Opie, John Newton
Pvt 5th Va Inf Co L
4/17/61 Staunton b. "Millview," Jefferson Co., Mar. 13,1844; moved to Staunton, 1856; student at Staunton Academy; Discharged. Dec. 22, 1861. Cadet at V.M.I. (Class of 1864), Jan.1-June 2, 1862. Enl. Oct. 15, 1862, as Pvt., Co. D,6th Va. Cav. Wounded. at Brandy Station, June 9, 1863. Prom. to Capt., Davis' Bn. Md. Cav.; present at battle of Piedmont, June 5, 1864. Captured Feb.6, 1865; sent to Elmira; transferred for exchange, Mar. 14, 1865.Paroled at Winchester, May 8, 1865. Farmed near Staunton, 20 yrs. Grad. Univ. of Va., 1885. Lawyer. Served in both houses of the Va. legislature. Author, A Rebel Cavalryman (1899). Mbr. Stonewall Jackson Camp No. 25, C. V., Staunton. Died Jan. 26,1906. Buried Thornrose Cemetery, Staunton.
Osbourne, W.L.
Pvt 5th Va Inf Co H
Captured May 18, 1864; sent to Pt. Lookout and Oct. 11, 1864, to Elmira; exchanged Oct. 29, 1864.
Owens, Dempsey
Pvt Co. E 5th SC Cav
Residence: Orangeburg Dist., SC. Enlisted at Christ Church Parish, Charleston Dist., SC, 1 Dec 1862. Capt. near Petersburg, VA, 29 Jul 1864. Sent to Elmira, NY, and DOD (chronic diarrhea), 12 Sep 1864. Buried in Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, NY.
Information provided by Fred Knudsen.
Owens, James B.
Pvt 5th Va Inf Co B
Captured at Spotsylvania, May12,1864; sent to Elmira and Point Lookout; exchanged Feb. 25, 1865.
Owens, Joseph
Joseph Owens was born about 1823 in Moore County, NC and in May 1843 he married Queen Northcott of Montgomery County, NC. Joseph managed to avoid the Civil War until 1864. A story about his enlistment has passed through the family for generations. I was told that the army (I am assuming the Confederates) came to Joseph's home and demanded his oldest son, Daniel. Joseph wouldn't give them his son, but apparently they were determined to take him. Daniel was only sixteen at the time and Joseph wouldn't let his boy go alone, so they took him too. Joseph was nearly 41 and it would be the last time his family ever saw him.
Whether the story actually happened that way or not, on April 3, 1864, Joseph and his son Daniel enlisted into the Confederacy at Camp Holmes according to the "NC Troops 1861 - 1865 A Roster" Vol. VII Infantry, editor Weymouth T. Jordan, Jr., page 81. They were in Company I. Both of them were captured at the Battle of Wilderness in Virginia May 5-6, 1864. They were sent to Point Lookout Prison in Maryland and later transferred to Elmira Prison in New York on July 25, 1864.
Joseph died at Elmira on August 28, 1864 of "chronic diarhoea." Daniel was later paroled at Elmira on March 2, 1865 and transferred to James River, Virginia for exchange. Before he was able to go home, he was hospitalized in Richmond, Virginia, March 7, 1865 with debilitas and furloughed for thirty days.
Daniel must have returned home and told the family everything that happened to his father. Joseph's great-granddaughter told me the story and where Joseph was buried. When I checked the records, sure enough, Daniel and his father had been at Elmira and Joseph was listed as being buried there.
Owens, Robert D.
Captured in Petersburg Va. on his way home. This was on June 17,1864. On July 27,1864 he was transferred to Elmira. Mr. Owens was in Company I of the 26 Va. Infantry.
Information provided by Charlie Owens.