James B. Cross has a service file with Co. "B", 55th Georgia Regiment. Apparently you have something on this man from Ancestry, which includes a line reading "Distinguished Service". Note that no other information appears on that line.
You're certainly not the only person to assume that "Distinguished Service" means something. It does not. Ancestry's use of this term is terribly misleading and inaccurate, as no soldier in this war was given a medal or citation for that reason.
Unless you have a diary or a letter from a soldier belonging to the same company, it's going to be difficult to verify conflicting stories. Standard sources of information are the soldier's service file and any pension application (approved or not) that may have been filed in his name. Do you have either of those documents?