Major John Downing - Could John's middle name be William?

http://www.ancestry.com/sharing/9701941?h=7494b7 was reading in the about section of how Catherine could be the daughter of a brother of John Dowling named William. According to my ancestry app there's a civil war pension reference to Jennie Fields. It has her husband as John W Dowling. What if the WiFi was for William? Here's the link for anyone who would like to verify this.