A Long Time Ago/31 Records of Military Service
Records of Military Service
This page is part of A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families, the chunked book edition on the Wally Atkins Family Wiki.
- Book section: Records of Military Service
- Page range in the book: 217-227
- Chunk order: 31 of 36
This section has been reconstructed from the usable military material already extracted from the book. It has been lightly cleaned for readability, but uncertain readings should still be checked against the underlying scan where exact wording matters.
Source note
- Book: A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families
- Transcript source: `029-military.md`
- Editorial note: the local transcript file is incomplete and noisy in places, so this page preserves the strongest readable military material already extracted from the section rather than pretending every damaged line is secure.
Cleaned import
The military section of the book combines roster-style family military references with more detailed narratives for selected men in the line. The book treats names marked with (D) as direct ancestors and the others as collateral figures.
Revolutionary War
The book identifies John Atkins as a Sergeant in the 4th Virginia Continental Line. This gives the older Atkins generation a direct place in Revolutionary War service.
The section also identifies Benjamin Atkins as another brother in that generation. It says that he enlisted on December 10, 1777, served as a Sergeant in Scott's Company, 10th Regiment for three years, was sick at Valley Forge, and was later attached to Captain Coleman's Company, 2nd North Carolina Battalion, under Colonel John Patten.
This matters because Benjamin is not only a difficult genealogical bridge in the family line, but also part of the Revolutionary generation in his own right.
Civil War
Patrick Henry Atkins
The roster section identifies Patrick Henry Atkins with Company K, 18th Virginia Infantry, in the Staunton Hill Artillery context, under Captain Thomas J. Spencer, with ties to the Charlotte Rifles.
The detailed military record says Patrick Henry Atkins enlisted at Robey's Shop, Charlotte County, Virginia, in 1859. He originally served in a company known as the Charlotte Rifles under Captain Thomas J. Spencer, and was later assigned permanently to Company K, 18th Virginia Infantry.
The narrative places him in or with units engaged at:
- 2nd Manassas / Bull Run (August 29-30, 1862)
- South Mountain (September 14, 1862)
- Sharpsburg / Antietam (September 17, 1862)
- Gettysburg, including Pickett's Charge (July 1-3, 1863)
- Fredericksburg area actions
- Wilderness (May 6, 1864)
- Spotsylvania (May 8, 11, and 12, 1864)
- North Anna (May 23-24, 1864)
- Cold Harbor (June 3, 1864)
- Grant's Crossing of the James (June 14-16, 1864)
- Bermuda Hundred / Dutch Gap / Petersburg operations (September-October 1864)
- Saylor's Creek, leading toward Appomattox (April 1865)
Andrew Jackson Atkins
The roster section identifies Andrew Jackson Atkins in Company B, 1st Virginia Regiment, under Captain Thomas P. Wilkinson's company, stationed at Staunton River Bridge.
The detailed narrative says he enlisted at Robey's Shop, Charlotte County, in 1859, originally with the Charlotte Rifles under Captain Thomas J. Spencer. He was later transferred to Longstreet's 1st Army Corps, Kemper's Brigade, under Colonel W. H. Palmer and Captain George F. Newman.
The visible military narrative places him in or with units engaged at:
- 2nd Manassas
- South Mountain
- Sharpsburg
- Gettysburg
- Wilderness
- Spotsylvania
Thomas Paynter
The roster section identifies Thomas Paynter in Company B, 30th Virginia Regiment.
The detailed military record associates his regiment with:
- Sharpsburg
- Fredericksburg area actions
- Wilderness
- Spotsylvania
- North Anna
- Cold Harbor
- Grant's Crossing of the James
- Dutch Gap / Petersburg operations
- Saylor's Creek
- Appomattox surrender
Because Thomas Paynter stands in the maternal line leading to Adelia Jackson Paynter, this section helps tie the Paynter branch into the same larger Civil War world that touched the Atkins family more broadly.
Context notes
- This is one of the strongest historical sections in the book for connecting named ancestors to major wars.
- It strengthens the Revolutionary-era presence of John Atkins (1740-1804) and Benjamin Atkins.
- It also gives fuller Civil War context for Patrick Henry Atkins, Andrew Jackson Atkins, and Thomas Paynter.
- Some exact wording in the damaged transcript should be checked against the underlying scan if a quoted phrase or date becomes especially important.
Related pages
- John Atkins (1740-1804)
- Benjamin Atkins
- Patrick Henry Atkins
- Andrew Jackson Atkins
- Thomas Paynter
- A Long Time Ago/32 Old Homes in Virginia
- A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families
