John Lockman joined Company A, 6th Arkansas Infantry in June 1861, and was promoted to third lieutenant on July 26, 1861, at Pocahontas, Arkansas, and detailed as ordnance officer. Some sources state that he resigned in April 1862 when he was not reelected.

In May 1862, Lockman was ordered to join Major General Thomas Hindman, commander of the Trans-Mississippi District. By August 1862, Lockman had been promoted to major and was serving as Hindman’s assistant chief of ordinance. He served as chief of ordnance of Hindman’s First Corps from September 1862 to January 1863.

He was paroled in 1865 and was shot in Galveston, Texas, on January 11, 1869. Lockman died the following day. His murderer, Leroy Cotton, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death, but he committed suicide on the morning of his execution in April 1870.

Ambrotype by unknown photographer.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 32067