Washington Troupe Dickson was born in Troup County, Georgia in 1831. His family migrated to Arkansas in 1850. His older brother, William Crawford Dickson had an established dental practice in Columbia County. By 1860, he had moved his practice to northern Mississippi.

Washington Dickson, took over his brother's practice in Lamartine advertising his services in the Magnolia, Arkansas newspaper:

"Living in Lamartine Community, Dr. W.T. Dickson offers his professional service in dentistry, stating these terms-"cash" or a note with 10 % from date".

Washington married Nanny DeVaughn about 1860. They had one child, Adella Washington Troupe Dickson in 1861.

In April of 1864, the Union Army held the City of Camden, Arkansas. As the Confederate troops, including the 33rd Arkansas Infantry, converged on them, the Union Army quickly left the city to rebuff the advance.

The two armies met at Jenkins Ferry on the Saline River southeast of Little Rock. The Union made swift progress toward the approaching Confederate troops gaining the advantage of higher ground.

The Confederates, forced to fight in water, saw heavy losses. Captain Washington Dickson was killed as his company bravely held their position. His death was described by Lt. Col. T.D. Thomson in his report, "Captain Dickson, of Company A, seeing the color-bearer shot down, gallantly raised the colors and kept them up until he was cut down by three balls".

Washington was buried in the Dickson Family Cemetery near Waldo, Arkansas apparently in an unmarked grave. It was originally believed that the marker with his name was in the form of a cenotaph.

In 1933, his niece, Mary Dickson Worley, the daughter of his brother, Henry Clay Dickson, applied for a military marker. The application states that he was buried in an unmarked grave and in a private cemetery in Waldo, Arkansas.

The receipt of the marker was to go to his nephew, Troup Elmer Dickson, the son of a second brother, Christopher Columbus Dickson. It is questionable whether this marker was ever produced since the only indication of his burial today is on an obelisk containing multiple family names. This does, however, give credence to his actual burial in the Dickson Family Cemetery and not on the battlefield.

by Randell Tarin
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