John Hamilton West was the son of John Hamilton West Sr., who was born about 1792 in North Carolina and died before 1840 in St Clair County, Alabama. His mother was Elizabeth M. Horton, who was also born in North Carolina.
John H. West Jr. was enlisted in Company A of the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment at Grove Hill, Alabama, on March 16, 1862, by Captain J. M. Hall. This company was redesignated Company I, after reorganization on April 27, 1862. He was captured at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, on May 3, 1863, when the regiment and the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment, were charging a hill which had 26 pieces of artillery planted upon it behind breastworks, and supported by three lines of infantry.
He was forwarded to Washington, D. C., the following day where he was paroled. On May 10, 1863, he was sent to City Point, Virginia, for exchange along with 894 other Confederate prisoners. He was wounded on May 8, 1864, at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. He appears on a morning report of Jackson Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, on May 18, 1863, with a Minnie ball wound in the right leg. He was admitted to General Hospital, Howard's Grove, Richmond, Virginia, on July 5, 1864, and was furloughed July 22, 1864.
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