Isaiah Lewis, oldest child of John Boley Lewis and Lucinda Bush, was born July 23, 1823 in South Carolina. Isaiah came to Marion County, Alabama, with his parents sometime before 1850, as this family first appeared on the 1850 Census of Marion County. According to war records, Isaiah had a fair complexion, light hair, gray eyes, and was six feet tall.
On September 26, 1853, he married Martha Rivers Bishop, daughter of John and Minerva Bishop. Martha was born October 31, 1835. From family stories, it is known that Martha was at least half Indian. From other family members, it is now believed that Isaiah was also half Indian. Exactly how much Indian ancestry they had and from what tribe is unknown.
Isaiah enlisted in the Union Army on December 7, 1863 at Camp Davis, Mississippi as a Private in the Company A of the 1st Alabama Cavalry, the only Union regiment in the state, for a period of 3 years. Isaiah joined because of his belief that it wasn't right for one man to own another. He was mustered in on February 5, 1864 at Memphis, Tennessee.
Isaiah was on furlough September 28, 1864 due to sickness. By this time, Martha and their children had moved from Marion County to Columbia, Tennessee, where the 1st Alabama Cavalry was located. Isaiah never returned to his unit. According to family legend, Isaiah refused to take the medicine that was given to him. Isaiah died from variola on October 22, 1864 in Federal Hospital No. 1 in Columbia, Tennessee. His burial place is unknown.
Source: Christopher Swindle
Service records compiled by Glenda Todd and used with her permission. This and other information about the history of the First and the men who fought with the unit
can be found in her book, First Alabama Cavalry, USA: Homage to Patriotism.