“I felt real lucky he was my lieutenant. He was from a long, great military tradition. Somebody in his family had fought, and died, in every. single. American. war.”
Forrest Gump, describing Lt. Dan
A Military Heritage
My brother Rob and I served separately in the U.S. armed forces during the Cold War, and both of us were peripherally involved in times of conflict. Neither of us were called to participate in battle. Our late mother Ann Grayson Guevara was an only child and a young mother during the Vietnam War. In researching her paternal ancestors we have discovered a military heritage that spans nearly every conflict in American history.
Leon Grayson – World War II and post-war Okinawa
Ann’s father Leon Harman Grayson (1906-1993) drilled as a reserve officer in the 1st Georgia Infantry as a young lawyer, resigning his commission upon relocating to Washington D.C. in 1935. He was called up to serve stateside as an officer in the World War II U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, and later as civilian Judge Advocate in post-war Okinawa. His wartime duty took him away from his wife Mary and our mom – two months old at the time of Leon’s commissioning – for extended periods. Okinawa affected him the most deeply, however. The once beautiful island was still crater-pocked and the surviving civilians shell-shocked two full years after the 82-day battle in the spring of 1945. Leon did not talk about it much to us, but I distinctly recall hearing “sending a man to prison [in Okinawa] was like sending him to his death.”
Col. William L. Grayson – Spanish-American War and State “Riots”
Leon’s father Col. William L. Grayson (1870-1941) served in the Georgia State Militia for more than 30 years, including being activated for federal service during the Spanish-American War. William and his unit were not called upon to participate in any offensive or defensive military actions during that war. In his thirty years in the militia William rose from 16-year old private to regimental colonel. A 1928 biographical sketch reads, “In August 1899 Captain Grayson commanded a Composite Company from the 1st Georgia Infantry during the Darien riot under direct authority of Gov. Allen D. Chandler in an efficient and thoroughly satisfactory manner. On December 6th, he was unanimously elected Major of the 1st Battalion. In March, 1901, he commanded the military in charge of the riot at Sylvania, Georgia, courageously protecting from violence seven prisoners and upholding the majesty of the law.” William retired from his military duties just before World War I, and in 1930 was given the honorary rank of Brigadier General.
Edward F.R. Grayson – “War Between the States” and post-war Militia
William’s father Edward F.R. Grayson (1847-1901), “though but fourteen years of age at the outbreak of the war between the states, afterward did his part as a boy soldier and assisted in the defense of Savannah under Major Shellman.”1 Edward must have later served in the post-war state militia, as we have a portrait of him at about age 30-35 in an impressive military dress uniform with sergeant’s stripes.
John Langston Grayson – Second Seminole War, Mexican War, and U.S. Civil War
Edward’s father John Langston Grayson (1817-1869) was a Savannah printer. “In 1836 he entered the service of the U.S.A. and fought with distinction and valor through the Florida and Seminole War. During the War with Mexico he again went to the front with the Phoenix Riflemen of Georgia, State Militia, and was an officer of much meritorious conduct.”2 An earlier history contradicts the latter claim. “In 1848 [John] was commissioned lieutenant by Governor Towns to serve in the Mexican War, but was never called upon to serve since the quota from Savannah was already practically filled.” 1 In lieu of armed duty, John’s modest print shop and his professional services were utilized by the confederate government during the Civil War.
Capt. John Robinson Grayson, USN – Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812
John L.’s father John Robinson Grayson (1779-1822) and his twin brother Thomas were involuntarily impressed as teens by the British Navy for service in the Napoleonic Wars. John was eventually located and ransomed, but the fate of Thomas is still unknown. John utilized the skills he learned from his former British captors as a U.S. Navy officer in the War of 1812. A news article described a grisly combat incident that occurred in April 1811 off Charleston, South Carolina. “On the 14th, about 2PM, a sail was described to windward…. It proved to be an armed schooner, under English colors. Mr. G. immediately cleared his boat for action – at 4 the schooner passed to windward of him. and Mr. G. prepared to tack to the eastward, as he had lugged into a very considerable ground swell – while in the act of staying, the boat gave a heavy plunge, and his bow-gun… fetched way – Mr. G. immediately ran forward, where everything which presented itself to his eyes was replete with death and horror.”3 The clipping described in gory detail the deaths of at least three deck hands and the sea battle that followed. Another harrowing incident occurred near St. Mary’s, Georgia in September 1813. “We had yesterday morning and night preceding one of the most severe gales I have ever witnessed… every vessel at harbor drove in shore or sank at their moorings. Gun vessel No. 161, John R. Grayson, commanding, that had just returned from conveying troops to Beaufort, upset at anchor, and of 26 souls on board when she went down only 6 were saved. Mr. Grayson and two men reached the marsh on the Florida side and with great difficulty supported themselves through the night and until 11 o’clock the following day.”4 In March 1815, a northern newspaper mentioned our ancestor as evidence that War of 1812 was plainly over.
Rev. Spence M. Grayson, Revolutionary War Chaplain
John R.’s father Rev. Spence M. Grayson (1734-1798), a neighbor and friend of George Washington, was nominally the chaplain of a Revolutionary War Virginia combat regiment, though it is not clear whether he ever joined the unit in the field.
Benjamin Grayson – Colonial Militia Officer and Patriarch
Finally, Spence’s father Benjamin Grayson (ca. 1684-1757) served as a Colonial Virginia militia officer, details yet to be researched. Seven generations of Ann’s Grayson ancestors can rightly lay claim to having served honorably, and each faced some hardship. Nevertheless, and at the risk of sounding ghoulish, instead of being grateful for our good fortune I was somewhat disappointed that famous battles, desperate cavalry charges, furious defenses with fixed bayonets, and battlefield glory weren’t part of Ann’s direct heritage. One particular branch of the Grayson family was not as fortunate as ours. Their stories will repudiate the glory of war, and openly display the anguish.
1 Knight, Lucian Lamar, A Standard History of Georgia and Georgians Vol. 5 (1917, Lewis Publishing, Chicago) pg 2339
2 “Grayson Family (Additions)” Dictionary of American Biography Volume 7 (1931, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York) pg 55
3 Virginia Patriot, 10 May 1811, pg 3
4 Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger, 13 Oct. 1813 pg. 3
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