Company H · 4th Virginia Cavalry · Black Horse
* James Kerfoot Sowers
1845–1864
Confirmed by: M V T Y
Confederate Service Record
Enlisted 25 December 1862; AWOL March to April and September to October 1863; absent for horse March to April 1864; from Jeffersonton.
- James Kerfoot Sowers M V T Y Photo: Born: 1845.[3808] Married: Died: May 7, 1864. Determined from V, Y, Armstrong, and historical fact of the date of the Battle of Bloody Angle in Spotsylvania County. Reword this sentence. Killed at Todd’s Tavern, May -----.[3809] Killed at Spotsylvania Courthouse in 1864.[3810] Killed in action 1864 Bloody Angle.[3811] “He was killed at Bloody Angle, the day before I was wounded.” He was killed on the 7th, the “next day” after “the night of the 6th.”[3812] “For 10 successive days, we fought the enemy, inflicting upon them a heavy loss and suffering severely ourselves. Among the killed was Kerfoot Sowers, shot through the heart while gallantly charging the enemy.”[3813] Buried Spotsylvania Confederate Cemetery.[3814] His cemetery marker “at Spotsylvania Court House Cemetery” is inscribed simply, “J. Kerfoot Sowers/ Co. H/ 4 VA Cav/ C. S. A.”[3815] Obituary: [per Krick, Check # 9/15/63 Examiner ts. in 2nd cav file for Fitz Lee address, see if mentions Sowers. #] Children: Parents and Siblings: Other Family: First cousin of William Mason Spilman.[3816] “[T]hree of his first cousins [were] killed” with the “first Regiment of Loudoun Cavalry” on 6 May 1864.[3817] Stories, Letters & Biographies: “Lived In Jeffersonton, in the old Latham house, where the Wener house now stands…”[3818] See Stories Chapter. Ker Sowers figures in a story under Harold Alston that occurred the day Sowers was killed. See Stories Chapter under Harold Alston. CSR: Enlisted 25 December 1862; AWOL March to April and September to October 1863; absent for horse March to April 1864; from Jeffersonton. Additional Information: Also Check # McIlhany, per Krick. Sowers J. Kerfoot Born: Buried: Confederate Cemetery, Spotsylvania Died: Rank/Regt: H 4th VA Cav. Reference: Spotsylvania C. H., VA. Confederate Dead Database. [3819] Called “Ker Sowers” by Alex Hunter [BH].[3820] “About five thousand rifles discharged through the falling twigs and leaves without premonition, bursting upon the unsuspecting troopers…. “Glorious, gallant Cuthbert Sowers, the pet of the Black Horse, fell at this volley.”[3821]
This entry contains 14 footnote references. The full bibliography is in the References section.
No portrait
on file
on file
Source Rosters
- M Martin Roll (most authoritative)
- V Vanished Roster (~1874–1878)
- T Tracing Roll
- Y Nanzig Register
Descendant or researcher? Corrections and additions welcome.
Suggest a correction →From A Biographical Register of the Members of Fauquier County Virginia's Black Horse Cavalry, 1859–1865. Compiled by Lynn C. Hopewell (1940–2006), with editorial assistance by Susan W. Roberts and research by Heidi Burke. Manuscript completed February 28, 2008. Published posthumously.