William Henry Shanks

Born: 8 Jul 1840 in Jackson (Now Putnam) County, Tennessee

Died: 8 Oct 1906 in St. John, Stafford County, Kansas

Company C, 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry, USA

21 Oct 1863-13 Dec 1864

William Henry is the son of William Simon Shanks and Margaret Horton Maddux. He married Nancy Jane Howard on 4 Jan 1856 somewhere in Tennessee. The internet thinks her parents were Robert Howard and Nancy Crook but provide no documentation. William Henry and Nancy Jane had five children from 1858 to 1866 right in the middle of the war years. Nancy died on 25 Oct 1904.

William Henry's service records show that he enlisted 21 Oct 1863 at Carthage, Smith County, Tennessee. He was promoted to Corporal on 3 Dec 1863. He was absent in March and April 1864 listed as "sick in hospital". No other significant entries on his service record. He was mustered out on 13 Dec 1864 at Carthage.

A family story tells that William's brother, Cravin, was visiting home during the civil war to kill hogs for his family. This would be the winter of 1863/64 between his enlistment and muster-in dates. Andrew Jackson Maxwell, a confederate, alerted the confederate forces who attacked Cravin and two other men. Cravin ran into the woods and covered himself with leaves and thereby escaped. Cravin's brother, William Henry vowed revenge against Maxwell. Maxwell was shot 17 times in Sep 1865 and killed. William Henry and others (including John Harrison Roberts) were charged with murder. The story is that a "gang" busted William out of the Cookeville jail and put him on a train to Kansas. He did die in Kansas in 1906. However, the story of the jail break is questionable as other records show he didn't move to Kansas until 1885. Final resolution of the murder case is still undiscovered in court records as of March 2025. You can check out a more detailed account under the New Story Tab, "The Killing of Andrew Jackson Maxwell".

I have not been able to locate any pension applications for either William or his wife.

William Henry and his wife, Nancy Jane are buried in the Fairview Park Cemetery in St John, Stafford County, Kansas.