John B. Sherrard

On November 30, 1912, Maj. John B. Sherrard, of the I3th Virginia Infantry, C. S. A., Stonewall Brigade, died at his home, in Burnet, Tex., at the age of ninety years. His birth occurred December 13, 1822, at Bloomery, Hampshire County, Va. (now W. Va.). He was the son of Col. Robert Sherrard and Elizabeth Parks (Wilson) Sherrard. His Grandfather Sherrard emigrated from Londonderry, Ireland, about 1784; and his Grandfather Wilson came to Virginia from Carlisle, Pa., with the tide that flowed south, filling its valley.

On July 5, 1842, he was entered as a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, and was graduated July 4, 1845, standing third in his class. Returning to Hampshire County, he engaged in the mercantile business until 1861. He married in May, 1847, Miss Susan A. Gibson, who died in 1858. Of this union two children survive—namely, David Gibson, of Burnet, Tex., and Mrs. Annie H. Mallett, of Austin, Tex.

Before the war of 1861 Comrade Sherrard organized a militia company, the Hampshire Guards, of which he was elected captain. In the spring of 1861 this company enlisted in the Confederate States service and became Company K, 13th Virginia Infantry, Col. A. P. Mill commanding. It reported for duty at Harper's Ferry on May 19 to Gen. T. J. Jackson. A part of the regiment participated in the battle of Manassas, though Captain Sherrard's company did not reach the field from Winchester in time. On the reorganization of the army, Colonel Hill having been promoted, James A. Walker was elected colonel of the 11th Virginia, James B. Terrill lieutenant colonel, and John B. Sherrard major. All three field officers were graduates of the Virginia Military Institute and were superb soldiers.

The regiment was with General Jackson in his Valley Campaign, and then had to return hurriedly to confront Shields and Fremont in the battle of Cross Keys. In this battle Major Sherrard was placed in command of another small regiment and ordered to picket and hold in check any advance that might be attempted on the right wing. Fremont was repulsed, and the next day our troops recrossed the river and routed Shields. The enemy retreated before the 13th Virginia got into action. The regiment was then ordered to Richmond. In a letter to the writer some years ago Major Sherrard, in describing the campaign in which his famous regiment took part, stated: "I was proud when 'Old Jack's' troops met and mingled with those brave soldiers of General Lee. I did not know till we got there that we had done anything to be proud of, but they made the woods ring with their cheers. We tackled the enemy at Cold Harbor with about 240, and we left 118 on the field. Walker and I escaped, neither of us being touched, but I lost four relatives in the half hour. We were held in reserve at Malvern Hill till darkness closed the bloody scene there."

Major Sherrard was detailed as provost marshal of the division, and was acting as such when the 13th Virginia formed a part of the column which flanked Pope and got all his rations. This regiment was at Second Manassas, at Chantilly, then on to the Potomac, to Harper's Ferry and its capture, then to Sharpsburg. Major Sherrard was still provost marshal of the division. Up to this time (September, 1864), he had served almost without a day's interruption from May, 1861, never off duty for any cause. Having asked for a few days' leave of absence to visit his family, and his application having been refused, he tendered his resignation. A little later he was appointed to recruiting service.

Some months later he was captured by a scouting party and sent to Camp Chase. A week before the evacuation of Richmond he was exchanged at Ball's Bluff, below Richmond. Before he reached his home he learned of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. He had been a prisoner seventeen months to a day.

In 1867 Major Sherrard removed to Canton, Miss., and there engaged in the mercantile business for four years. In 1870 he removed to Sherman, Tex., and followed the same business; and then to Burnet, Tex., where he engaged in the sheep and cattle business with his son, Col. David G. Sherrard, a distinguished graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. He resided at Burnet until his death, honored and beloved by all who knew him. He was an official of the Presbyterian Church and active in its sessions and courts.

Referring to his prison experience, Major Sherrard in a letter to the writer stated: "I want to put on record a fact, to which testimony can be furnished, as against the charge of our cruelty to prisoners at Andersonville. At Camp Chase, Ohio, the mortality among prisoners was fearful. I had good evidence that in six months, from September 15, 1864, to March 15, 1865, fifteen hundred Confederate prisoners died, mainly of pneumonia. They were short of hospital accommodations, so when a prisoner took the disease in the barracks they would not prescribe for him and would not take him to the hospital till he was in the last stages of the disease. This was simply a legal way of putting our men to death to get rid of them. They adjusted the patients to suit the hospital accommodations. There were about six hundred deaths in February, 1865, over twenty per day. These were prisoners sent from battle fields in Tennessee."

From the Confederate Veteran, Vol. 21 (1913) [Joseph R. Anderson, Historiographer V. M. I., Lee, Goochland County, Va.]