John W. Kerr was probably living in Washington County, Texas, by the early 1860s. He enlisted in the Confederate army on August 3, 1861, and mustered in as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 5^th Texas Infantry. He was promoted to 1^st lieutenant in October 1861, and in October 1862, army officials named him an acting assistant adjutant general. He was promoted to captain on November 2, 1862, and to inspector general of his brigade on December 3, 1863. He surrendered as part of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. He apparently disappeared from the documentary record after leaving the army.

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