John G. Epps is the oldest son of Hugh M Epps. He was born about 1840 and is listed with the family of Hugh on the 1850 census age 11 which is probably not correct since his parents married in December 1839. The best guess as to his middle name is Graves which was his grandmother’s maiden name, however another possiblity is Gilbert which was the name of his uncle. There is no record of John ever marrying. John enlisted in Company D 8th Tennessee Infantry Regiment on 18 May 1861 at the same time as his cousin John Norris Epps who was the son of his uncle James Craton Epps. He would have been about 20 when he joined the fight. His rank was Sergerant of Ordance. Ordance refers to military firearms, cannons, ammunitin and all equipment supporting the firing of these weapons. It is surprising that at such a young age he had the rank of Sergeant and perhaps this indicates he could read and was better educated than the rank and file Privates. Nothing definite is known about John’s life in the military until the Battle of Stones River near Murfreesboro Tennesse where he was wounder on 31 December 1962. He was captured on the 8th of January 1863 and died of his wounds in a Union hospital in Nashville on 8 February 1863. Before that time we can assume his activities were the same as his cousin John Norris who was in the same unit and gave some information to the state of Tennessee when they interviewed him.  John Norris and John G Epps were first sent to Huntersville, West Virginia to participate in General Lee’s ill fated Cheat Mountain campaign. John Norris said the unit mostly wondered about the moutains in the rain and fog for seven days not ever knowing where they were until their food ran out. From there he went with his cousin to South Carolina for winter camp. Later John G Epps would have been in battles at  Corinth, Mississippi, Perryville, Kentucky, and others until his last at Stones River. Not only was he mortally wounded at the Battle of Stones River but his cousin Lawrence Epps was also severly wounded and captured. Even John Norris was wounded in his foot but escaped capture.