John W. Reid Confusion

It appears there is some confusion in the Civil War Records regarding John W. Reid, since it appears that two John W. Reid's fought with the Captain Carpenter's Alleghany Artilery. One was a Sargeant and the other a Private. First, Sergeant John William Reid was from Stephensburg, Frederick CO., VA, who transferred to the Alleghany Artillery after his battery led by Wilfred E. Cutshaw merged with Carpenter's in Sep 1862. John William Reid was living in Stephensburg, Frederick Co., VA in 1860 and toiled the land as a farmer, so he was clearly not a carpenter in Augusta Co., VA. Sergeant John W. Reid was living with his family in Opequon, Frederick Co., VA after the war in 1870 through at least1880, and likely lived the rest of his life in Frederick Co., not Grottoes, Rockingham Co., VA. John William Reid apparently sometimes went by the name William, and was listed on the 1880 census as J. William Reed.

I believe Private John W. Reid to be the son of William and Lucinda, or possibly a nephew. It became clear that the two John's were separate given that the Civil War Records showed event dates that conflicted with one another. For example, Private John W. Reid was imprisoned at Fort Delaware while the Sergeant was still in service. I used the Civil War Records to construct the following timeline of some of Private John W. Reid's key Civil War events.


16 Jul 1861 - Enrolled as a Private for 1 year service with Captain Edward M. Dabney’s Company C “Lechter Guard” of the VA 52nd Infantry of the Virginia Volunteers in Staunton, Augusta Co., VA. Company C was based in the Mossy Creek area.

30 Jul 1861 - Mustered in by Major M.G. Harper in Staunton.

15 Aug 1861 - Absent without leave.

Nov – Dec 1861 Absent without leave.

13 Apr 1862 - Drafted from the Augusta Militia, enlisted as a Private for 3 years of service by Captain Joseph Carpenter into the Allegheny Rough Artillery in New Market,

17 Apr 1862 - Deserted near Harrisonburg, Rockingham Co., VA.

30 Nov 1863 - Arrested by U.S. Troops in Beverly Co., WV.

6 Dec 1863 - Listed as a POW at the Atheneum Prison in Wheeling, WV. He was listed as a carpenter who last resided in Augusta Co., VA, 27 years of age, 5’10”, fair complexion, blue eyes, and dark hair. He was listed as Private of Captain Joseph Carpenter’s Company.

7 Dec 1863 - Sent by Captain W.C. Thorpe to Camp Chase in Columbus, OH.

8 Dec 1863 - Arrived at Camp Chase.

29 Feb 1864 - Transferred to Fort Delaware, Delaware.

4 Mar 1864 - Arrived at Fort Delaware.

20 Apr 1865 - Paroled by Major General E.B. Parsons near Newtown, VA.


Finally, a word on the sourcing of Private John W. Reid's birth/death information was taken from the Virginia Regimental Histories Series.