John H. Knight was born on October 29, 1829, in Nottoway County, Virginia, to John and Sarah Knight. His father was a farmer who owned $10,240 of real estate by 1850. He grew up in Nottoway County, and he married Cornelia Bland in October 1853. They had at least nine children: Betty, born around 1855; Indiana, born around 1857; Lucy, born around 1859; John, born around 1861; Fitzgerald, born around 1863; McIlwaine, born around 1866; William, born around 1870; Mary, born around 1872; and Carter, born around 1874. They lived in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and he earned a living as a farmer. By 1860, he owned $12,450 of real estate and $40,439 of personal property. He enslaved at least thirty people.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army on June 24, 1861, and he mustered in as a sergeant in the 3^rd Virginia Cavalry. The regiment took part in the Peninsula campaign, the Seven Days’ Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the defense of Petersburg, and the Appomattox campaign.

 

He was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant in October 1862, and he eventually earned a promotion to 1^st lieutenant. He was wounded in June 1864 and spent several months recovering. He returned to duty in September 1864, and he surrendered as part of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865.

 

He settled in Farmville, Virginia, after the war and resumed his work as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $30,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. By 1880, he was working as a bank cashier. His wife died in 1899, and by 1900, he was living in his daughter Indiana’s household in Farmville. He died there of Bright’s disease on January 27, 1914.

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