[See John McAllister’s account of his naval service HERE]
BIOGRAPHY
John William McAllister was born on June 16, 1838, in New Hanover County. He was the first of 10 children born to Hector and Elizabeth McAllister. The McAllister’s were successful farmers in the Colvin’s Creek Community, now part of Pender County. In 1859, John married Margaret Walker and began farming a tract of land near his father’s farm. A few years later, the couple had a daughter, Cleopatra.
John McAllister began his military career in 1861 as a second lieutenant (and later, captain) in the 23rd NC Militia. On February 8, 1862, the 23-year-old farmer received a second lieutenant’s appointment from North Carolina’s military department. McAllister joined an infantry company being raised by his neighbor, George Walker. In April, Walker’s company was mustered into service as Company A, 51st Regiment North Carolina Troops.
Lieutenant McAllister was frequently absent sick, missing at least three months of duty during 1862. In April 1863, he once again went on sick furlough. He overstayed his leave and was listed as AWOL. General Clingman sent a detail from the 61st North Carolina to find and arrest the absent lieutenant. [Details of the search for McAllister are HERE.]
McAllister returned to camp on May 26 before the detail could locate him. Upon his return to the regiment, he was arrested. On August 24, he was court martialed and found guilty of being absent without leave, disobeying orders, and engaging in conduct prejudicial to good order. Lieutenant John W. McAllister was dismissed from the service.
A few months after his dismissal, McAllister joined the Confederate Navy in Wilmington, first as a drill instructor on the receiving ship Arctic and then as a foreman at the shipyard. He appears as a landsman on the crew list of the ironclad Raleigh in April 1864. After the Raleigh was lost a few weeks after entering service, McAllister went back to work in the shipyard and remained there until Wilmington’s surrender in February 1865.
After the war, John McAllister moved his family to Brooks County, Georgia. There he bought a 500-acre farm that he later expanded to 800 acres. Margaret died in 1868 at age 25. In the 1870 census, John was living with his new wife, Elizabeth A.[i] and his eight-year-old daughter, Cleopatra.
In 1880, Elizabeth died of typhoid fever. McAllister and his daughter moved to Lauderdale County, Mississippi. In 1881, Cleopatra married and moved into her husband’s home. The next year, McAllister married Elizabeth B. Robinson. They moved to Washington County, Florida in May 1887. John took up farming again.
PENSION DISPUTE
In 1907, at age 69, John McAllister was in bad shape. He was working as a freight agent and was in feeble health. He had had a hernia for several years that made working difficult. He filed for a Confederate soldier’s pension with the State of Florida. In his application, McAllister states that he served as a first lieutenant in the 51st North Carolina, resigned in September 1863, and joined the navy in November 1863. He was a prisoner at Elmira when the war ended. The application was approved after a few months, and McAllister started drawing $120 per year.
McAllister reapplied for his pension in 1909.[ii] This time, he stated that he joined the navy immediately after resigning his commission in September 1863. He did not mention Elmira. McAllister’s application was approved six weeks later, again for $120 per year. But the Florida pension law had apparently changed, and the State contacted the War Department in Washington to confirm John’s service. Just a week after approving McAllister’s application, the Florida Comptroller received a response from the War Department. McAllister had served as a second lieutenant and was dismissed by court martial in August 1863. No record of service in the navy could be located. Florida disallowed John’s pension.
Florida’s rejection set off a five-year fight between ex-Lieutenant McAllister and the State Pension Board. Florida wanted to know why McAllister was dismissed from service. McAllister explained that he had been court martial ed for disobeying orders. While staying on Sullivan’s Island near Charleston, his company was issued a ration of spoiled beef for the second time. He was ordered to return the beef, but he directed his men to burn it instead.
The State also demanded that McAllister show proof of his service in the navy. McAllister provided details of his service and affidavits from several men who served with him, confirming McAllister’s account. He enlisted the aid of his state legislators and wrote to the pension board numerous times. The State would not budge.
On March 2, 1914, John McAllister submitted a third pension application. The application was soon followed by a letter from McAllister’s attorneys, restating John’s case in detail. The attorneys inform the State that McAllister has been stricken with paralysis and would soon die. The State responded with a demand for proof of John’s naval service. The Florida Comptroller contacted the State Auditor in Raleigh to see if he could aid McAllister’s cause. But North Carolina could provide no new information. Florida disallowed McAllister’s third pension application on January 18, 1915.
John McAllister continued to pester the State about his pension. Finally, the State of Florida gave in and approved the disallowed third application. On December 17, 1915, McAllister became eligible for $120 per year, payable from July 1, 1915.
AFTERMATH
John W. McAllister died on August 19, 1917, in Lynn Haven, Florida. He is buried there. His third wife, Elizabeth B., applied for a widow’s pension on December 1, 1917. It was approved in just three weeks, and she drew $180 per year until her death in 1926.
TIMELINE
John W. McAllister’s pension file contains 67 images. The following chronology was compiled from those images.
9/2/1907: McAllister’s first pension application
12/28/1907: application approved for $120 per year.
7/31/1909: McAllister’s second pension application
9/3/1909: application approved for $120 per year.
9/10/1909: letter from War Department to Florida Comptroller – McAllister served in 51st North Carolina and was dismissed by court martial; no record of naval service.
September-December 1909: pension disallowed sometime during this period
5/26/1911: affidavit of R. H. Barnhill attesting to McAllister’s work in the Wilmington shipyard
5/28/1911: affidavit of I. B. Scott attesting to McAllister’s military service
6/2/1911: Florida State Comptroller letter to Adjutant General in Washington requesting details of McAllister’s dismissal from service.
6/11/1911: Adjutant General to Florida Comptroller – no information located concerning McAllister’s dismissal from service.
9/18/1911: letter from McAllister to State Representative R. L. McKinsey
9/26/1911: response to above letter from Florida Comptroller
9/26/1911: request from Florida Comptroller to U. S. Naval Department for records of McAllister’s service in the Confederate Navy.
12/3/1911: letter from McAllister to A. C. Croom, Florida Comptroller, appealing for approval of McAllister’s pension application.
5/9/1913: letter from McAllister to State Representative L. H. Howell detailing his service in the navy and requesting help getting his pension restored (no pay in four years).
5/10/1913: affidavit of E. M. Newman swearing he delivered all documents supporting McAllister’s pension application to A. C. Croom.
5/12/1913: Florida Comptroller to McAllister – received affidavit from Mr. Newman and filed it with McAllister’s claim.
3/2/1914: McAllister’s third pension application
7/22/1914: letter from Attorneys Wells & Sapp to Florida Pension Board restating McAllister’s case. McAllister has been stricken with paralysis and does not have long to live.
8/14/1914: letter from Board of Pensions to McAllister requesting further proof of naval service
9/24/1914: letter from State Auditor in Raleigh to Florida Comptroller – no further service information on McAllister
1/18/1915: Notification from Board of Pensions that McAllister’s pension is disallowed for lack of proof of service.
1/20/1915: letter from McAllister to M. C. McIntosh (Florida Pension Board) giving details about his service in the Confederate Navy.
2/4/1915: letter from Board of Pensions acknowledging receipt of McAllister’s letter
12/17/1915: third application approved for $120 per year payable from 7/1/1915
8/19/1917: McAllister dies in Lynn Haven, Florida
12/1/1917: widow’s pension application by Eliza B. Robinson, McAllister’s wife; approved on 12/29/1917 for $180 per year
SOURCES
John W. McAllister pension file online at floridaymemory.com and Consolidated Service Record on fold3.com; census, tax records, and genealogies on familysearch.org; Find-A-Grave memorials for John McAllister, E. A. McAllister, and Margaret Walker McAllister
[i] I was unable to locate Elizabeth’s maiden name. Her Find-A-Grave memorial states she was born in Bladen County, the daughter of William Ramsey. Records do not support this information.
[ii] The reason McAllister submitted a second application is uncertain, but it was likely because of a change in the Florida pension statute.
Copyright © 2021 – 2026 by Kirk Ward. All rights reserved.