Written by: Kori Thomas

Throughout this project we as students were supposed to learn about a soldier that was assigned. I was honored the soldier, William Walter B Janney. In this paper I plan to share the hardships but also the joys of Janney Walter William B.

William Walter had somewhat of a complicated life. According to the documents I came across William Walter had moved around a lot due to the military. He first enlisted in April 23, 1861 in Harpers Ferry. His period written down was one year of service. During his military stage Janney was captured quite often during the war. During his first enlistment he was captured by the enemy and paroled. Later on, Janney enlisted in March 18, 1862. This time he was in Warrenton, Virginia. During this enlistment he had a period of about two years. In this battle he happened to be present. Later, he was enlisted on February 9, 1864 in Orange County, Virginia. In the document I was provided Janney happened to have residency in this town , but he was arrested by General Crooks. He was arrested in Winchester, Virginia on July 20, 1864. Life was going fine for him in the jail life but his day finally came for him to go to prison. He attended prison in Camp Chase, Ohio on July 28, 1864.

William Walter B Janney was in prison for a little under a year before his death came. He died in March 5, 1865 due to bad diarrhea. According to my documents this man was a good man. He got paid very little but that didn’t seem to stop him. One can only infer in how many times he has enlisted that he cared for his country and would give up his life for it. Men with such a passion to fulfill the need for their country are very brave men.

Earlier I mentioned the different wars he was enlisted in. the most common one I have seen was Harpers Ferry. Harpers ferry was a target of an assault by armed abolitionists. The people who attacked Harpers Ferry had intentions of a stronghold of freed slaves in the mountains of Maryland and Virginia. This war started October 16, 1859. Men rounded up hostages including some slaves. The word of this war got out very quickly and the troops involved got surrounded. Many of the leaders to this were tried and then murdered, or worse. The leader of the Harpers Ferry troops helped any further accommodations between the north and south. This war was very important for the Civil War.

After Harpers Ferry, William enlisted in Warrenton Junction and Orange County. When I did my research I found that Warrenton Junction did not have much of a war going on. This “ war” was basically an argument between several people. I can only infer this through the little information I was given. I can also infer that Janney was not the healthiest man due to his long rap sheet of medical descriptions. Fold3 described my soldier to be a 21-year-old short 5’5 man with auburn hair and a dark complexion. William seemed to have lived a good life. I believe enlisting in the war is a great way for a person to find out who they are and what they want to do in life. Referring back to what I said earlier and how he enlisted at least three times. Not only did this show his care for his country but it showed his braveness and excitement to learn more about what earth has to offer us. He explored the different ways people did things by being a prisoner and just by going overseas.

In this project there was so much one could learn from just one simple soldier. But was this soldier that was assigned, simple? No, no matter what soldier you are or what war they fought in they will never be simple. We go through our everyday lives focusing on things that we never had to focus on in the past. Soldiers fought in the past have given us the opportunity to have certain freedoms and opportunities. I believe that this paper was to recognize these soldiers who fought long and hard for not only their freedom but ours as well. This project in the end provided somewhat of a closure period for these soldiers. Also, this project taught me to never give up and lose hope on something I want because then these soldiers would have died for nothing. Yes, I understand my soldier was plain and boring but this man was really extraordinary and how he enlisted in so many places was just beautiful because of how ambitious he was. Never forget the soldiers who helped us gain privileges we never thought that could happen.

Bibliography

www.fold3.com/image/271/16530841

www.history.com