Sergeant William Jenkins
Dublin Core
Title
Sergeant William Jenkins
Subject
Company K, 1st Regiment N.C. Junior Reserves
Description
William Jenkins resided with his mother and three siblings on a farm in District 11, Northampton County. The family was prosperous and owned five slaves. William’s older brother, Patrick H. Jenkins, volunteered in 1861 in Company F (the “Hertford Grays”), 1st Regiment N.C. State Troops, and was killed in action at the Battle of Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862. (See State Troops and Volunteers, Volume One, p. 302, 31; image 5.3.25).
William enlisted on July 12, 1864, in a company from Hertford, Martin, and Northampton counties that became Company K, 1st Regiment N.C. Junior Reserves. He was appointed third sergeant. A boy could remain in the Junior Reserves only until his eighteenth birthday, when he was required to transfer to one of the North Carolina units in Confederate service. For that reason, the exact ages of the boys were scrupulously recorded, and William was seventeen years, one month, and fourteen days old on the date of his enlistment.
Three muster rolls cover the service of Company K from July 15, 1864, through February 1865. In each of them William is reported hospitalized for unspecified reasons. However, during that period he was promoted from third sergeant to second sergeant, so he apparently returned to duty on at least two occasions. There are no military records for him after February 1865.
William enlisted on July 12, 1864, in a company from Hertford, Martin, and Northampton counties that became Company K, 1st Regiment N.C. Junior Reserves. He was appointed third sergeant. A boy could remain in the Junior Reserves only until his eighteenth birthday, when he was required to transfer to one of the North Carolina units in Confederate service. For that reason, the exact ages of the boys were scrupulously recorded, and William was seventeen years, one month, and fourteen days old on the date of his enlistment.
Three muster rolls cover the service of Company K from July 15, 1864, through February 1865. In each of them William is reported hospitalized for unspecified reasons. However, during that period he was promoted from third sergeant to second sergeant, so he apparently returned to duty on at least two occasions. There are no military records for him after February 1865.
Creator
Unknown Photographer
Source
1860 U. S. Census, District No. 11, Northampton County, North Carolina, population schedule, page 49, dwelling 399, family 399, Sarah Jenkins household; 1860 U.S. Census, District No. 11, Northampton County, North Carolina, slave schedule, page 24, Sarah Jenkins, slave owner; Manarin et. al., North Carolina Troops 16:228-230; service record files of William Jenkins, 1st Regiment N.C. Junior Reserves, Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers from the State of North Carolina (M270), RG109, NA.
Contributor
Greg Mast Collection
Format
Copy Print
Files
Citation
Unknown Photographer, “Sergeant William Jenkins,” Tar Heel Faces, accessed April 26, 2024, https://tarheelfaces.omeka.net/items/show/71.
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