Two Colorfull accounts of the fate of Ned Brown

This story is set toward the end of the Civil War, ca.1864-5. Ned was the son of Dudley Brown. He and his brother Amon were were young men living in trouble times.The Federal army had pushed the Confederate army out of middle Tennessee and the war was going badly for the Confederate states.
Union Capt. Paney came through the County
looking for Confederate Spies and Partisans. Edward and his brother, Amon, were
accused of spying and imprisoned at the mouth of the Poorhouse Hollow, at
the foot of the Gainesboro Hill on the way to Flynn's Lick, Tn.. They were to be
executed at dawn. During the night Amon, was able to climb out through the
chimney and escape. He was never heard from again, no one knows his ultimate
fate. Edward was hung the next day, and his mother Mariah went and got his
body in an Ox cart, and brought it home to be buried in the family cemetary. a
different account says they stood him on the stump of a tree and shot him while
his parents looked on. When Mariah brought him home, they lay his bleeding body
on the front porch, which became blood stained. For years afterwards people would
point to the stains as the blood of Ned Brown.

Research done 7-15-96, by Joe Lynn
I could not find a Capt. Paney listed among the Federal Officers listed in the Compenndium of the War of the Rebellion. I did find Col. O. H. Payne of the 124th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of the 4th Corps who operated out of Murfreesboro, and Tullahoma area of middle Tennessee. There was only one Skirmish listed in Jackson County in the official records. It occured March 8, 1865. Also one March 18, at Livingston, Tn., one at Celina, March 19, and another one at Celina March 22. There was trouble from some of the Guerilla's, and deserters, from both sides, turning outlaw toward the end of the war, thus causing the Federal Army to seek them out and charge them as being Spies. So charged they were shot or hanged with no more than a stump court martial afforded them. There were no official reports filed on these so called Skirmishes. Listed after each are the words "no reports". Why? They were very careful to file reports on all the other engagements.
It is probable that Edward was killed in March, 1865 from the above research.

New Information received from Joe Howard Brown, Springfield, Tn. July 5, 2003. The fate of Edward "Ned" Brown was obtained from Dalton Brown of Bloomville,Ohio in 1978 His Uncle James had related the story to him and was also captured.
This is his story--------

" There was a small group who went out renegading pretending to be Yankees but at heart were Rebels. Edward Brown and John Litton Jones, were in this group. The renegading turned into pilfering. After they had done their thing, they returned home. Later a group of Union Soldiers came looking for this group. They captured Edward and Uncle James, but uncle James was not involved as he was only 14 Years old.
That night they put the prisoners in a one room school building (log) at Flynn's Lick.The prisoners were Edward, uncle James, a man named Cameron Hall, and Hardcastle----------?, and possibly more. Across the road from this old school was a store. There the soldiers made their Headquarters. That night it stormed something awful--thunder and lightning and rain. During the storm, Hardcastle told Edward "Ned", The way it is storming no one will be standing watch out there. They are all in the old store building. If you want to, we will help you break this door down and you can make a run for it. If you don't get away tonight, they will kill you tomorrow, for, Ned, they had the deadwood on you. Ned replied, "If I die, it will never be from a load of shot in my back."
The next morning they took their prisoners and started toward Gainesboro. At the mouth of the Poorhouse Hollow, they hanged Edward. While he was hanging, one of the soldiers shot the top of his head off. After this, they went looking for other suspects. They must have backtracked up Flynn's Creek and Dry Fork, for the next morning, at daybreak, they surrounded John Litton Jones' house It was about 309 yards west of Brown's Chapel Church Cemetery at the mouth of Jackie Branch. Jones tried to get away, but they captured him. At this time they released some of the prisoners, Uncle James being one of them. They proceeded on up Dry Fork. Near the head they shot John Litton Jones, leaving him lay. Mrs. Mariah Anderson was going to a neighbors to borrow a dye pot, and stumbled over his feet lying in the road. The road in that day was a weedy oxcart trail. She reported the tragedy.
In the meantime, the news was carried to the Dudley Brown family about Edward. Mariah, his mother, went with and oxcart, got his body, and brought it to the homeplace, and buried it.
Two other Brown brothers also served with the Confederates. John Henderson Litton Brown was a first Lieutenant in Company E of the 28th Tennessee Infranty. George Brown, a private in Company K of the 8th Tennessee Infranty. He was captured in Jackson County on February 1, 1864 and sent to Ft. Delaware, in Delaware. He swam the river and escaped and returned home almost naked and starved. He and a man named J.T. Lee who was with him, said they carved on a tree when they were almost home "G.W. Brown and J. T. Lee, Back from Hell."
I can fine no record of slaves in the Brown family, however, the 1870 census shows and Eliza Richmond, age 16, black,
born in Mississippi living in the Dudley Brown household. After the war, Mariah took a small black boy to raise. His name was William Hill, born in Alabama, aged 13 in 1880. He was very devoted to Mariah who called him "Nigger Bill". He shared everything they had, but was not permitted to eat at the table with them. When Mariah went somewhere on horseback, he would lead the animal. Lettie Brown Hix, remembers staying with him when she was a child. He remained with Mariah until she died."

Form the notes of: Joe Brown Lynn