Like their brothers in Ohio, John and Adam joined the same regiment
when they joined the war effort. However, in addition to the obvious
difference in enlistment option, these Beamers would have very little
in common with their Ohio brothers.
    For one, the two joined the CSA under abbreviated names. John came
in as "J. I.", and Adam as "A. W." The probablity is that this was some
type of identity disguise though it is not fully known.
     Unlike Phillip and Henry, John and Adam had the age factor on their
side. When John and Adam Beamer were commissioned to duty in the Fall of
1862 they were aged 27 and 28. Thus, joining the army in Lewisburg Virginia,

                   
                     sketch of a member of the 37th Battalion Virginia Cavalry

they were assigned to the honorable position of 37th Battallion of Virginia
Cavalry. This was a special unit of partisan rangers that fought under the
command of General Ambrose C.Dunn. John, being a year older than Adam,
was given the rank of Corporal. Adam was a Private Ranger.
     The 37th was a composition of men from South Carolina, North Carolina,
Virginia, and obviously Maryland. The batallion served in several theaters of
war. After seeing action in Gen. Albert Jenkins Brigade in Southwest Virginia,
the unit followed Grumble Jones to East Tennessee during the Knoxville
campaign. This crucial time represented a point in the war when all four Bea-
mer boys were in the the same area, possibly firing at one another.
     After the Tennessee campaign, the unit moved back to Virginia to meet
Union General Hunter at Lynchburg. Under the Confederate Leadership of
General Jubal Early the 37th helped to hold off Hunter. Next, the 37th served
in its most crucial roles of the war, as they followed the famous 2'nd Corps
through the Shenandoah Valley in the campaign of 1864.