, William Austin Bell (1842–1882), also lived through those hard war years. The Bell family stuck together and made a home in Adair County after the war.
Today, flowers sit by Pvt. Bell’s grave, a quiet thank-you to a man who went from Tennessee battlefields to an Oklahoma resting place. The Army Civil War Campaign Medal, like the Navy one from 1908, shows how the country tried to heal after the war.
Born 179 years ago, Pvt. John McClure Bell is more than a name on a stone--he’s a piece of Adair County, a Civil War soldier, and a dad whose family story still matters.
