Sheriff Isaac Elbert McCleaird

Isaac Elbert McCleaird

Sheriff Isaac McCleaird and Deputy Sheriff Joseph Brown were shot and killed while attempting to arrest a Tennessee jail escapee for stealing a horse.

They had received information that the man was at a farm several miles outside of Jasper. They located the man sitting at a table shaving inside the farmhouse. When Sheriff McCleaird put his hand on the man's shoulder and told him he was under arrest, the man reached down to his boot and pulled out a handgun. The man shot Sheriff McCleaird in the chest, killing him instantly.

Deputy Brown was shot as he rushed into the room. The subject then stole Sheriff McCleaird's horse and fled.

Deputy Brown succumbed to his wounds on January 28th, 1869.

Sheriff McCleaird was a Confederate Army veteran of the Civil War and had served as the county sheriff for two years. He was survived by his wife and two children.