John was the son of Wallace(1803-3/29/1861)and Martha Jane Wilkinson Tew (1811-1/20/1895)from Barbour County, Alabama. He was the second oldest child of at least a dozen children. The Tew`s had migrated from North Carolina to Alabama in the 1820`s. John grew up in Barbour County, Alabama and was married with several children. He enlisted in the Confederate army on July 3, 1861 with his younger brother Alexander and cousin Joel. They joined the "Glenville Guards" commanded by Captain Richardson which became Co."H" of the 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He was one of five brothers to serve the Confederate army and only one son(Nathan)survived the war. Soon after swearing in the regiment was ordered to Pageland Field, Virginia near Manassas for training and drill. Because of a measles outbreak the regiment was transferred to Camp Toombes, Virginia. On December 22, 1861 John appears on the register of Moore Hospital at General Hospital Number 1 at Danville, Virginia. Complaining of a fever he was sent to the General Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia on Dec. 23, 1861 and he also had dysentery at this same time. On January 18, 1862 he returned to duty only to be readmitted on February 9, 1862 because of bronchitis. After recovering from this he was returned to duty on April 4, 1862. John may have been in several major battles after this with the Army. Jackson`s famous valley campaign and his attacks outside Richmond, Virginia. His regiment fought at many of these battles including 2nd Manassas, Sharpsburg etc.. No direct information has been found on this yet. On April 18, 1863 John was again admitted to the CSA General Hospital at Farmville, Virginia for dropsy and was not returned to duty until July 1, 1863. It appears he did not make the Gettysburg Campaign and was in Richmond stationed in the earthworks at this time. He was sent to the fortifications outside Richmond to recuperate for awhile and after that was present for duty in September and October, 1863. He may have participated in the Battle of Chickamauga with his original regiment because he was in east Tennessee that fall with Longstreet. The 15th Alabama was engaged during this battle and later in the Knoxville Campaign. John appears next as being captured along with his Captain on December 9, 1863 near Knoxville, Tennessee. On December 13, 1863 he was sent to the Middlebrook hospital because he was sick with pneumonia. He later died there on December 26, 1863. A federal document states that he was interred in the City Cemetery. At this time it is not known exactly where he was buried because the names of cemeteries have changed and some burials where moved later. It is fairly certain however that he is in a City Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee. Research is ongoing to determine his exact resting place. A soldiers cemetery did exist next to the Middlebrook hospital which was a private residence at the time of the battle. This compiler has been recently told it is now called Bethel Confederate Cemetery. No markers exist for any interments here. It is located on private property and is not open to the public. This is probably where John ended up. There is another much larger Bethel Confederate Cemetery in Knoxville as well and he may have ended up there.
NEW-recent information to me(8/09/16)provided by Valerie Davies indicates that John may really be in Old Gray Cemetery in downtown Knoxville. According to her research about 20 Confederates where buried in a separate section between Old Gray and the National Cemetery between Nov., 1863 and Feb., 1864. They where never marked and are this way today. More later!
WARNING.....................................................
There are other John Tew`s and one has been credited with serving at the Siege of Vicksburg and being killed there on May 23, 1863. If this is true I do not believe it is the same John Tew as written about above. To much other collaborating evidence points to it being the same person just the wrong place and circumstances of death.

More later!