Obituary of
John M. Raysor, Jr.

 
     The sudden death of Comrade John M. Raysor at his home in Atlanta, Ga., was an inexpressible shock to his friends and comrades of Stonewall Jackson Camp.  From the resolutions passed in his honor the following sketch of his life was secured:

     John Michael Raysor was a native of South Carolina;  but his father having removed to Florida before the war, it was from that State that he entered the Confederate service.  His father was colonel of the Florida State Troops, and all his brothers were in the Confederate service, one of them being a captain.  John Raysor served in the 5th Florida Regiment, of which John C. Hately was colonel.  He was with the Virginia Army until wounded, his right arm being shattered;  but it finally healed and became fairly serviceable.  He then detailed with the enrolling department of the State of Florida until the close of the war.

     He participated in many battles, being twice awarded medals for distinguished gallantry in action:  at Chancellorsville, because he was the first to cross a hastily improvised bridge in a successful charge against the enemy's intrenchments, and at Gettysburg, because he faced almost certain death in drawing off in the dark the Confederate pickets, whose orders were to fire without challenging.  It is said that when his brigadier general called upon him to perform that glorious deed at Gettysburg, his captain said:  "John, if I were you, I would not go; it is almost certain death."  He replied: "Some one must go, and I might as well be the one."

     Comrade Raysor removed to Atlanta shortly after the war, and for sixteen years past had been connected with Judge Orr's court.  His life was that of the consecrated Christian, ever looking onward to something better.  His love for little children was a fine trait of his character.  For years he was superintendent of the Trinity Home Mission Sunday School, and was also long a member of the Board of Stewards.  His daughter, Mrs. Robert T. Clayton, of Birmingham, and three sisters and a brother, Capt. George D. Raysor, of Quitman, Ga., are the survivors of his family.  He was also proud of having  been a Confederate soldier, yet no one ever heard him give an account of his personal bravery.

Died April 10, 1908, Aged 67
Buried at Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, GA


Raysor Family Gathering