John Peyton Byrne, a young man of 21 years of age volunteered and enlisted for duty at Memphis, MO. in June, 1861.  He engaged in his first battle at Athens, MO. where his brother Harrison was wounded.  John went on to be mustered into the 21st. MO. Infantry on February 12, 1862 at Canton, MO.  On January 29, 1864, while on board the steamer the "Sir William Wallace", he received extensive injuries to his hands and side.  He remained in hospitals at Vicksburg, MS and Memphis, TN. until his term of enlistment expired on Dec. 5, 1864.  John will once again be by the side of his brother Harrison come May 28, 2005.
The following is the Official Record of the 21st Regiment, Missouri Infantry.
Organized February 1, 1862, from 1st and 2nd Northeast Regiments Missouri Infantry. Attached to Dept. of Missouri to March, 1862. 1st Brigade, 6th Division, Army of the Tennessee, to July, 1862. 1st Brigade, 6th Division, District of Corinth, Miss., to November, 1862. 1st Brigade, 6th Division, Left Wing 13th Army Corps (Old), Dept. of the Tennessee, to December, 1862. District of Columbus, Ky., 16th Army Corps, Dept. of the Tennessee, to May, 1863. 4th Brigade, District of Memphis, Tenn., 5th Division, 16th Army Corps, to January, 1864. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 16th Army Corps, to December, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Detachment Army of the Tennessee, Dept. of the Cumberland, to February, 1865. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 16th Army Corps (New), Military Division West Mississippi, to August, 1865. Dept. of Alabama to April, 1866.
SERVICE.-Ordered to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., March, 1862. Battle of Shiloh , Tenn., April 6-7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29-May 30. Occupation of Corinth and pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 12. Duty at Corinth till September. Battle of Iuka September 19. Battle of Corinth October 3-4. Pursuit to Ripley October 5-12. Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign November, 1862, to January, 1863. On post and garrison duty at Columbus, Ky.; Union City, Tenn.; Clinton, Ky., and Memphis, Tenn., till January, 1864. Ordered to Vicksburg, Miss., January 26. Actions with guerrillas at Islands Nos. 70 and 71, Mississippi River, while en route, January 29, on steamer "William Wallace," Meridian Campaign February 3-March 2. Queen Hill February 4. Red River Campaign March 10-May 22. Fort DeRussy March 14. Occupation of Alexandria, La., March 16. Battle of Pleasant Hill April 9. About Cloutiersville April 22-24. At Alexandria April 26-May 13. Retreat to Morganza May 13-20. Mansura May 16. Yellow Bayou May 18. Moved to Vicksburg, Miss., thence to Memphis, Tenn., May 22-June 10. Action at Old River Lake or Lake Chicot June 5-6. Smith's Expedition to Tupelo, Miss., July 5-21. Camargo's Cross Roads, near Harrisburg, July 13. Tupelo July 14-15. Old Town Creek July 15. Smith's Expedition to Oxford, Miss., August 1-30. Tallahatchie River August 7-9. Abbeville August 23. Moved to Duvall's Bluff, Ark., September 1-6. March through Arkansas and Missouri in pursuit of Price September 17-November 16. Lone Jack November 1. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., November 25 December 1. Battle of Nashville December 15-16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17-28. Moved to Clifton, Tenn.,thence to Eastport, Miss., January 2-7, 1865, and duty there till February 9. Moved to Vicksburg, Miss., thence to New Orleans, La., February 9-21. Campaign against Mobile and its Defences March 17-April 12. Siege of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely March 26-April 8. Assault and capture of Fort Blakely April 9. Occupation of Mobile April 12. March to Montgomery April 13-25, and duty there till June. Moved to Mobile June 1. Duty at Mobile and other points in Alabama till April, 1866. Mustered out April 19, 1866.
Regiment lost during service 2 Officers and 68 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 5 Officers and 234 Enlisted men by disease. Total 309.
Predecessor units: MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS and 1st NORTHEAST REGIMENT INFANTRY.
Organized at Athens, Mo., October 25, 1861. Operating in Northeast Missouri till February, 1862. Action at Shelbina, Mo., September 4, 1861. Expedition against Green's guerrillas September 8-9, 1861. Consolidated with 2nd Northeast Regiment to form 21st Missouri Infantry December 31, 1861.
The Official Records evolved from the following:
 In one Connecticut regiment during the American Civil War a young drummer boy witnessed first hand the intensity of war. Several decades later in 1903, this drummer boy now a grown man, devoted himself to writing the histories of all the Union regiments. This man was Frederick Dyer. After the war, the Department of the Army assembled some of its vast information on the War and published the multi-volume work entitled the "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion." However, the Official Records were not fully indexed and were therefore not easily usable. Dyer used information from this source and from Union veterans to complete his work. After five years of almost solitary confinement, Dyer completed his task which was published under the name of the "Compendium of the War of the Rebellion."
Over seventy years later, the Civil War Soldiers System' Historian's Steering Committee, which consisted of National Park Rangers and Historians, recommended Dyer's Compendium as the most complete and reliable source for Union regimental histories. Dyer's Compendium had withstood the test of time and became the CWSS source for Union regimental histories.
If you are tracing your Civil War ancestor then visit the CWSS at the following location.  http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/
Many descendants from 21st MO. Infantry soldiers are planning to be at the funeral and burial of their ancestor’s comrade, Corporal Byrne.  Some will even be doing duty as honor guards and pallbearers.  If you also are attending, then plan on meeting other descendants and possibly forming a group to share information.   Dean Cunningham is working as the coordinator to establish this group.  To contact him prior to the event email him at:  misterc4you@comcast.net or submit an entry on the web site's guest book.
For more information and updates on the Funeral and Burial of Corp. John Peyton Byrne please check out the web site http://www.duvcw.org