Hylan B. Lyon
Hylan B. Lyon | |
|---|---|
 Hylan B. Lyon | |
| Born | February 22, 1836 Eddyville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | April 25, 1907 (aged 71) Lyon County, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Laura O'Hara
(m. 1861; died 1865)Grace Machen
(m. 1869; died 1873)Ruth Wolf (m. 1887) |
| Children | 7 |
Hylan Benton Lyon (February 22, 1836 – April 25, 1907) was a career officer in the United States Army until the start of the American Civil War, when he resigned rather than fight against the South. As a Confederate brigadier general, he led a daring cavalry raid into Kentucky in December 1864, in which his troops burned seven county courthouses which were being used as barracks by the Union Army.
Early life
Lyon was born in what is now
After hostilities with the Seminoles waned, Lyon was promoted to the permanent rank of second lieutenant in 3rd Artillery and sent to Fort Yuma in California. The following year, he was ordered to the Washington Territory, where he took part in two battles with local Indians. Assigned to Fort Vancouver, he secured a leave of absence and returned home to Kentucky.
Civil War
When the Civil War began in April 1861, Lyon was promoted to
, where he was finally exchanged in September.His regiment was soon reorganized as the 8th Kentucky, now re-enlisted for three years, with Lyon appointed as its
Lyon returned to commanding cavalry in 1864, this time in
In January 1865, Lyon was surprised while sleeping in a private home in Red Hill, Alabama, by a detachment of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry. After he was captured, he shot and killed the Union sergeant who captured him, Arthur Lyon (no apparent relation), by asking to retrieve his clothes and grabbing a hidden pistol, then escaped in his nightgown.
Postbellum
When the war ended, Lyon accompanied Governor Isham G. Harris of Tennessee into Mexico, intending to offer his services to Emperor Maximilian. He was a civil engineer in Mexico for nearly a year before finally returning to his home in Eddyville, Kentucky, where he resumed farming and opened a prosperous mercantile business. He also served as state prison commissioner, primarily responsible for what is now the Kentucky State Penitentiary being located in his hometown of Eddyville. His initials are still inscribed over the Kentucky State Penitentiary's front gate.
Lyon was married three times—first in 1861 to Laura O'Hara who died in 1865, with whom he had a son; second in 1869 to Grace Machen, who died in 1873, with whom he had four children; and third in 1887 to Ruth Wolf, who died in 1952, with whom he had two children. Hylan Lyon was the father of Frank Lyon of the USS Oregon.[1] Lyon died on April 25, 1907, at his home in Lyon County, Kentucky.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "Descendants of Matthew Lyon". genealogy.com. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
- Newspapers.com.
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
- Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
- ISBN 0-8488-0009-5. First published 1911 by Neale Publishing Co.
- Kentucky: A History of the State. Battle, Perrin & Kniffin, 3rd ed. 1886.
- "Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979," online on FamilySearch.org, <familysearch.org>, record for H. B. Lyon and Ruth Wolfe, citing FHL #1760256.
- Highland B. Lyon household, 1900 U.S. Census, Lyon Co., Kentucky, population schedule, Eddyville, Enumeration District 60, sheet 5A, dwelling 92, family 104, National Archives micropublication T623-540, viewed on Ancestry.com
External links
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