A Railroad Soldier from Burke County

My great-grandfather, John Martin Butler, was born to William Hall and Jane Saphronia Kibler Butler on Dec. 14, 1844 in Burke County, North Carolina. John married Harriett Ann Simpson (1849-1921) in 1869 in Burke County. On Feb. 15, 1862, at age 17, John enlisted in Company D, 11th N.C. Infantry (the “Bethel Regiment”) as a private. On 2 April, 1865 John received a gunshot wound to his right thigh at Sutherland Station, Virginia. He received care at several Federal hospitals, his last hospitalization being in Washington, D.C. on May 2, 1865. John was captured at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 but continued his hospitalizations until surrendering and being released June 14, 1865. In civilian life John worked at the dangerous job of building the N.C. Western Railroad from Old Fort to Swannanoa, N.C.