Submitted by Mary Lea Burlison Thanks Mary Lea!

C. C. Casey was born July 10, 1827 in Roane County, TN. His parents were Turner and Sarah (Clark) Casey. In 1835 when he was eight years of age his parents, kinfolk and several neighboring families moved by wagon train to Arkansas Territory. His family settled on the Mullberry River, near Clarksville.

C. C. Casey enlisted for the Mexican War on his nineteenth birthday, July 10, 1846 at Clarksville, AR. He was appointed chief musician of his Company. He served with Col. Yell's, Arkansas Battalion, Infantry and Mounted Rifles. They were outfitted at Ft. Gibson, Indian Territory and marched 1400 miles to the Mexican border. C. C. Casey was in the battles of Monterey and Buena Vista, as well as other engagements.

Upon his return from the Mexican War, Christopher Columbus Casey married Kissia Wright, daughter of Nancy (Barnes) and Bartlett Wright. They lived in Johnson County for a few years then moved to Barry County, MO. In 1859, due to the unrest in Kansas preceding the Civil War, they returned to live in Johnson County, AR.

C. C. Casey organized the Union men in his area to try and counteract the activities of the Rebels, bushwackers and renegades. His home , near Oark, was burned so he moved his family into Clarksville, hoping to find safety. Their home there was also burned.

By this time the Union men of Johnson County were reinforced by men from Pope and Newton Counties making them strong enough to fight through enemy lines and join the Union forces in Missouri. When they arrived in Missouri C. C. Casey was commissioned Captain of Company A, 2nd Regiment of the Arkansas Infantry Volunteers. These Union soldiers were well known as the 'Mountain Feds' and stories of their activities are still told and retold in the Ozarks.

There was a refugee camp near Springfield, Missouri that the Government had established as a place where the families of the Arkansas men serving in the Union Army could be given protection. The soldier's families would gather at Ozark and Dardanelle, towns on the Arkansas River, then the Union leaders in Missouri would send troops to convoy them through the Rebel held areas. On two or three occasions Captain C. C. Casey was in command of soldiers who convoyed the wagon trains to Missouri. His family was among those who made this dangerous journey.

C. C. Casey and the Mountain Feds were in the Battle of Little Rock. The Mountain Feds cut out a road through the brush and trees so that the Union troops could get into Little Rock. It is still known as the 'Old Military Road.'

Following the Civil War C. C. and Kissia Casey bought 320 acres on Big Beaver Creek, Taney County, MO. where they farmed. He also taught school, was County Judge and served as Postmaster for a few years at Bradleyville, MO.

In 1876 they returned to Arkansas, Searcy County, where he was the first Postmaster for the community of Witts Springs. Later C. C. and Kissia bought a place five miles west of Witts Springs on Falling Water Creek where they built a large, two story log home. They lived there until his death in 1898.

Kissia and C. C. Casey were the loving parents of fourteen children: Louisa, Josephine, John Turner, Benjamin, Sarah, Christopher.Columbus Jr., Bartholomew Abner, Thomas Benton, Nancy, James Monroe, Emmaline, Andrew Jackson, Martha and Kissia Emmer.

C. C. Casey died at his home on Falling Water Road, November 17, 1898.

'Captain C. C. Casey, as he passed down the lane of time, made many friends because he was just in his dealings, charitable in his acts, exemplary in his deportment, consistent in all things. In his death we have lost one of our staunch and brave defenders, his wife a loving husband and his children a kind and affectionate father. Captain Casey's death was not unexpected. He had been ill for some time with dropsy and was surrounded by a goodly number of his neighbors, together with his wife and several of his children, who were at his beside when he expired.' (B. F. Snow) The Mountain Wave Newspaper, December 9, 1898, Marshall, AR.

Kissia died November 7, 1915. They are buried in the Witts Springs, AR, cemetery where many of their relatives are also buried.

Note: Mary Lea Burlison submitted the above on January 13, 2000...she has since past on.
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