John Robert Hicks

My two brothers and I enlisted in the 55th Virginia at Chancellorsville on May 13, 1862. We fought throughout the War and after the Battle of Gettysburg, I was marching hard to get back across the Potomac River and to the safety of the South, when I was captured by the Yanks at Falling Water, Maryland. It was raining cats and dogs and we'd stopped to rest before crossing the rising waters. The Yanks came up on us and we mistakenly thought they were one of us......

I was taken to the Capitol Prison in DC and then transferred to Pt. Lookout, Md where I spent the remaining years of the War. We were brought around by barge to the James River and I was one of the many who sadly witnessed the surrender at Appomatox. I was loyal to the end but we were all forced to sign a piece of paper saying we were once again citizens of the United States and not take up arms against her.

I returned home to a farm devastated by the War. The Battle of Spotsylvania had been fought literally in our front and back yard. My dad, John Robert (Robert) Hicks was very ill and I could see that the War had taken a terrible toll on the whole family.

But my brothers had returned home safely and we had a lot to be thankful for. A few servants remained on the farm and they helped dig my dad's grave in June of 1865. He was laid to rest beside my baby brother in the Hicks Cemetery.

I went to work trying to turn the farm around and make it productive once more. I had experienced an injury to my eyes during my time away from home and my eyesight was never very good after the War.

I was a faithful member of Shady Grove Methodist Church up until the end. I was a good neighbor and my friends were many. We all worked hard and helped each other to slowly recover from our terrible ordeal. Times were tough and my family never fully regained the sense of wealth and prosperity that we possessed before the War.

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THE VIRGINIA REGIMENTAL HISTORIES SERIES (VA Roster C) Published in 1987 states that John R Hicks enlisted as a Private on 13 Mar 1862-Company M, 55th Infantry Regiment Virginia. He was listed as a POW on 14 July 1863 at Falling Waters, MD. He was confined on 19 July 1863 at Point Lookout, MD then paroled on 13 Feb 1865 at Point Lookout, MD. Returned on 13 Feb 1865--------- On rolls 18 Feb 1865 at Camp Lee, VA (no further record). ________________________________________________________________ From copies of Muster Rolls:

John R is listed as present through June 1863 and appears on the Company Muster Roll from March 1862 through 31 Dec 1864. Roll cards state that John R was paid and that he was 30 years old. For the next Muster Roll (July and August 1863) he is "absent" and reported captured by enemy men at Falling Waters, MD on 14 July 1863. September-October 1863 he is "absent" and listed as "missing in action". Status is reported as that in subsequent muster rolls through 31 Dec 1864. He next appears on a Roll of Prisoners of War that is not dated but states that he was captured at Falling Waters, MD on 14 July 1863. The next Roll of Prisoners of War (at Old Capitol Prison, Washington, DC, 1 Aug 1863-Roll dated Provost Marshall's Office, 3 Aug 1863 lists John R as captured. The next Roll of Prisoners of War that is not dated (but has in small print) sent from Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D C to Point Lookout, MD 8 Aug 1863 and restates the capture date 14 July 1863. The next card is taken from a duplicate roll and not dated. On a Prisoner of War record date 9 Aug 1863 it is stated when and where captured and the fact that he was "Exchanged 13 Feb 1865. The last Muster Roll was dated for 18 Feb 1865. It states that John R enlisted March 1862 in Fredericksburg-Capt. Alexander-period-war. He was last paid by Capt. Goolrick on 30 Apr 1863. John R was marked "present". A remark states, " Name appears in col of Rec'd Payment as John R Hicks."

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Virginia Confederate Units-Spotsylvania County-Among those units listed is Co M, 55th VA Infantry, Capt. John F. Alexander's Co. (also known as "Alexander's Virginia Artillery"). Company M enlisted 13 Mar 1862 (Spotsylvania County). First serving in the 5th Alabama Infantry Battalion. Chose to join the 55th, and mustered in on 16 Jun 1862 under the command of Captain John F Alexander.

A GUIDE TO VIRGINIA MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS 1861-1865, Revised 2nd Edition, Lee A. Wallace, Jr. 1986 gives this description: Co. M, Capt. John F Alexander's Co. Va. Arty; enlisted 13 Mar 1863, for three years or the war, temporarily attached to 5th Bn. Alabama Inf. as Co. F, until 10 June 1862, when by order of Gen. C W Field, it was attached to this regiment and subsequently assigned as Co. M by the A & IGO. Captains: John F Alexander, Charles T Goolrick Edmond Kar.