Robert Woodward in Confederate Uniform

Robert Woodward

Besides the 1850 and 1860 census records, other records that definitely refer to this Robert Woodward are the Woodward family records and Huldah Woodward's pension application. Robert Woodward was born March 6, 1821. He married Huldah Yeary October 27, 1847 in Claiborne County, Tennessee. He was in Captain Samuel Shumate's Company E, 37th Virginia Infantry Regiment and was killed on May 12, 1864 in the Battle of the Wilderness - Spotsylvania Courthouse. According to family records, a man looked back and saw Robert fall from a shot in the head.

Other records that are likely this Robert Woodward are Woodward, Woodard History, The Descendents of Captain Henry, The Virginia Regimental Historical Series, and The Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and Adjacent Counties. The history of the Woodwards list a Robert Woodward as one of James and Jane (Napier) Woodward's children that fits with the birthdate of March 6, 1821. Two Robert Woodwards are given in the Virginia Regimental history; Robert J Woodward who enlisted May 22, 1861 in Rose Hill, Virginia is the most likely. He served in Company E of the 37th Virginia Infantry Regiment and was killed in the Battle of the Wilderness the estimated date of April 15, 1864. Also Robert Woodward was promoted to full fourth corporal on April 23, 1862. On pages 22-23 in the Lee County, Virginia history, a Bob Woodward is mentioned as being on furlough when at the Battle of Jonesville on January 3, 1864.

Other Sources:

Laningham and Bales, The Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and Adjacent Counties, "Woodward", Media, Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina, 1977

Power, Tracy J., Lee's Miserables, "The Wilderness and Spotsylvania, May 1864", University of North Carolina Press, 1998

"A murderous Maytime in the dark forests of Virginia", The Union Restored, Vol. 6 1861 - 1876, Life History of the United States series, Library of Congress No. 63-8572, 1963, pp. 104 - 105

Woodward, Woodard History, The Descendents of Captain Henry, 5th edition, November 1980

History of 37th Virginia Infantry
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/8577/histr.html