Madison Castle was born in 1837 in Floyd Co., KY (now Johnson Co., KY). He was the son of Benjamin Castle and Sarah Elizabeth Salyer, both originally from Russell Co., VA. Madison married Leah Jane Preston in Johnson Co., KY, and they had two children, Mary E. Castle, b. 17 Jan 1859, Johnson Co., KY, and Gene Marion Castle, b. 28 Apr., 1857, Johnson Co., KY. Madison's brother, Miles Harper Castle, was a member of the 1st KY Regiment Capital Guards, Sandy Valley Battalion.

Madison was killed by guerillas in 1863 in Floyd Co., KY.

From the Adjutant General's Report: "Killed by guerrillas December 8th, 1862, in Floyd county, Kentucky."

Madison Castle was on his way to join the larger portion of the regiment just after the Wireman's Shoals skirmish. Apparently, he was double-timing it from somewhere over in the western section of Floyd County and had come to a point somewhere near the line with Magoffin when he was ambushed by some unidentified men - perhaps locals who just didn't like the color blue. Brian took some notes when he looked at Madison's papers at the National Archives. We think he was recruiting for a company of his own at the time and that he was not with his own unit. He just seems to have been in a hurry to help out the regiment and wasn't careful about ambushes. Not that he deserved it, but he was probably well aware that ambushes were exceptionally common and must have made a judgment that cost him his life. By the time of Madison's death, the Ohioans and any of the locals would have been very familiar with these tactics, since the fighting in the region had been going on for over a year. It just wasn't safe to go riding along any of the creeks or roads at high speed without having some sort of flank protection on the ridges. Madison's desire to help out his comrades may have cost him his life. RMB-BEH