Willis A. Crook (1822 - 1864)

Ancestors Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 2 Service Records 3 Battle of Tupelo 4 Census Records 5 Burial 6 Sources

Biography

CROOK, Willis Arnold Born 1822 in Spartanburg SC but migrated to Tippah Co. with parents Jonathan Crook & Lucy B. Arnold some time after 1828.  Spouse Tabitha Cotton.  Fell in battle near Tupelo on July 15 1864, promoted to Captain on the day of his death.  One source says 7th Miss. Cavalry, another says enlisted 32nd MS Infantry CSA 3/17/62 in Tippah County, discharged by special order #52 to accept a Commission in the Partisan Rangers under Col. Falkner. Was First Lieutenant, Commander of Co. G. Killed in action at battle of Town Creek near Tupelo on July 15, 1864. Burial place unknown. Nelda Hamer^[1]

Service Records

Age 39.
Enlisted Company E 32nd Miss. Inf. on 17 March 1862 at Tupelo MS, Col. M. P. Lowery for 3 yrs rank private.

May-June 1862 - Absent. Fell ill on march from Corinth

July-Sept 1862 - Absent. Furloughed home due to illness.

Oct-Dec 1862 - Present. In camp.

Jan-May 1863 - Present. In camp #35 near Tullahoma Tenn.

26 June 1863 - Discharged as Private from Co. E 32nd Miss Inf under S.O. #152 A.G.O. 63 approved commission with 1st Mississippi Partisan Rangers

26 March 1863 - Headquarters Dept. 5th Military Dist. Panola Miss. Issuance General Order #8, Re-Orginization 1st Miss Partisan Rangers under Col Falkner.

Aug 1862 - Elected 1st Sgt Company G 1st Mississippi Partisan Rangers while on furlough from 32nd Miss Inf.

Aug-Sept 1863 - Present. Elected 2nd Lieut Company G

Oct-Dec 1863 - Present. Elected 1st Lieutenant, Company G

Jan-May 1864 - Present. Detailed for forage with Quartermaster.

15 July 1864 - KIA during the second days action at Battle of Tupelo.^[2]

Battle of Tupelo

On the morning of July 14, the Battle of Tupelo began here at 7:30 a.m. when the Confederates began a series of uncoordinated charges against the Federal position. These attacks were beaten back with heavy losses. Failing to break the Federal center, the Confederates attacked the Federal right, again without success. After dark, the Confederates made another attack from the south without significant effect. Although his troops had repulsed several Confederate attacks, General Smith (Federal) was alarmed. The heat was taking its toll on his soldiers. Also, due to bad planning, his men had little but coffee and worm-infested hardtack (crackers) to eat, and their ammunition supply was very low.
Old Town Creek
At 2 p.m. on July 15, after skirmishing with Confederates on the western and southern fronts, the Federals began marching north in the direction of Memphis. They marched four miles and crossed to the north side of Old Town Creek and camped in the late afternoon. At 5 p.m., from a commanding ridge south of Old Town Creek, Confederate forces surprised Smith's troops with artillery and infantry fire. The Federals scrambled and formed a line that pushed the Confederates off the ridge and forced them to retreat to Harrisburg. The fight at Old Town Creek ended the Battle of Tupelo. Among the casualties was Forrest himself, who was kept out of action for three weeks.^[3]
Aftermath
First Lieutenant Willis A. Crook was amoung the casualties during the second days action at Old Town Creek. Unverified reports state he was promoted to Captain on his last days action. Several different reports can be found for Forrest and Lee’s losses during the fighting. Forrest’s official report gave losses of 153 killed, 794 wounded and 49 missing, for a total of 996. At least one Union writer later reported at least 350 dead. A figure of 210 dead and 1116 wounded, for a total loss of 1,326 seems to be more accepted. Union losses were much lower, at 82 dead out of a total of 650 casualties. One of the Confederate wounded was Forrest, shot in the foot during the fighting.^[4]

Census Records

Northern Tippah County MS 1860

Household #

Willis A Crook M 37 South Carolina

Tabitha Crook F 37 Tennessee

Nancy L Crook F 15 Mississippi

Lucy A Crook F 12 Mississippi

Avaline Crook F 10 Mississippi

Jenny Line Crook F 7 Mississippi

James P Crook M 5 Mississippi

Maranda Crook F 2 Mississippi

James Leopard M 39 Georgia

M S Bastian M 21 North Carolina^[5]

Burial

Pine Hill Primitive Baptist Cemetery 

Ripley

Tippah County

Mississippi ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Tippah County MS RootsWeb~Bios. Confederate Veterans
2. ↑ Fold3~Confederate Service Records~32nd Infantry & 7th Cavalry Mississippi
3. ↑ NPS.GOV~Tupe/the-battle
4. ↑ HistoryofWar.Org/articles/battle_Tupelo
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6GZ-9WX : 30 December 2015)
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #42229464

• Wikipedia~Battle of Tupelo