James A. Pattie was born around 1832 in Virginia. By 1860, he was working as a carpenter in Prince William County, Virginia.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army on April 26, 1861, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company F of the 17^th Virginia Infantry on May 27, 1861. According to his service records, he was 6 feet, 1 ½ inches tall, with dark hair and blue eyes. The regiment took part in the First Battle of Manassas, the Seven Days’ Battles, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Cold Harbor, and the siege of Petersburg.

 

He was promoted to sergeant in November 1861. Union forces captured him during the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, and imprisoned him on Hart’s Island in New York. He swore an oath of allegiance to the Union on June 21, 1865.

 

He settled in Gainesville, Virginia, after the war, and he resumed his work as a carpenter. He married a woman named Alwilda around 1870, and their daughter Susan was born around 1871. By 1870, he owned $225 of personal property. He died in November 1904.

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