James Kennerly and his brothers Lewis and Samuel, from St. Louis, were members of the Missouri State Militia, where U.S. Captain Nathaniel Lyon forced the surrender of the militia encampment on the edge of St. Louis on May 10, 1861. When they were paroled, all three joined the 1st Missouri Infantry on June 22, 1861, in Memphis, Tennessee. James was elected a lieutenant in Company G on May 22, 1862, and later assigned to Company A. He was wounded slightly at the Battle of Shiloh, and recovered at Corinth.

Kennerly was captured on April 9, 1865, at Fort Blakely, Alabama, and held at Ship Island before being transferred to New Orleans on April 28, 1865; he was moved to Vicksburg on May 1, 1865, and paroled.

Carte-de-Visite by J. A. Scholten, St. Louis, Mo.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 32601