Written by Terry Harmon; edited by Cheri Todd Molter
This ambrotype of John Ward dates between 1861 and 1862. Born circa 1831, Ward was a carpenter from the Sugar Grove/Cove Creek section of Watauga County. He enlisted as a Corporal in Co. E, 37th Regiment, NC Infantry, Confederate army on September 18, 1861 and was later promoted to Full Sergeant. Ward was wounded at Gaines’ Mill, VA on June 27, 1862 and died of those wounds on July 6, 1862. He was never married.
John Ward was a great-grandson of early settlers Benjamin Ward and Cutliff Harmon. He was a first cousin to two of my 3x-great-grandparents, Rilda Hicks Presnell and Calvin Ward and a second cousin of my great-great-grandfather, Carroll Harmon.