YANCEY COUNTY, NC - MILITARY - Ray, John Henry Compiled Civil War Service Record ----¤¤¤¤---- Ray, John Henry of Cane River, Yancey County NC ­ Dual Civil War Service ­ Confederate, deserted his post, “went over” to the Union: First, Company C, 16th North Carolina Infantry Regiment -Confederate Second, Company K, 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment ­ Union John Henry Ray was the son of William “Billy” Ray and Elizabeth Jane Jennings of Cane River, Yancey County NC. Billy Ray was an enigma in the Western North Carolina Mountains ­ A Slave Holding Union Sympathizer ­ “The Richest Man In the Cane River Valley”] Transcription © by Marshall L. Styles, From National Archives Records John Henry Ray was a 23 year-old Captain in the 3rd N.C. Mounted Infantry, Company "K" for the Union army. He was appointed Captain from civilian on 14 March 1865 and assigned to the Military Division of Tennessee, Cumberland Department, Knoxville by Special Field Order No. 81, dated 25 March 1865. The order was signed by Major General George Thomas, known as "The Rock Of Chickamauga" for his actions at the Battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. Because of the late date of John Henry’s appointment, he saw little, if any, action. He may have joined to secure favorable treatment after the war, as he knew from news reports that the war was soon to end ­ and his daddy was pro-Union. The 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry contained many, many Confederate deserters from Yancey County who joined this unit, one of whose members was the infamous raider of the Western North Carolina mountains, Colonel George W. Kirk. Prior to those events, John Henry had been a Sergeant in the 16th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, which was formed in June 1861 from several mountain counties. He and a number of his Ray kinfolk deserted their unit and took up the Union cause, as did a significant number of Yancey County men. Yancey County, NC, Civil War records attributable to this John Henry Ray are sketchy: Rhea, John H., 23, enlisted 5-4-1862, resided in Yancey County. Ray, John H., previously served with Company C, 16th Regiment, transferred to Company A as a Sgt. 2-28-1862. John Henry's service in the Union Army continued until he was mustered out on 8 August 1865 in Knoxville. As a result of John Henry's activities in Burnsville, Confederate forces took his father William "Billy" Ray as prisoner and moved him to Asheville, where he was held in jail as a Union sympathizer. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Marshall Styles ___________________________________________________________________