Very similarly, I am researching a man who left home (Illinois) in March 1865. It is documented that he then disappeared after writing home from DeVall's Bluff, AR on 3 April 1865. He was a carpenter by trade and had not enlisted as far as I can tell. (His son, named after him, did enlist & researchers seem to mix them up). It is believed by family he was in AR doing contract work for the Union, although I cannot find any documentation of that with the quartermaster documentation of other contract workers. (Maybe someone here can). He was expected to return to Illinois in September 1865, but he never showed and was never heard from after the 3 April letter. His last name was Roe/ Rowe. First name Silas. He was about 55 years old. Obviously, he was healthy and strong enough to make the trip at the outset.
Rumors abound regarding what happened to him. They've all been disproven to date. (If you google this, you'll see the rumors. I've chased them down.) Initially, I thought that because he was in a Union-held area, he would've been relatively safe. However, I'm learning that may be error. I am looking for information about what travel or personal safety was like around the DeVall's Bluff for a single traveler who was a Union sympathizer during the time of the War's end. I think it is likely that he ran into some type of trouble (or illness).
Do you have any names of books or histories or resources that would help me learn more about what the risk to a single traveler/lodger/worker would've been at that time?
Alternatively, do you know of anything else that could explain his disappearance?
Thanks!