John Cadwalader Carpenter

In 1860 he was a 20 year old farmer on his father Samuel's place (with 2 owned slaves and 5 leased) at Covington in Alleghany County, VA. Younger brother to Joseph, he enlisted in the "Allegheny Roughs", a militia company which soon became Company A of the 27th Virginia Infantry, under Capt. Thompson McAllister and enrolled for war service on 22 April 1861 at Covington, VA. After McAllister resigned in August 1861 the Company was commanded by Captain Joseph Carpenter with John Carpenter, 1st Lieutenant. Sometime after the 31 October 1861 muster the company was reorganized as independent artillery and was known thereafter as "Carpenter's" or Allegheny Artillery.

In May 1862, at the First Battle of Winchester, General Winder reported: "Captain Cutshaw and Lieutenant Barton being wounded, I placed First Lieut. John C. Carpenter in command of Cutshaw's battery."

In August he relieved his brother Joseph, mortally wounded at Cedar Mountain (or Cedar Run, 9 August 1862), in command of the Battery.

He was wounded seriously in the knee at Sharpsburg in command of the Battery on 17 September 1862.

He was expected to lose his leg, but recovered at home and returned to active service by the end of 1862. He was seriously wounded again, by a gunshot to his leg at near Fredericksburg, VA on 3 (or 10) May 1863 and was in hospitals in Richmond then furloughed to Staunton, VA. He commanded the battery at Gettysburg in July 1863. He was wounded for the third time, at Tom's Brook, VA in October 1864, his left arm was amputated, and he was absent recovering through at least the end of 1864, the last record in his military file.

In 1880 he was a railroad clerk living in Covington, VA and in 1900 was a railroad contractor living at Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County, VA. By 1910 he was retired and living in Ely, White Pine County, NV.

His service basics from Fonerden,1 Hewett,2 and his Compiled Service Records,3 online from fold3. General Winder's Report is from the ORs.4 Personal details from family genealogists and the US Census of 1860, 1880-1910. His obituary in the Reno Gazette-Journal of 2 January 1913 says he was a VMI graduate, but he's not found in their records; his brother Joseph was VMI Class of 1856. His gravesite is on Findagrave, source also of his picture from a photograph of unknown provenance contributed by George Seitz.

He married Alberta Clarkson McGuffin (1856-1914) in October 1874 in Staunton, VA and they had 5 children.

See his 1902 letter on the "Roughs" at 1st Manassas, now at the Manassas Park library.

06/17/1839; Covington, VA

12/29/1912; Ely, NV; burial in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Covington, VA