Marcus B. Toney (c. 1840 - November 1, 1929) was an American Confederate veteran, Klansman and Masonic leader who worked for the

Tennessee Central Railroad The Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the midstate, a service ...

. He was the author of ''The Privations of a Private'', a memoir about his service in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. He was the founding president of the

Home for Aged Masons The Home for Aged Masons, formerly known as the Masonic Widows' and Orphans' Home and the Middle Tennessee Tuberculosis Hospital, is a historic building in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. History The land was given to the Grand Lodge of Tennessee Free ...

Early life

Toney was born circa 1840 in

Buckingham County, Virginia Buckingham County is a rural United States county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and containing the geographic center of the state. Buckingham County is part of the Piedmont region of Virginia, and the county seat is Buckingham. B ...

Career

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

of 1861–1865, Toney served in the

, under generals

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

and

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

. He was captured and sent to

Elmira Prison Elmira Prison was originally a barracks for "Camp Rathbun" or "Camp Chemung", a key muster and training point for the Union Army during the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1864. The site was selected partially due to its proximity to the E ...

. After the war, Toney joined the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, under the leadership of

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

. Toney authored a memoir about his Civil War and postbellum experience, ''The Privations of a Private'', in 1905. In a review for the ''

Tennessee Historical Quarterly The Tennessee Historical Society is a historical society for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was established in 1849. Its founding president from 1849 to 1856 was Nathaniel Cross, a Princeton-educated professor of Ancient Languages at the Universi ...

'', Gary D. Joiner of

Louisiana State University Shreveport Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSU Shreveport or LSUS) is a public university in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System. Initially, a two-year college, LSUS has expanded into a university with 21 ...

acknowledged that the book sounded "offensive" to modern-day readers, but he suggested that Toney "was in the norm for his time and place." Joiner added that Toney was a "

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

", and that the book promoted the

Lost Cause The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. First ...

ideology.

Toney began his career at the

Southern Express Company Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), was a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. He was founder of the Plant Sys ...

. He worked for the

for five decades, and retired in 1917. Toney was a Masonic leader. He was "one of the oldest members of the Cumberland Lodge of Masons", and the founding president of the

in Nashville.

Personal life, death and legacy

Toney married Sallie Claiborne in 1871; she died in 1874. They had two daughters. His brother-in-law,

Edward Bushrod Stahlman Edward Bushrod Stahlman (September 2, 1843 – August 12, 1930) was a German-born American railroad executive, newspaper publisher and real estate investor. He was the vice president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Louisville, N ...

, was the publisher of the ''

Nashville Banner The ''Nashville Banner'' is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998. The ''Banner'' was published each Monday through Friday afternoon (as well as Saturdays unti ...

''. He resided at 1805 20th Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee. Toney died on November 1, 1929 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 89. He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. The

University of Alabama Press The University of Alabama Press is a university press founded in 1945 and is the scholarly publishing arm of the University of Alabama. An editorial board composed of representatives from all doctoral degree granting public universities within Al ...

was awarded the General Basil W. Duke Award from the

Military Order of the Stars and Bars The Military Order of the Stars and Bars (MOSB) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States based in Woodbridge, Virginia. It is a lineage society founded in 1938 for men who are descended from military officers or political leade ...

for its re-publication of Toney's memoir in 2006.

References

External links

The Privations of a Private by Marcus B. Toney
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toney, Marcus B. 1840s births 1929 deaths People from Nashville, Tennessee Confederate States Army officers American memoirists American Freemasons American Ku Klux Klan members