Dallam-Bush House

Dallam-Bush House. . , This house was probably built by James L. Dallam, clerk of the county court, in the very late 1830s or early 1840s. While the courthouse was under construction Dallam used one of the front rooms as the court clerks office in 1842. The house has ten rooms, five on each level, one room on the upper level was slave quarters. There are eight fireplaces. The brick walls are one foot thick. Dallam purchased the lot in 1839; the records are unclear as to whether there was a house on the lot then or not. The house was built in two parts-the section parallel to Mill Street is the older of the two. When the property was sold in 1854 the house is mentioned on the deed., During the Civil War this was the home of Blount Hodge. Hodge was born in North Caroline and came to Kentucky with his family when he was seven years of age. He was a successful businessman, listed in the 1850 Census as a Trader. He also was involved in farming and banking, in all of which he was very successful, accumulating a large estate. Hodge frequently entertained Federal troops here. He died to Smithland in 1877., In 1881 local attorney John W. Bush purchased the house. Bush had served in the Civil War as Captain of Company G48th Kentucky Mounted Infantry USA, a regiment raised in western Kentucky. The 48th was raised to provide troops who could counter raids into Kentucky and deal with the problems posed by guerrilla bands in western Kentucky. It mustered into service on October 26, 1863. In April 1864 most of the 48th was stationed along the route of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad between Cave City and Louisville: The one exception Company G, was sent to Smithland and Captain Bush was appointed post commander. Bush lived in the house until his death and it remained in his family until 1947., Capt. Bush was involved ma strange incident that was long, forgotten, but which sheds some light on just how violent and unsettled west Kentucky was during the Civil War. Raids by both Union and Confederate troops seeking horses and other supplies were one level of violence and disruption, but raids by guerrillas, some little more than armed bandits with no real loyalty to either side, plagued Kentucky. Between the time he enlisted, July 1863, and the unit being mustered into Federal service in October, Bush was indicted in Lyon County for killing Richard T. Harris. Bush was on active duty with the union army at the time and Harris was either a guerrilla or Confederate sympathizer according to varying accounts. The county grand jury was also pro-Confederate., "The said John W. Bush on the 19th day of August 1863 in the county aforesaid did feloniously, willfully and not in necessary self defense kill Richard T. Harris by shooting and wounding him the said Harris with a revolving pistol." , In 1863 indictments for Lyon County were stolen so Bush did not go on trial. In 1865, the legislature allowed reissuing such indictments - but Bush had a pardon from Governor Bramlette. The prosecutors appealed arguing that a pardon could not be issued before conviction. The State Court of Appeals upheld the pardon in 1866. And then the case disappeared, just another old case in an old law book, until cited by Governor Paul Patton in June 2003 to support several controversial pardons he issued., Captions , Union General Lew Wallace who went on to pen Ben Hur may have been among the Union troops entertained as the Dallam-Bush House., Thomas Elliott Bramlette Kentucky Governor (1863-1867) and Civil War veteran pardoned John W. Bush