Husband of Margaret A. Duke [1844-1898]; Confederate soldier during Civil War - Co. B, 2nd Maryland Infantry

John Francis Duke was born at the White Marsh Farm July 25, 1835. According to his granddaughter Mary Ann Duke he traveled to Illinois some time before the Civil War. His purpose length of stay etc. is not known but he returned to Maryland by 1862.

In 1861 Colonel Nathaniel Duke of Calvert Co. addressed a meeting of Southern Sympathizers at Leonardtown. Colonel Duke was a relative who often met with one of John’s older brothers George Dent Duke or John Thomas Duke. The Colonel’s speech probably influenced John’s enlistment in the Confederate State Army. He joined Company “B” of the Second Maryland Infantry Regiment of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Richmond on August 27, 1862. Captain R.B. Winder enrolled him as a private aged 27 for three years or the duration of the War.

By September 1862 he was a patient in the Army Hospital at Charlottesville where he was admitted on the 21st afflicted with Typhoid fever. He was released on October 11, 1862 and rejoined his unit. He signed a receipt for clothing on February 4, 1863 and again in November 1863. He was present for muster from February 29 through March 31, 1864 and September through October 1864. By August 31, 1864 he was a patient at Robertson Hospital in Richmond and signed receipts for clothing at Robertson #24 and Chimoraze Hospitals on September 14, 1864. In January and February 1865 he was on the muster roll of Company “D” of the Second Maryland Infantry Battalion where he was paid a $50 bounty by Major Cary and Captains Howard and McClain on February 18, 1865. He is known to have fought at Gettysburg where he was struck by a “spent” bullet.

He was taken prisoner at Petersburg, Virginia April 2, 1865, arrived at City Point Virginia April 4, 1865 and imprisoned at Point Lookout Maryland. Prison records State: Residence - St. Mary’s Co. Md. Complexion - Fair; Hair - brown; Eyes - blue; height - 5 feet 8 ¾ inches. While in prison he contracted Typhoid fever again.

His sufferings were so great that ever afterwards he was reluctant to talk about his experiences there. (See “Point Lookout - Prison Camp for Confederates” also titled “Andersonville North” by Edwin W. Beitzell for an account of the life John may have known there.) He evidently was not reticent about relating incidents of his Army life to his grandchildren since he described walking barefoot in the snow, eating hardtack only for long periods of time and shaking lice out of his clothing over camp fires. (Henry Combs says he told him of a leg injury he had acquired in the battle of Gettysburg on Little Round Top). John was released from the Point Lookout Confederate Prison on June 11, 1865 when he signed an Oath of Allegiance to the United States and then walked 22 miles home to Leonardtown.

John F. Duke
United States Civil War Soldiers Index
Name John F. Duke
Event Type Military Service
Military Beginning Rank Private
Military Final Rank Private
Military Side Confederate
State or Military Term Maryland
Military Unit 2nd Battalion, Maryland Infantry
Military Company B
Affiliate Film Number 1
Citing this Record
"United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FS4Y-GWG : 4 December 2014), John F. Duke, Private, Company B, 2nd Battalion, Maryland Infantry, Confederate; citing NARA microfilm publication M379 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1; FHL microfilm 821,887.
United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865
Affiliate Publication Title Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Maryland.
Affiliate Publication Number M379
GS Film number 821887
John F Duke
Maryland, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers
Name John F Duke
Event Type Military Service
Event Year 1864
Military Unit Note Second Battalion Infantry, A-D
Citing this Record
"Maryland, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XF65-QLF : 4 December 2014), John F Duke, 1864; from "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Maryland," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : 2011); citing military unit Second Battalion Infantry, A-D, NARA microfilm publication M321 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1961), roll 18.