John Releford Stewart b abt 1835 d aft 1877

Was a member of Company K, 6th Texas Cavalry Regiment. It is not known if he was with Capt Throckmorton prior to Sep 1861 when Throckmorton took his Ranger Company to the IT to chase Union soldiers from the forts north of the Red River. He did travel 40 miles to enlist which would be the distance from north McKinney to South Dallas where the enlistment occurred. We know he was with the 6th through the IT Battles in Dec 61 and may have been sick at camp Washington, AR, at Elkhorn Tavern, Corinth and Hatchie Bridge battles and was on the Holly Springs Raid when on December 21 he was wounded and left for capture at the river near Davis Mills, MS. On Dec 26 he died of a hip wound in the Union hospital.

All this occurred under the name John B. Stewart. There is only one record for John R at Fold3 and it states his records are with John B. Stewart.

On 5 June of 1865 John R. Stewart is paroled in Mills County, TX. This is the last record under John B and is definitely signed John R. Was John R and John B the same man, and did he survive the Union hospital and escaped back to Texas. His kin states he is known to have lived to about 1877 and is buried in a Bennett Cemetery. It should confirm his initial, Unit and date of death. I am waiting on that data, but does anyone else have any data on this soldier, and did they often die and escape to be paroled.

Stephen Kirk in his book on the 6th Texas lists Stewart as John R. In his book, Line of Battle on the Ross Brigade, he does not list John Stewart at all. I am sure that this is a normal problem with records and it is likely that John R. Stewart went home after Davis Mills to recuperate and did not return to service. He did seek parole in 1865.

Another interesting Civil War mystery.