John Wesley Bowden 
John Wesley was born in 1842 in Lawrence, TN.1 John Wesley's father was Wiley F. Bowden. His paternal grandfather was John Bodine. He had two brothers and a sister, named William, Allen G. and Mary J.. He was the second oldest of the four children. He died in Meridian. TX.1 General Notes
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John Wesley Bowden was a minister. He joined the Confederate Army on 15
July 1861, after the battle of Fort Sumpter. He was in Company E., 15
Northwest Arkansas Infantry, Captain Davis's Company of Pope County, Mc
Rae's Battalion. Brother William was in the same company. They were both
taken ill with measles and sent home. Brother, William, died of the
measles in service. Later, John was returned to service but became ill
with pneumonia.
John was later promoted to Third Sergeant and his company was sent to
Mississippi. There, John was captured, twice - first at Corinth and,
later, loaded onto a wounded soldier train. He was kept prisoner at the
Jackson, MS fairgrounds and then exchanged. John's second capture took
place about 1 May 1863, near Port Gibson, MS> He was sent to Alton, IL
Prison Camp, which Bowden called "the Alton Penitentiary". There were
about a thousand prisoners at this prison from Arkansas. They were sent
to Baltimore in June, 186, placed on a ship and exchanged at the mouth of
the James River for Union soldiers, which occured at City Point, VA on 21
June 1863.
John joined the Methodist Episcopalian Church, South after his marriage.
He later taught school. John became a minister, serving churches in Van
Buren Co., AR and then moving to North Texas. He continued to support
his family by farming, since the churches he was sent to were very small
and poor.
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