Private Lewis Turk
Pvt. Lewis Turk
Private Lewis Turk was born in Franklin County, Virginia, to David and Milly Turk. Turk enlisted on Feb. 24, 1864, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Military records described him as 30 years old, 5’6” tall, with black complexion, black eyes, and black hair. His occupation is listed as farm laborer, and he enlisted for three years. Later Census records suggest that he may have been younger, but it was not unusual for enslaved persons to be uncertain of their exact age.
​Turk served with the 47th United States Colored Infantry, Co. C, which was organized on May 5, 1863. He served with 239 other men in Company C. He deserted his post on April 30, 1864, in Haines Bluff, Mississippi. On a Descriptive List of Deserters, one remark stated he was “probably to be found in Yazoo City, Miss.” He was apprehended from desertion on Dec. 3, 1864, and sentenced by court martial to jail at Vicksburg, Mississippi, until the expiration of his enlistment, forfeiting all pay and allowances. While confined in Vicksburg, Lewis contracted scarlet fever.
Lewis Turk was, however, released from confinement on July 29, 1865, and was allowed to return to duty, on orders of the Secretary of War and the Adjutant General’s Office. He rejoined his regiment in Aug. 1865 and mustered out in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Jan. 5, 1866. He was honorably discharged.
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After the war he was a farm laborer, as his name was found listed as a laborer on a Louisiana plantation on a Freedmen’s Bureau document dated March 4, 1868. He was probably married, as the document indicates that two people are dependent on the laborer for support (himself and one other). In the 1870 Census, for Iberville Parish (aka county), Louisiana, Lewis, age 29, is married to Octavia, age 21.
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We don’t know what happened to Octavia, and there is no indication they had children. On July 9, 1881, Lewis Turk married Lucy Dickerson, daughter of Charles and Marsha Dickerson. The wedding ceremony was conducted by Rev. J.H. Harper and documents filed the following October with the county clerk’s office. (This is where the names of Lewis’ parents were recorded.) The couple had a son born in 1882, and he is named David Turk, after Lewis’ father. The Turks were laborers on a sugar plantation, St. Louis Plantation, in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. In 1891, Lewis Turk filed an application for a pension due to disability.
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A medical exam confirmed that he was unable to labor to support himself, stating that the “action of the heart is feeble” and “muscle tone is greatly diminished.” Lewis was 49 years old, 5’5’tall, and weighed 130 lbs. The Bureau of Pensions at first quibbled over his identity – whether he was Louis Turk or Lewis Turk. Lewis could not write his own name but depended on others to record his name; both spellings appeared in his pension files. Ultimately, Lewis received $8 each month in pension. He died at age 55 in 1897.
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Turk’s widow, Lucy, was described as very poor with no property except one horse worth $20, and she applied for a widow’s pension. Because Lucy could not prove the date of her son David’s birth, who is still a minor at age 15, she was denied a pension. In her application, Lucy described that neither she nor Lewis could read or write, and did not own a Bible in which to record David’s birth.
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Contributors: Rebecca Steele, Toni Smith, Cathie Cummins, Sarah Plummer
