Patrick County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Biographies.....Martin, John B. September 1, 1838 - January 9, 1864 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ron Martin cindyandron@bellsouth.net June 4, 2022, 10:02 am Author: Ron Martin The long, winding story of the life of John B. Martin began on September 1, 1838 in Dodson, Virginia which was in a very rural area located in Patrick County. He was the fourth child of Moses Josephas Martin, Jr. and Sarah Sally Moles. His formative years were spent like many children in rural Patrick County during this era as he worked on the family farm helping to support the family. On March 4, 1858, he married Ellen Elizabeth Moles, the daughter of Caly Moles and Mary Polly Moles. Immediately they began their family as just over nine months later, she gave birth to their first son, William Lee Martin. Four years later, they had their first daughter Mary Josephine. Of course by this time in their life, the Civil War had begun and John was drafted on April 1, 1862. He was assigned to Captain Fry's Company, the Virginia Light Artillery or otherwise known as the Orange Artillery. Obviously this lifestyle did not agree with John and he began a pattern of deserting which ultimately led to his demise. Evidently he served for just eighteen months but like many of the soldiers on both sides, they became sick and/or home sick. Soldiers on both sides deserted for a variety of reasons as the rigors of military life, poor food, inadequate clothing, homesickness, and concern for loved ones at home drove men to desert. It could be stated that the character of the American soldier contributed to the desertion issue. The first couple of times that he had deserted, he was located near his home and returned to the Confederacy. Each time he was returned to his company and his illegal absences had been treated as absent without leave (AWOL). His punishment after conviction was meted out accordingly with loss of pay and extra camp duties. He deserted for the final time on June 6, 1863 when he deserted on the march to Spotsylvania Court House along with two others one of whom was his brother- in-law Wade Allen Emberson who lived nearby. Since this was the third time that he had deserted, it was required under existing laws of the Confederate army that he should be tried as a deserter. However there were some other circumstances that were brought to life. Evidently he was in the company of or had been reported to be in the company of a band of deserters from the 1st and 3rd North Carolina State Troops that had deserted shortly after the Gettysburg campaign and they had escaped to the mountains in southwestern Virginia which provided them with an excellent place to hide out. There were many caves in the area in which they could take refuge and hide. However they were evidently conducting their own campaigns of lawlessness in the area as they had been accused of multiple unlawful acts. A force was sent out by the Provost Marshall of the Army of Northern Virginia to recapture this group of deserters. The Provost Guard eventually caught up with this band of lawless defectors but they resisted arrest and in doing so, the officer in command of the Provost Guard was killed by the deserters. John B. Martin was recaptured on September 12, 1863. As more of a result of the murder of the commander rather than the desertion, the ten members of the North Carolina group were executed by firing squad that same month. For some unknown reason, John B. Martin was not executed but was placed in jail to be held until a trial could be held. While he was held in jail, his wife gave birth to another son John Martin, Jr. on November 5, 1863 in Dodson. On December 26, 1863, he faced a court martial and as a result of his affiliation with the lawless group of North Carolinians, no mercy was shown him and he was convicted and sentenced to death by the court. He was returned to Castle Thunder Military Prison in Richmond to await his fate pending approval of the sentence by General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. There are conflicting records on when the execution took place based on Civil War records but an article that was published in the Richmond Dispatch on January 12 removes any doubt. On December 9, he was returned to the encampment of his battalion in Frederick's Hall which apparently was in Louisa County according to the newspaper article. At noon, the battalions of the Second Corps were brought together to witness the execution and the condemned man was killed by a firing squad comprised of soldiers from the Second Corps Provost Guard which was the normal practice during the war. He had the ignominious distinction of being the only man from Carter's battalion to be executed during the conflict. Evidently he was laid to rest in Frederick's Hall at an unknown location at this time. Additional Comments: Information to comprise some of this biography were taken from "Morris, Orange, and King William Artillery (The Virginia regimental histories series) written by Gregory Macaluso and a newspaper story from the Richmond Dispatch published on January 12, 1864. This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/vafiles/ File size: 5.6 Kb