Private John W. Shiver, Co. D (Mason Guards), 64th Georgia Infantry Regiment, was wounded and captured on 17 June 1864. Shiver died on 23 June 1864. The 64th Georgia, under the command of Captain T.J. Pritchett, was assigned on 11 June to the Swift Creek lines in the defenses of Petersburg, Virginia, "from Battery No. 16 to No. 27, inclusive." During the pre-dawn hours of June 17, 1864, two brigades of Brig. Gen. Robert B. Potter's Second Division of the Federal IX Corps assaulted the Confederate fortifications in the Petersburg lines. Potter ordered his men "not to fire a shot", and to "rely upon the bayonet" in their initial rush to take the Confederate works. Potter's First Brigade, commanded by Colonel John I. Curtin, directly attacked the positions of the 64th Georgia. This brigade was composed of the 45th Pennsylvania and 36th Massachusetts regiments in front line, supported by the 7th Rhode Island, 2nd New York Mounted Rifles, and 58th Massachusetts. At 3 AM the Federal attack was carried out as ordered, and it resulted in the capture of "4 pieces of cannon, 5 colors, some 600 prisoners, and about 1,500 stand of small-arms." The Confederates had apparently been caught, quite literally, "napping": many were asleep when they were overwhelmed. It can be assumed that Private John W. Shiver became a casualty of this assault. Ironically, Shiver may thus have gained membership into a rather "elite" group of Civil War soldiers whose wounds were sustained solely through the use of the bayonet. Six days later Shiver expired, presumably still in the hands of his Federal captors. Shown is a period photograph of a section of the outer Confederate defensive lines at Petersburg, captured on 14 June 1864.