Cast Iron Coffin Brings Giles County National Attention

In 2002, when I began covering relocation of the Mason Cemetery, I never imagined that a year later I’d be in the Smithsonian Institution as the remains believed to be those of planter and Confederate soldier Isaac Newton Mason were examined by a team of experts in...

Clothing, Boots Help Tell Soldier’s Story

Clothing, Boots Help Tell Isaac Mason’s Story On May 28, a room filled with scientists and historians awaited removal of a heavy lid from a heavy cast iron coffin containing what was believed to be remains of Giles Countian Isaac Newton Mason, a private in the 11th...

Who Was Isaac Newton Mason?

Of the six metal caskets found in 2002 during the relocation of the Mason Cemetery, only the one believed to be Isaac Newton Mason remained sealed and intact. Although a portion of the tombstone was missing, the body was buried directly beside I.N. Mason’s parents and...

I.N. Mason’s Civil War Service Was Short

Enlisting in December 1861, Isaac Newton Mason was a private in the 11th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion, 6th (1st) Tennessee Cavalry Regiment. Lt. Col. William Wallace Gordon’s 11th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion was officially organized on Jan. 8, 1862, composed of six...

Letter from NBC/Discovery Channel

A Letter to the Pulaski Citizen from NBC/Discovery Channel Dear Editor, On Saturday, June 28, a funeral ceremony took place in Giles County to honor a man long lost to time and circumstance. Isaac Newton Mason was a Tennessee cavalryman during the Civil War who died...