Wanted: Pvt. John Marshall Quinn

Hi, I've been trying to find my gg grandfather for 2 years now. His name is John Marshall Quinn and we believe he served in Co. B of Walker's Battalion, Thomas Legion in North Carolina. We know he married at least twice, with his second wife being a Cherokee Sarah Jane Hyde, my gg grandmother. This family can be seen in the picture attached.

I'm trying to find a census with this couple and their family on it. Unfortunately, JMQ and SJH both died when their five children were young forcing them to go into various orphanages and foster homes.

I don't know what other information would be relevant to a Civil War site, but any questions/information are welcome.

PLEASE help, if you can.

I found a John M. Marshall who served with Walker's Battallion, Co B, who enlisted in March of 1863 but deserted June 1863. I also think I found a census record for John and Sara from 1870. I'm not sure if this link will work for you - if not, pm me your email address and I will email it to you: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/...&msydp=10&cp=0&pcat=35&fh=0&h=41513946&recoff=.

Could you please provide birth/death/marriage dates, and, where he lived/died/was buried?

Can you direct me to the military record you're talking about? It's been understood he was captured at Strawberry Plains which was on June 20th 1863, so I'm not sure why they would call him a deserter.

The link worked and is interesting, but I'm not familiar with the name of their daughter and it lists Sarah's race as white. It seems too early for them to be married since their first child was born in 1893.

The story that's been passed down is that he was 21 when he enlisted (we assume he enlisted in 1861, plus people are known to lie about their age anyway) because he was old enough to apply for Calvary but since he didn't have his own horse he went into infantry. Anyway, this makes him born abt 1840 and his children are all in orphanages or foster homes by 1910.

So, we believe it's abt 1840 in Georgia - abt 1905. We don't know for sure where he died but we assume it was in Etowah, Tennessee.

My ancestry account name is anthonyquinn1987, my tree is public and you are all welcome to check it out.

Sorry - I meant to say in my post earlier that I had found info on John M. Quinn ... too early in the day for me I guess .

It could be he was listed as a deserter because it was not known at the time that he had been captured. I've seen that before with others, though not with my own family.

Census information can be inaccurate - I've had to verify and change information I have found on some of them...it's always best to get validation regarding a person's race or birthplace if there is any question at all.

I got the military muster sheets from footnote. I'll pull them and post them here for you.

It says Carter Station is where he was last seen...we have a letter from JMQ's uncle Tillman S. Quinn from Carter's Depot writing that as soon as 'Marshell' is well they plan on going home. Tillman's relatives told me he was told by Union troops that if he would stop fighting he could go home.

I really need to get footnote, I'm just out of money.

EDIT: I also noticed the date it shows that he deserted, Sept 21st....If they were captured in June, why would it say he deserted 3 months later and list the particular day of that month. Also, it says he was paid on June 30th, how could he get paid if he was captured?

You want a genealogy forum. Email me at jrzdevil@gmail.com and I'll see what I can find for you. If there children were orphaned out then you really should thank your lucky stars to even have a photo of the family together. When you email me try to include as much information on them that you can. You might be pleasantly surprised at what i can find for you. For the record I don't charge for research. It's all hobby.

Email sent.

Can you explain how it's possible for him to get captured on the 20th, paid on the 30th and go missing on sept 21st?

I've looked at the dates a couple of times. I don't see an actual pay date - just the date he was paid through. It could be he was paid, say June 15th, for services rendered through June 30th.

As far as the capture/deserted date, I'm not sure. There is always the possibility that the dates are simply incorrect. The explanation may lay hidden somewhere in a list of prisoners, another muster sheet that is lost to history ... or it's even possible they did not know he had been captured yet. I have about 50 muster sheets for one of my ancestors - he was a yardmaster but was listed as a paymaster on one of them. Since he could not read nor write, I find this highly unlikely! I also have another ancestor's muster sheet where he was left behind with an illness in Vicksburg with about 100 other confederates. He died at the beginning of July, but I have a muster sheet that states his company didn't find out about his death until October.

Read this series of articles - it seems something similar with the parole/deserted dates happened to this soldier in Thomas' Legion and it gives quite a good explanation.

http://thereadonwnc.ning.com/forum/topics/cherokee-county-boys-got

{excerpt}

A half year later, on June 20, 1863, Union Col. William Sanders ended his hesitancy and went after the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad. His 1,500 cavalry men overtook and destroyed the bridge in Strawberry Plains. They captured 139 men, including Graham.
Only a fraction of Thomas’ forces had been there, the rest having been positioned around Greenville to stop an advance from the north.
Following Sanders’ successful strike and a short night, Sanders made haste to retreat east. Rather than be encumbered by his prisoners, Sanders paroled them, without taking the time to write up papers.
“ Next morning very early,” Cherokee County soldier John H. Stewart recalled in a 1913 letter to Thomas’ former officer, Major William W. Stringfield, “we were carried before Col. Bird and paroled by promising not to fight any more till exchanged.” Stewart had been irritated by Bird’s attitude toward parole. Bird, after staying in Stringfield’s house, located above the bridge, and sleeping in Stringfield’s feather bed, had the bed moved to the yard so that he could execute his office from it.
Many parolees, sworn non-combatants, went home. Graham’s departure was delayed by illness.
Nonetheless, on Sept. 18, 1863, Graham was listed as a deserter. Still later—on an unrecorded date—he was returned to action. Thomas, concerned about morale, was rebuilding his legion by making new contracts with his former men, whose other options were worse.

Were the prisoners taken to Carter's Depot/Station? Because I have a letter from Tillman Summers Quinn writing from there on Aug151863 in part:

I INTEND COMING HOME AS SOON AS MARSHEL GET WELL AND I GET A GOOD CHANCE TO GET OFF.ITIS BAD CHANCE FER A MAN TO GET AWAY FROM HEAR FER IT IS A LONG WAYS TO WALK A RUF ROAD TO TRAVEL AND THEY ARE WATCHING US AS CLOSE AS A HAWK WATCHES A CHICKEN. THE MEN ALL NEARLEY THEY INTEND TO COME OR DYE. I WISH I WAS WHERE WE COULD GET OFF.IF I WAS I WOULD NOT STAY ONE DAY LONGER THAM MARSHEL GETS ABLE TO TRAVEL BUT AS IT IS I WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTILL I GET A CHANCE TO GET OFF.I DONT FEEL ABLE TO WALK 200 MILES THIS HOT WETHER. TREAT THE BUSHWACKERS KINDLY SO THEY WONT TROUBLE YOU NOR YOUR STUF

I'm not sure - what sources have you looked at?

I can't pull the link up now, but I had found a site that showed col. Sanders report about events leading up to and shortly after the raid at strawberry plains. Hr doesn't mention where they hold the prisoners only that he had captured them and then retreated.

Found it, go here and scroll down to page 88: http://www.artcirclelibrary.info/Reference/civilwar/1863-06.pdf

It may be that you never find out. I would suggest keep researching written texts and battle reports to get the more detailed information. And you can always post a question about prisoners or a particular battle on one of the other forums here, too.

I was just told by a 90yr old distant relative that John M Quinn did fight for the Union after he deserted. His cousin (not Uncle as previously believed) Tillman Summers Quinn helped him flee the CSA as they were both Union sympathizers. Tillman would fight for the 3rd US Volunteer Mtd Infantry. I have found through familysearch.org that there's a John Quinn in the 3rd US Volunteers Infantry but the only roster list I've been able to find of the various companies for this regiment don't have him listed. All I've been able to find out is that apparently the 1st-6th US Volunteers were made up of soldiers who had previously fought for the CSA. Information is hard to find on these guys, even this forum doesn't mention them.

Does anyone know where I can get info on the 3rd US Volunteers?

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J4CG-TWK

Here is John Quinn was company B, White company...My guess he was from Fannin, GA. or Cherokee, NC or Polk, TN counties...

http://www.bcooper.aaahosting.net/page37.html

On this page you will find a person researching the Quinn family name form Cherokee county..I would contact her

http://www.goldenbranches.com/nc-state/cherokee/surnames.html