Arrest records?

Zella

1st Lieutenant
Joined
May 23, 2018
Okay, so I know my resolution was to broaden my genealogical focus, but I have one last pressing mystery I'd like to solve about the 64th NC side of the family before moving on. This has been bugging me for months, but I got distracted with other things and didn't get a chance to look into it.

My g-g-g-g grandfather was Charles Candler. He was an officer in the 64th NC, finishing the war as a captain. There is a cryptic entry in his CSR, stating from Aug 31-Dec 31, 1862 he was confined or arrested. At the time, he was a 1st lieutenant and had only been with the regiment a few weeks. (He'd been in another regiment earlier in the war and had been taken prisoner before being paroled.)

Regardless, there's no indication of the charges he was confined/arrested over. Likewise, his status for Jan/Feb 1863 is "not stated"--though I know that those notes can sometimes be for the day in question and not the entire period indicated. By March/April, he is still listed as a 1st lieutenant and is now present and, indeed, signing the roster as company commander, a position he seems to have held until the last days of the war, where he was again taken prisoner.

Have you found a notation like this in a CSR before?

What could he have been charged with where he'd be confined/under arrest for 4 months but apparently still be allowed to return to the regiment without consequence?

And how can I figure out what he got in trouble for?

I've been wanting to check court-martial records (and will this weekend), but I have never seen any indication that he had a court-martial. But I assume he had to have some sort of a trial that would have led to the punishment he received? Is there anywhere besides court-martial records I can check?

By the way, I have no difficulty believing he did something. I've found pre-war newspapers in the area where he's called out publicly for starting trouble, and his wife was written out of her father's will for marrying him, also pre-war. (That's directly stated in the will and his in-law's private diary. LOL) He was by all accounts something of a scoundrel, though that has made me oddly fond of him.

Thanks in advance!
 
There might not necessarily have been any Court Martial. It may have been some minor disciplinary matter (questioning an order, criticizing a fellow officer, salt in the officers' mess sugar-bowl, etc, etc) for which he was confined to quarters ("consider yourself under arrest!"). Sounds like he might well have had some difficulty keeping himself out of trouble. Must have been an efficient officer, though.
 
There might not necessarily have been any Court Martial. It may have been some minor disciplinary matter (questioning an order, criticizing a fellow officer, salt in the officers' mess sugar-bowl, etc, etc) for which he was confined to quarters ("consider yourself under arrest!").
That's good to know, John! I wasn't really sure how military discipline for infractions worked at the time, so this is very useful. Thank you!

Sounds like he might well have had some difficulty keeping himself out of trouble.
Hehe Yeah he seems to have had trouble behaving in general. :D
 
Okay, so I know my resolution was to broaden my genealogical focus, but I have one last pressing mystery I'd like to solve about the 64th NC side of the family before moving on. This has been bugging me for months, but I got distracted with other things and didn't get a chance to look into it.

My g-g-g-g grandfather was Charles Candler. He was an officer in the 64th NC, finishing the war as a captain. There is a cryptic entry in his CSR, stating from Aug 31-Dec 31, 1862 he was confined or arrested. At the time, he was a 1st lieutenant and had only been with the regiment a few weeks. (He'd been in another regiment earlier in the war and had been taken prisoner before being paroled.)

Regardless, there's no indication of the charges he was confined/arrested over. Likewise, his status for Jan/Feb 1863 is "not stated"--though I know that those notes can sometimes be for the day in question and not the entire period indicated. By March/April, he is still listed as a 1st lieutenant and is now present and, indeed, signing the roster as company commander, a position he seems to have held until the last days of the war, where he was again taken prisoner.

Have you found a notation like this in a CSR before?

What could he have been charged with where he'd be confined/under arrest for 4 months but apparently still be allowed to return to the regiment without consequence?

And how can I figure out what he got in trouble for?

I've been wanting to check court-martial records (and will this weekend), but I have never seen any indication that he had a court-martial. But I assume he had to have some sort of a trial that would have led to the punishment he received? Is there anywhere besides court-martial records I can check?

By the way, I have no difficulty believing he did something. I've found pre-war newspapers in the area where he's called out publicly for starting trouble, and his wife was written out of her father's will for marrying him, also pre-war. (That's directly stated in the will and his in-law's private diary. LOL) He was by all accounts something of a scoundrel, though that has made me oddly fond of him.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Zella, On 7/5/1861 he was commissioned, 1st Lieutenant Company H 2nd NC Infantry. He was captured 2/8/1862 Roanoke Isaland, NC. He was paroled 2/21/1862. Exchanged 8/27/1862. Dropped from the rolls 9/25/1862. I'm guessing he didn't return after being exchanged, and joined the 64th.

Source :
- North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster
 
Hi Zella, On 7/5/1861 he was commissioned, 1st Lieutenant Company H 2nd NC Infantry. He was captured 2/8/1862 Roanoke Isaland, NC. He was paroled 2/21/1862. Exchanged 8/27/1862. Dropped from the rolls 9/25/1862. I'm guessing he didn't return after being exchanged, and joined the 64th.

Source :
- North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster
Thanks, Glenn! I'd never really put two and two together on the dates. I think he's listed as enlisting in the 64th in mid June 1862, but that seems a bit weird with the exchange date. Seems like the confinement/arrest started just a few days after the exchange date.
 
Thanks, Glenn! I'd never really put two and two together on the dates. I think he's listed as enlisting in the 64th in mid June 1862, but that seems a bit weird with the exchange date. Seems like the confinement/arrest started just a few days after the exchange date.
Zella, his captain in the 2nd Battalion was none other than the later Colonel L. M. Allen, 64th NC. It looks like when paroled, the men under Allen came back to WNC. Allen started recruiting for a new unit, probably before he and his men in the 2nd were officially exchanged. Many men from the 2nd Battalion Co. H ended up in the 64th.
 
Oh that's interesting! Thank you! Do you have any idea what he could have gotten in trouble for? As I've mentioned on here, he wasn't always well-behaved. :laugh:
I have the same question for Capt. Anderson, Co. F., who was under arrest also. Those muster rolls aren't the best. The one for July - August is dated Nov. 24, showing he was on detached service. What we don't know for sure is - was that his status as of Aug. 30 or Nov. 24th? The Aug. 31 - Dec. 31 roll is dated Feb. 4th, 1863, which notes Recapitulation shows absent in arrest or confinement. My guess is, that as slack as the unit seemed to be, the status shown was the status as of Nov. 24 and Feb. 4. That being the case, he was on detached service from sometime after July 15 through Nov. 24; and in arrest or confinement from sometime after Nov. 24 to sometime up to Feb. 4.
 
I have the same question for Capt. Anderson, Co. F., who was under arrest also. Those muster rolls aren't the best. The one for July - August is dated Nov. 24, showing he was on detached service. What we don't know for sure is - was that his status as of Aug. 30 or Nov. 24th? The Aug. 31 - Dec. 31 roll is dated Feb. 4th, 1863, which notes Recapitulation shows absent in arrest or confinement. My guess is, that as slack as the unit seemed to be, the status shown was the status as of Nov. 24 and Feb. 4. That being the case, he was on detached service from sometime after July 15 through Nov. 24; and in arrest or confinement from sometime after Nov. 24 to sometime up to Feb. 4.
That's very interesting! Sounds like Anderson was arrested/confined a few months after Candler.
 
Yes, there's definitely some overlap but looks like Candler's time started earlier in the year (August versus November). Wonder if there's a connection or it's just coincidence.
 
I'm trying to figure out what was happening in Asheville on March 4, 1865. His record shows he deserted that day and took the oath in Knoxville on March 31st, and was sent to KY. I've seen where others deserted the same day. Any ideas?

Above should be corrected to Knoxville, month ending March 31st.
 
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I'm trying to figure out what was happening in Asheville on March 4, 1865. His record shows he deserted that day and took the oath in Knoxville on March 31st, and was sent to KY. I've seen where others deserted the same day. Any ideas?
Okay that's interesting. I get the impression things were really falling apart with the 64th by that time. Candler was my only ancestor remaining in the unit by that point (if I remember correctly). He had been captured (for the last time) shortly before then, not exactly sure when. His oath of allegiance is for March 5th in Louisville. He was released about a week later with the agreement that he'd stay "north of the Ohio river" for the duration of the war. He must not have been too interested in fulfilling those terms because there's a note that he went to Chattanooga. :laugh:
 
Yes, there's definitely some overlap but looks like Candler's time started earlier in the year (August versus November). Wonder if there's a connection or it's just coincidence.
The way I'm reading it, Candler was on detached service for an unspecified period of time up to Nov. 24th; and in arrest or confinement for an unspecified period of time up to Feb. 4th. (The dates of the rolls)
 
Interestingly enough, there's a note on one of his records--toward the back of his CSR--that he says he deserted March 4/5, but I don't know how he could have deserted that day and been in Louisville to take the oath the next day. In any event, it seems like early March was pretty chaotic for the unit.
 
The way I'm reading it, Candler was on detached service for an unspecified period of time up to Nov. 24th; and in arrest or confinement for an unspecified period of time up to Feb. 4th. (The dates of the rolls)
Candler or Anderson?

Candler was on detached service right before his arrest.
 
@Zella if you haven't already read it, you might find some information in here. Seems like the 64th NC was dealt some unusual assignments and had pretty unorthodox history.
Histories of the several regiments and battalions ... v. 3. Clark, Walter, 1846-1924.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081797668;view=1up;seq=775

This is not the information youre looking for but you might like to have it. Its not in his regular carded records of the 2nd Battn or the 64th but you guessed it -- from Miscellaneous files.
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