NF Civil War Desertion

[Zella]

I'd be very hesitant in concluding anyone was really an actual "deserter" unless I had the details of his CMSR and maybe additional information to boot. So many things could happen that would prevent someone from getting back to his unit. It's a terrible term to label someone and I'd much rather err on the side of giving them the "benefit of the doubt."

That's a good policy! The issue is definitely a lot more complicated than I had ever imagined before I started doing family history.

 

[The Ninth Ohio]

I actually have a question about desertion and AWOL. Am I correct in saying the difference between those two is that one came back?

A unit I am researching has several men listed as deserted on, say, Dec 1 1862. Then there are others "sent. by RCM to forfeit $X for absence without leave Dec 1 1862 to Mar 10 1863".

A couple more questions. One, would there be records of each of these courts martial or do those generally not survive outside a select few important cases?

 

[Coonewah Creek]

I actually have a question about desertion and AWOL. Am I correct in saying the difference between those two is that one came back?

A unit I am researching has several men listed as deserted on, say, Dec 1 1862. Then there are others "sent. by RCM to forfeit $X for absence without leave Dec 1 1862 to Mar 10 1863".

A couple more questions. One, would there be records of each of these courts martial or do those generally not survive outside a select few important cases?

In the case of the unit I am familiar with, the 2nd Mississippi Infantry, many men were carried as AWOL all the way until the end of the war. In other cases, the Colonel commanding would order the individual be dropped from the rolls as a deserter after an extended period of AWOL. Although I can't prove anything, I suspect it would be dependent upon the Colonel's and his company's officers' judgment call whether to continue carrying the individual as AWOL or to declare him a deserter. The Colonel seemed to have a great deal of latitude in this regard.

 

[leftyhunter]

Just started to read Desertion During the activity War by Ella Lonn. So what will I learn by reading this book?

On page 5 "The records show clearly that Mexicans were enlisted in the Southern service but proved utterly unrelabe."

This statement by Lonn seems a bit broad and is not much supported in the book.

I can do more research. Williams mentions on p.122 that it was dangerous to form conscript companies in Austin County , Texas and the local milita was not trusted to enforce conscription. Williams doesn't detail the racial or ethnic background of Civil War era Austin County.
Leftyhunter

 

[CCMDCSA]

I

That's very interesting--thanks for sharing!

My interest in desertion/deserters has been sparked by doing Civil War genealogy on one side of the family. One of my ancestors was listed as a deserter, but I found him on a POW roll. Haven't yet figured out if he really deserted or his unit just didn't get the memo when he was captured. He was an officer who had served for nearly the entirety of the war, so it seemed a little weird to me that he'd desert so late.

I have others who are listed as "deserters, expected to return" or at least seem to periodically abandon their posts and then return weeks later. They were all enlisted men. Their home counties were the scenes of some nasty partisan fighting, and according to census records, they were all illiterate. Their absences they returned from seem to line up with some of the worst conditions back home, so I suspect they were going back home to check on their families since it's not like they were probably getting letters with updates.

And then there are certainly others who did seem to just flat-out desert, never to return.

that's a good point with the illiteracy of many of the soldiers a diary entry from Garrett gouge of the 58th North Carolina (3x uncle) said that many of the men in his company relied on his cousin a private Silver to read and write for them because he was one of the few who could do so they were essentially oblivious to what was going on at home other than news that traveled about yankee bands like Kirk's raiders another diary entry from Garrett which was sad was how worried he was about his two small children 1 and 3 those things would be enough to push many men to desertion not through cowardice but to protect and provide for there families Garrett never did desert the army but did write home presumably with the help of his cousin asking about another relative who had not returned and did not seem pleased about it

 

[Zella]

I

that's a good point with the illiteracy of many of the soldiers a diary entry from Garrett gouge of the 58th North Carolina (3x uncle) said that many of the men in his company relied on his cousin a private Silver to read and write for them because he was one of the few who could do so they were essentially oblivious to what was going on at home other than news that traveled about yankee bands like Kirk's raiders another diary entry from Garrett which was sad was how worried he was about his two small children 1 and 3 those things would be enough to push many men to desertion not through cowardice but to protect and provide for there families Garrett never did desert the army but did write home presumably with the help of his cousin asking about another relative who had not returned and did not seem pleased about it

Yes, I can only imagine how stressful it would be to be far from home and receiving that sort of news! Interestingly, if I remember correctly, the relatives I mentioned who were illiterate and repeatedly leaving without permission but then returning to their regiment were in the 58th. (Some of them, it seems, did eventually stop returning as conditions continued to deteriorate.) I noticed that they never joined Kirk's men, though my folks who left the 64th frequently did.

Does this mean you were able to find the family writings you were looking for?

 

[CCMDCSA]

Yes, I can only imagine how stressful it would be to be far from home and receiving that sort of news! Interestingly, if I remember correctly, the relatives I mentioned who were illiterate and repeatedly leaving without permission but then returning to their regiment were in the 58th. (Some of them, it seems, did eventually stop returning as conditions continued to deteriorate.) I noticed that they never joined Kirk's men, though my folks who left the 64th frequently did.

Does this mean you were able to find the family writings you were looking for?

Yes and no I haven't gotten my hands on the book yet but I did find a site with a lot of the diary entries with reviews