Malcolm Ray was born around 1839 in North Carolina to Nevin and Effie Ray. His father was a farmer who owned $900 of real estate and $650 of personal property by 1860. Ray grew up and attended school in Moore County, North Carolina, and by 1860, he owned $950 of real estate.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army on September 12, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 35^th North Carolina Infantry on November 6. According to his service records, he was 6 feet, 2½ inches tall. The regiment took part in the Seven Days’ Battles, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and the Bermuda Hundred campaign. He was promoted to sergeant in February 1862 and to 2^nd lieutenant in December 1862. He was wounded at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862, and again at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. He was wounded again in May 1864, and he died in Richmond, Virginia, on May 28, 1864.

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