My ancestor John Powell Graham was born in Clarendon County, South Carolina On December 28th, 1829. He was the 5th child of John Christopher Graham (1792-1866) and Rebecca Helen Stukes (1803-1884).

John Powell grew up on his father’s farm near Rehoboth on the Santee River. After his marriage to Sarah Isabel Chewning (1840-1876) in 1859, he settled near Jordan and Davis Station, Clarendon County, South Carolina where he had purchased a tract of land.

John Powell enlisted into Confederate military service on December 27th, 1861 at South Santee as a Private in Captain Thomas Pinckney’s Company of Mounted Riflemen, Manigault’s Battalion. This company, nicknamed the "Santee Mounted Riflemen," would later become Company D of the South Carolina 4th Cavalry Regiment.

The Graham family was no stranger to war. John Powell’s Grandfather, Narcissus Graham (1762-1829), was a veteran of the American Revolution. He enlisted on March 17th, 1777 at the age of 14 to serve in the Fife and Drum Corps of Captain John Harmon’s Company in a battalion of Connecticut troops commanded by John Durkee, Esq. Narcissus served for the duration of the war. He was discharged from service in 1783. After the war, Narcissus moved from his family’s home in Woodbury, Connecticut to begin a new life in South Carolina. He settled on a 500 acre tract of land in the old District of Camden on Bear Creek. It would be difficult to imagine that John Powell’s mind did not turn back to the service of his grandfather as he put pen to paper to enlist in what many considered to be the Second American Revolution.

John Powell was one of four brothers who answered the call to defend their native land by serving in the Confederate Army. His brothers John Decatur, Milton Robert, and Joseph Elliot also enlisted in the cause.

July 1864 was a horrific month for the family of John Christopher Graham. Grieving for the loss of Milton Robert, they would soon learn that their oldest son, John Decatur, had also yielded to death. He died on July 19th at a hospital in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Reeling from the devastation of these two deaths, one can only imagine how they received the news of yet another fallen son. Joseph Elliot died at Jackson Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, on the last day of July 1864. John Powell was the only one of John Christopher Graham’s sons to come home from the war alive. In fact, it is reported that he served the entire war without injury.

Using the dates listed on the Muster Rolls of his company as a guide, some aspects of John Powell’s Confederate service can be reconstructed. He would have been present at The Battle of Black River on August 13th, 1862. Sometime in January or February of 1863, John Powell was reported “absent on sick leave.” However, the rolls make it clear that he would have made it back in time for the Destruction of George Washington near Beaufort, South Carolina on April 9th, 1863. Later that month, by order of Captain Thomas Pinckney, John Powell was detached from his unit to get recruits. He was away on that detail from April 24th to May 5th, 1863. His service seems to have been consistent from that time forth, placing him at the following battles:

Combahee River (2 JUN 1863)
Expedition from Fort Pulaski, GA to Bluffton, SC (4 JUN 1863)
Lowndes' Mill, Combahee River (13 - 14 SEP 1863)
Cunningham's Bluff (24 NOV 1863)
The Wilderness VA (5 - 6 MAY 1864)
Spotsylvania Court House VA (8 - 21 MAY 1864)
North Anna VA (23 - 26 MAY 1864)
Hawe's Shop (28 MAY 1864)
Cold Harbor VA (1 - 3 JUN 1864)
Petersburg Siege VA (JUN 1864 - APR 1865)
Vaughan Road (1 OCT 1864)


The records become vague after the battle of Vaughn Road. We know that the 4th Cavalry’s next assignment was to return south for the Carolinas Campaign. There is some evidence to suggest that some of the 4th SC Cavalry were disbursed into different regiments both before and during the Carolinas Campaign which lasted from February to April of 1865. These were the final days of the war. Men and resources were in short supply and had to be figured and reconfigured to maximize their effectiveness. There is nothing else in the historical record regarding John Powell’s military service until a widow’s pension application was filed by his second wife in 1921. This record indicates that John Powell served with the South Carolina 4th Cavalry through April of 1865.

Life went on for John Powell after the war. He returned to his family and made his living as a country farmer. His wife, Sarah, bore him 5 children. There is every indication that they enjoyed a happy and prosperous life together until her death on June 6th, 1876. John Powell married his second wife, Caroline Melissa Tobias on September 4th, 1878. She bore him 11 children. All 16 of his children were born on the same plantation he purchased as a young man. John Powell’s daughter-in-law, Francis Oralee Jones, described him as the “precious old gentleman,” beloved by his family and all who knew him.

Besides his devotion to family, John Powell’s greatest love seems to have been his church. He was one of the founders of Gethsemene Methodist Church located at Davis Station, Clarendon County, South Carolina. John Powell served as the adult Sunday School teacher there until it was destroyed by fire in 1878. After the conflagration, some of the building was salvaged and used to construct Bethlehem Methodist Church which was built by his son, John Christopher Graham, II, about a mile and a half from the site of the old church. This church still operates today and serves a small congregation. John Powell served as superintendent of Bethlehem until he was incapacitated by age. There is every indication that the latter part of life was wrapped up in the church. His daughter-in-law, cited above, offers the following anecdote:

"As I think back I see dear old Pa [John Powell] as he ends his two-mile walk from his house to the church yard, stop and break a pine branch and brush the dust from his shoes and trousers. The rest of the family rode but he preferred to walk. I wish you could have known this gentle, modest soul".

John Powell's picture still hangs in the foyer of this little country church as a monument to his sacrifice and service.

John Powell Graham was called home at the ripe old age of 83. He died of a heart attack at the old plantation where he had spent almost his entire life. He was buried at Gethsemene Cemetery, near the location of the old church of that name, surrounded by the loved ones who went before him and many who went after him.

John Powell Graham left behind a noble example and a grand legacy as a soldier, father, and devoted Christian. His descendents still assemble annually in Colleton County. These family reunions serve not only to gather his descendents for fellowship, but also to share genealogical information and recount the family history. There is a great sense of heritage and pride at these assemblies and for good reason. John Powell Graham’s life was one of sacrifice, service, duty, and honor.