William D. Berry (abt. 1846 - 1864)

Born about 1846 in Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Died 1864 at about age 18 in Carroll, Arkansas, United States

Biography

William D. (Billy) Berry 1846, 5th cousin, Civil War Hero William D. Berry is our 5th cousin, 4 times removed

Birth: 1846, Jackson County, Alabama, USA, Death: 1864, Carroll County, Arkansas, USA

Company E, 16th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. Enlisted 19 Oct 1861 at Carrollton--Discharged Mar 1863 due to minor age--Reenlisted and was captured at Port Hudson. Previously served in Company K, 4th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, and State Troops. Age listed as 7 on 1850 Carroll County Census. Brother of James Henderson Berry, Governor of and U. S. Senator from Arkansas. James Marion Bailey memoir: ". . . Billy Berry, under sixteen years of age . . . had been discharged from the service a short time before the beginning of the siege, but who voluntarily remained to take part in the defense of the place. Having his discharge papers, he was permitted by the Federals to go at will."

". . . to our left and a little in front, not over fifty yards away, we saw a company of dismounted men, twenty-one in number, waiting to receive us. There were only seven of us in the pursuing party, but every man reined his horse's head in the direction of the enemy and opened fire, which was promptly returned. Bullets from the rifles of these mountain men flew thick and close. My young friend Berry, who sat on his horse only a few feet away, called to me saying he was shot and asked me to take him from his horse. Dismounting, I took him in my arms and laid him down behind a tree. Rolling over he continued firing at the enemy, who were now retreating. By this time the welcome sound of horses' feet told us that our friends were coming. Owing to the steepness of the hill and the rough nature of the ground, most of the Federals escaped. Four were killed and one taken prisoner. Most of their arms, and all of their horses, twenty-one in number were captured. Returning from the chase, I found my young friend lying where I had left him. Bending over to change his position, he put his arms around my neck, looking up in my face and said, 'I love you.' Words are inadequate to express my feelings at that moment.

After these long years, the memory of the incident touches my heart with the deepest emotion. Knowing the end was near, yet he uttered no word of complaint, and scarcely a groan escaped his lips. He met the last enemy, death, like he had met the enemies of his country, bravely and fearlessly. Among the hills of North Arkansas, in the Crooked Creek Valley, the 'boy soldier' is sleeping his manhood away. But his memory will ever be dear to me. As an evidence of the close shooting of these mountain men, I will state that in addition to the wound received by my young friend, his horse was also shot, and a ball passed through a coat tied behind his saddle."

Family links: Parents: James McFerrin Berry (1807 - 1871), Isabella Jane Orr (Berry) Siblings: Mary Emeline Berry Peel (1835 - 1902)*, James Henderson Berry (1841 - 1913)* Virginia Arkansas Berry McKennon (1843 - 1874)*,William D. Berry (1846 - 1864) Sophronia Berry Forrest (1848 - 1933)*, Emma Berry McKennon (1854 - 1892)* William D. Berry Grave Site

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import. It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Birth

Birth:

Date: ABT 1846

Place: Alabama^[1]

Birth:

Date: ABT 1845

Place: Alabama

Found multiple copies of BIRTH DATE. Using ABT 1846

Sources

• Source: S3 Type: Gedcom File Source Locality: Ancestry World Tree Title: James Henderson Berry URL: http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?f0=berry&f1=james+henderson&submit423=Search&f5=&f6=&f7=&f8=&f9=&f10=&advqt=%2Fsearch%2Frectype%2Fusersub%2Fworldtree%2Fmain.htm&db=gedind&ti=0 Submitter: leathers Owner: JALeathers@msn.com Date: 7 Nov 2000
• Source: S7 Type: Census Media: Index Title: 1860 Census Place: Carroll County, Carrolltown Township, Arkansas URL: http://www.rootsweb.com/~arcchs/Census/1860/carltwp.html

1. ↑ Source: #S7

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jim Berry for creating WikiTree profile Berry-4301 through the import of GGGUncle_Wm_Martin_Berry_desc.ged on Dec 9, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Jim and others.