Remembering Suwannee: Robert A. Reid

Eric Musgrove Contributor Suwannee County has seen many "out-of-towners" make their mark on its history, and the topic of today's article is just one of them. Robert Alexander Reid was born in Benton, Polk County, Tenn., on July 24, 1843. His parents were James Napoleon Reid and the former Polly B. Thompson. He had five brothers and four sisters, all older than him. Some of Reid's siblings moved to Suwannee County in their later years. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Reid enlisted on July 19 in M. H. Hancock's Company of the Confederate Army. He later served in Captain R. M. O'Neal's Company B of the 29th Tennessee Infantry as a lieutenant. At the Battle of Chickamauga on Sept.