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When the tocsin of war was sounded in the spring of 1861, it is said that all the men of Southern sentiment in the little county of Fentress, in the spurs of the East Tennessee mountains, able to perform military duty formed into one company of cavalry of eighty or ninety men. W. Scott Bledsoe, a born soldier, was made captain, and the company did much effective service under Zollicoffer, including the disastrous engagement at Mill Springs. The company was acting independently at Shiloh and in the Kentucky campaign under Bragg, but after the return of Bragg's army to Tennessee, in the fall of 1862, there was a reorganization, and it was then that the 4th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Col. Baxter Smith, was formed, and Captain Bledsoe's company was added to it as Company I. The latter was made major of the regiment, and his brother Robert became captain of Company I.

John W. Story, a member of Company I, had made a fine record as a soldier in all of the important engagements of Johnston's army, and at Bentonville he displayed such conspicuous gallantry, witnessed by Colonel Smith, that he was brevetted lieutenant on the field and thereafter commanded his company, Capt. Robert Bledsoe having been killed previously. To Lieutenant Story no higher tribute could be paid than that of Maj. George B. Guild Adjutant of the 4th Tennessee Cavalry, in his book entitled "A Brief Narrative of the Fourth Tennessee Cavalry Regiment," in which he says: "John W. Story, now a prominent member of the bar at Harrison, Ark., furnishes the casualty list of Company I. He was sergeant of his company for some time during the war and was one of the best we had. As adjutant of the regiment, I never had trouble with his reports or the many orders made on his company for information; they were always clear, concise, and exactly what was called for. He was made a lieutenant on the field of Bentonville for his bravery and efficiency in every duty as a soldier. He was in every engagement and was wounded twice in battle, on both occasions seriously."

Of such a record his friend and relatives may well be proud. John W. Story was born in Fentress County, Tenn., in 1841. He graduated from the Law Department of Cumberland University in 1868 and practiced law at Lebanon, Tenn., and at Sherman, Tex., before going to Arkansas in 1885. In Harrison he was known as a lawyer of fine ability and upright character; he was an active Presbyterian, a stanch Democrat, and a Knight Templar. His death occurred in Birmihgham, Ala., on March 10, 1916, and he was taken back to Arkansas and buried by the sode of his wife in the old cemetery at Harrison. Two sons and a daughter survive him-Mrs. Kate Lanier, of Forrest City, Ark., Dr. Goree Story, of Washington, and Dr. John Story, of Birmingham, Ala.