Missing soldier

[ethos92]

Hello everyone,

First just want to say that I'm excited to have found a forum like this with so much activity! I expect to be a regular visitor and contributor here going forward.

As my first post, I'm hoping that some of you knowledgable ladies or gentlemen might be able to help me solve a genealogical mystery about my disappeared ancestor.

My ancestor was a private in the 18th Mo Inf in 1864. He got sick during his service in Georgia while they were partaking in the Atlanta campaign and sent a letter back home to his wife saying as much in August of that year. The problem is that when she never heard from him after that and tried to apply for a pension, the Pension department could never find any evidence of his death. They searched the hospital records from Marietta and found...nothing. The company rolls just said he was sick at the hospital at Decatur...or Chattanooga...yet he had claimed he was at Marietta. No actual medical records furnished, no death record, no record of desertion. Just absent sick but can't seem to agree where. It seems like quite an odd situation that the army would just have no idea what happened to him as generally their records of soldiers under their command had become quite good at that point in the war.

Has anyone come across a similar type of situation before? Any suggestions on how to proceed to figure out what happened to the poor guy?

 

[lupaglupa]

People disappeared regularly during the Civil War. Some died on their way home, some died in service and the records were lost, some headed out west and made new lives.

Can you give us your ancestor's name and basic information?

 

[ethos92]

People disappeared regularly during the Civil War. Some died on their way home, some died in service and the records were lost, some headed out west and made new lives.

Can you give us your ancestor's name and basic information?

Sure absolutely!

My ancestor was named Nicholas Clark. He enlisted in the 18th MO Infantry on March 31st, 1864.

 

[bankerpapaw]

Hello everyone,

First just want to say that I'm excited to have found a forum like this with so much activity! I expect to be a regular visitor and contributor here going forward.

As my first post, I'm hoping that some of you knowledgable ladies or gentlemen might be able to help me solve a genealogical mystery about my disappeared ancestor.

My ancestor was a private in the 18th Mo Inf in 1864. He got sick during his service in Georgia while they were partaking in the Atlanta campaign and sent a letter back home to his wife saying as much in August of that year. The problem is that when she never heard from him after that and tried to apply for a pension, the Pension department could never find any evidence of his death. They searched the hospital records from Marietta and found...nothing. The company rolls just said he was sick at the hospital at Decatur...or Chattanooga...yet he had claimed he was at Marietta. No actual medical records furnished, no death record, no record of desertion. Just absent sick but can't seem to agree where. It seems like quite an odd situation that the army would just have no idea what happened to him as generally their records of soldiers under their command had become quite good at that point in the war.

Has anyone come across a similar type of situation before? Any suggestions on how to proceed to figure out what happened to the poor guy?

Welcome from NW Georgia. Prepare to learn!!!

 

[Fairfield]

Yes, I've got a similar case. He was a soldier, first in Maine's 7th infantry and then in USCT where he was an officer. He was discharged in New Orleans--then simply vanished from the face of the earth. No pension records, no death certificate, no re-appearance on a census. Without family support, his mother died at our town's poor farm so I'm guessing that there was no contact back home. My hope for him is that he simply changed his name and went west (but I understand that the disappearance of white USCT officers was not unknown).

There were several others from my town who seemed to have disappeared BUT I've managed to track them down. Most simply made new lives for themselves elsewhere.

 

[ethos92]

Hello everyone,

First just want to say that I'm excited to have found a forum like this with so much activity! I expect to be a regular visitor and contributor here going forward.

As my first post, I'm hoping that some of you knowledgable ladies or gentlemen might be able to help me solve a genealogical mystery about my disappeared ancestor.

My ancestor was a private in the 18th Mo Inf in 1864. He got sick during his service in Georgia while they were partaking in the Atlanta campaign and sent a letter back home to his wife saying as much in August of that year. The problem is that when she never heard from him after that and tried to apply for a pension, the Pension department could never find any evidence of his death. They searched the hospital records from Marietta and found...nothing. The company rolls just said he was sick at the hospital at Decatur...or Chattanooga...yet he had claimed he was at Marietta. No actual medical records furnished, no death record, no record of desertion. Just absent sick but can't seem to agree where. It seems like quite an odd situation that the army would just have no idea what happened to him as generally their records of soldiers under their command had become quite good at that point in the war.

Has anyone come across a similar type of situation before? Any suggestions on how to proceed to figure out what happened to the poor guy?

Yes, I've got a similar case. He was a soldier, first in Maine's 7th infantry and then in USCT where he was an officer. He was discharged in New Orleans--then simply vanished from the face of the earth. No pension records, no death certificate, no re-appearance on a census. Without family support, his mother died at our town's poor farm so I'm guessing that there was no contact back home. My hope for him is that he simply changed his name and went west (but I understand that the disappearance of white USCT officers was not unknown).

There were several others from my town who seemed to have disappeared BUT I've managed to track them down. Most simply made new lives for themselves elsewhere.

Wow that's quite interesting. I am not sure how to feel about that idea. My ancestor had a wife and 2 young children at home in Missouri, so while the idea of him dying during service is sad, it would feel pretty shameful if he abandoned his family in that way.

I had originally considered the possibility that he deserted, made it home, and the whole family went MIA to protect him since I can't find record of the wife and kids in 1870 (or even after 1865 for wife), but there are too many problems with that theory.

Namely, the kids do both show back up in 1876 and are traceable thereafter with their birth names. Then there is the fact that the daughter placed an inquiry with the War Department about what happened to her father in 1904, so I think it's safe to say that she wasn't in on anything like that.

My best guess is that he really did die of illness during service. Then the wife died sometime soon after or remarried and had a name change, abandoning her widow's pension claim. It just seems strange to me that there is no death or at least hospital record able to be found. I know they investigated the hospital records from Georgia. Perhaps he was moved to Chattanooga and they simply failed to check there.

I don't know if any of those old hospital records are available anywhere if they weren't recorded into the soldier's CSMR file.

 

[lupaglupa]

So. I pulled up the records for Nicholas Clark. The very first page says "Investigation fails to elicit any further information..." It looks like they did an investigation in 1867 and 1888. Records show applications for a pension but no certificate number - i.e. no pension granted. The poor guy seems to have been sick most of the time he was in service. The last place I can find him is in Decatur, Alabama. I believe the medical records for hospitals in Decatur may be in Houston, Texas. But I would think the pension guys looked at those at least once.

If I had to guess I'd say he died and it wasn't written down properly. His poor widow - to have no real knowledge and no pension.

 

[ethos92]

So. I pulled up the records for Nicholas Clark. The very first page says "Investigation fails to elicit any further information..." It looks like they did an investigation in 1867 and 1888. Records show applications for a pension but no certificate number - i.e. no pension granted. The poor guy seems to have been sick most of the time he was in service. The last place I can find him is in Decatur, Alabama. I believe the medical records for hospitals in Decatur may be in Houston, Texas. But I would think the pension guys looked at those at least once.

If I had to guess I'd say he died and it wasn't written down properly. His poor widow - to have no real knowledge and no pension.

Thanks for taking a look!

So yeah, there is definitely some confusion about it. For instance, muster out roll says sick at Decatur, AL since May of 64. Yet his muster roll records for April, May, and June say he was present. He sent a letter in August of 64 saying he was sick at Marietta, GA. Then muster rolls for early 1865 say he's sick at Chattanooga since September 15th of 64. So either returned to his company after being sick at Marietta, or was moved in September after sending the letter.

You mentioned hospital records for Decatur possibly being in Houston? Would you happen to know where any for hospitals at Chattanooga or Atlanta/Marietta might be?

 

[Northstep]

18th Regt MO Inf

3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 16th Army Corps, to March, 1864.
1st Brigade, 4th Division, 16th Army Corps, to September, 1864.
1st Brigade, 1st Division, 17th Army Corps, to July, 1865.

If you read the history of the 18th MO on National Park Service website this is what you'll see.
Regiment was at Pulaski, TN in early Nov. 1864. They did "duty" there and guard duty on Railroad until April 1864. Veterans were on furlough January and February 1864. Your Nicholas Clark would have joined the regiment in or near Pulaski, TN.
Left TN for GA and Atlanta Campaign (5/1/1864-9/8/1864)

But I found "Personal Recollections of the 18th Missouri" (1891), by Sarg. Charles Sheldon.
Online: https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/nwmo/id/2510

It is a must read!! It has everything you need to know about the 18th MO.

I only scanned through the pages because it's 77 pages long.
Says the 18th was in St. Louis at the time Nicholas Clark enlisted 31 Mar 1864. They stayed there quite a while reorganizing the regiment and training new soldiers. It seems many of his veteran soldiers were moved to other regiments and he had many raw recruits.
The 18th left St. Louis, traveled down the river to Nashville, TN. They were preparing to leave Nashville via the railroad when they received a order to march to Decatur, AL "our present headquarters." They arrived at Decatur in "late April."

I assume this is when Nicholas Clark was sent to the hospital in Decatur, AL.

The 18th MO left Decatur, I think the next day, no date is given, and arrived Chattanooga. Left there 5 May and 7 May they were with their Brigade and headed to "Resaca."

In 1864, the hospital at Marietta, GA came under control of the Federal Hospital Corp, so we can eliminate that he was there as a POW.

I think he was discharged from Marietta and went back to his company. Just a guess.

In Sept 1864, the 18th MO was at Battle of Jonesboro, 31 Aug to 1 Sept, 1864; Lovejoy Station 2-6 Sept, 1864.

Somehow and for some reason, Nicholas Clark was admitted to a hospital in Chattanooga by 15 Sept 1864. Was he injured at Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station?? Was he simply so ill that he was sent, via railroad?, to Chattanooga. Without records we'll never know. I believe the history of the 18th MO is consistent with his dates of hospitalization.

 

[ethos92]

18th Regt MO Inf

3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 16th Army Corps, to March, 1864.
1st Brigade, 4th Division, 16th Army Corps, to September, 1864.
1st Brigade, 1st Division, 17th Army Corps, to July, 1865.

If you read the history of the 18th MO on National Park Service website this is what you'll see.
Regiment was at Pulaski, TN in early Nov. 1864. They did "duty" there and guard duty on Railroad until April 1864. Veterans were on furlough January and February 1864. Your Nicholas Clark would have joined the regiment in or near Pulaski, TN.
Left TN for GA and Atlanta Campaign (5/1/1864-9/8/1864)

But I found "Personal Recollections of the 18th Missouri" (1891), by Sarg. Charles Sheldon.
Online: https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/nwmo/id/2510

It is a must read!! It has everything you need to know about the 18th MO.

I only scanned through the pages because it's 77 pages long.
Says the 18th was in St. Louis at the time Nicholas Clark enlisted 31 Mar 1864. They stayed there quite a while reorganizing the regiment and training new soldiers. It seems many of his veteran soldiers were moved to other regiments and he had many raw recruits.
The 18th left St. Louis, traveled down the river to Nashville, TN. They were preparing to leave Nashville via the railroad when they received a order to march to Decatur, AL "our present headquarters." They arrived at Decatur in "late April."

I assume this is when Nicholas Clark was sent to the hospital in Decatur, AL.

The 18th MO left Decatur, I think the next day, no date is given, and arrived Chattanooga. Left there 5 May and 7 May they were with their Brigade and headed to "Resaca."

In 1864, the hospital at Marietta, GA came under control of the Federal Hospital Corp, so we can eliminate that he was there as a POW.

I think he was discharged from Marietta and went back to his company. Just a guess.

In Sept 1864, the 18th MO was at Battle of Jonesboro, 31 Aug to 1 Sept, 1864; Lovejoy Station 2-6 Sept, 1864.

Somehow and for some reason, Nicholas Clark was admitted to the hospital in Chattanooga by 15 Sept 1864. Was he injured at Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station?? Was he simply so ill that he was sent, via railroad?, to Chattanooga. Without records we'll never know. I believe the history of the 18th MO is consistent with his dates of hospitalization.

Wow thank you, this is very informative! Lately I've been trying to piece together the timeline for the 18th but hadn't found much more than the entry on Wikipedia, which isn't nearly as detailed as what you've laid out. I am definitely going to give Sheldon's memoirs a read now because as much as I want to solve the mystery surrounding his death/disappearance, I'm certainly also very interested in getting an idea of what battles he may have been involved in.

I am guessing he may have taken ill again and was sent to Chattanooga by rail, as you suggested. The muster roll says absent sick and not wounded. Nick lived essentially his entire life in rural areas, from what I can tell, and then was suddenly encamped with about 100k other men. He was also quite old at the time, possibly over 50. I suppose it's not too surprising for his body to have failed him under such circumstances.

 

[Northstep]

Wow thank you, this is very informative! Lately I've been trying to piece together the timeline for the 18th but hadn't found much more than the entry on Wikipedia, which isn't nearly as detailed as what you've laid out. I am definitely going to give Sheldon's memoirs a read now because as much as I want to solve the mystery surrounding his death/disappearance, I'm certainly also very interested in getting an idea of what battles he may have been involved in.

I am guessing he may have taken ill again and was sent to Chattanooga by rail, as you suggested. The muster roll says absent sick and not wounded. Nick lived essentially his entire life in rural areas, from what I can tell, and then was suddenly encamped with about 100k other men. He was also quite old at the time, possibly over 50. I suppose it's not too surprising for his body to have failed him under such circumstances.

You are most welcome. You'll love Sheldon's memoirs. I had to make myself stop reading.

About the muster rolls, I would ignore the notation of "present" on the April, May, June roll. I believe they hand wrote these rolls ahead of time to save time. I've seen the same notation for my ancestors when they were not present.

Nicholas was no different from about a zillion other volunteers, on both sides. Most Confederate soldiers had never been but a few miles from their rural homes/farms. Many were subsistence farmers. They knew nothing of military life and were totally unprepared for rules and regulations of the army. Camp life was miserable for most, I am sure. So sad that so many died in camp of disease, measles and mumps, or acute illness like dysentery.

I'm seeing a red flag when you say Nicholas was possibly over 50. I only know about Confederate conscription and the top age was 45 yo. Men age 50 would have been enlisted in their local area militia, along with boys under 16 yo. So, go back and look again at how you determined his age. Ages on census records were very often wrong. My GG GF was about 37 when he enlisted and this was quite old. Unless Nicholas was in exceptionally good physical condition, I do not see how he could have serve in that regiment. Yes, it could have been the death of him.

Oh, I saw a Franklin and James Clark in the 18th MO. No company was shown. Related to Nicholas?

 

[Northstep]

This info may be helpful to understand why there are no hospital records to be found. There wasn't just one hospital.

Chattanooga was chartered in 1839. While a limited number of physicians resided and practiced medicine in the town in its early years, no hospitals were open before the Civil War. Temporary hospitals sprang up as the war progressed when boxcars of wounded soldiers were shipped into this Union-held rail center. Thousands were treated after the bloody Battles of Stone's River (1863-1864) and Chickamauga (1863) in local military hospitals, often tented structures, and in converted local facilities. The Crutchfield House, on the site of the current Read House, received wounded arriving across the road at Union Station. While some were treated there in the Foard Hospital, previously named for the Confederate Army's medical director, many were dispersed across the town.

Ella Newsom, a wealthy widow, converted warehouses and buildings near the railroads into hospitals and directed the care of more than 700 patients. Other community leaders followed her example. The General Simon Bolivar Buckner Hospital, the Bragg Hospital and the Gilmer Hospital joined the list of medical sites along with the Masonic Academy on College Hill (at the current West 11th Street). Chattanooga's congressman, Reece Brabson, and minister Thomas Hooke McCallie were among those who made their private homes available. Local women's groups sponsored concerts to raise money for much-needed medical supplies.

When the Civil War ended, the hospitals disappeared.

Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press; 3 Sept 2022, Linda Moss Mines.

 

[ethos92]

You are most welcome. You'll love Sheldon's memoirs. I had to make myself stop reading.

About the muster rolls, I would ignore the notation of "present" on the April, May, June roll. I believe they hand wrote these rolls ahead of time to save time. I've seen the same notation for my ancestors when they were not present.

Nicholas was no different from about a zillion other volunteers, on both sides. Most Confederate soldiers had never been but a few miles from their rural homes/farms. Many were subsistence farmers. They knew nothing of military life and were totally unprepared for rules and regulations of the army. Camp life was miserable for most, I am sure. So sad that so many died in camp of disease, measles and mumps, or acute illness like dysentery.

I'm seeing a red flag when you say Nicholas was possibly over 50. I only know about Confederate conscription and the top age was 45 yo. Men age 50 would have been enlisted in their local area militia, along with boys under 16 yo. So, go back and look again at how you determined his age. Ages on census records were very often wrong. My GG GF was about 37 when he enlisted and this was quite old. Unless Nicholas was in exceptionally good physical condition, I do not see how he could have serve in that regiment. Yes, it could have been the death of him.

Oh, I saw a Franklin and James Clark in the 18th MO. No company was shown. Related to Nicholas?

I've started the reading already. General Sheldon is a pretty entertaining writer lol.

Re: Nicholas' age. This is another bit of mystery surrounding him. The lone census I have him on gives a birth date of 1824 and that's what he used when he signed up for the army, but I have reason to believe that he was a bit older than that. Oddly, just before signing up for the 18th MO, he had enlisted in the 13th Illinois Cavalry but seemingoy never served in that unit. I suspect he either bounty jumped, or maybe more likely, he was dismissed due to his age/physical condition. I think the 18th MO was quite in need of volunteers at that time and probably weren't going to question someone much if they just said they were 40. Even if he wasn't in the best of shape at the time, he was already a veteran of the Missouri Militia, so could probably be useful in helping steer some of the youngsters and draftees.

 

[Northstep]

I see his name on the 13th IL Cavalry. It does not show a enlistment date but shows a muster in date. So, they had accepted him to that point. His name in on the list of "unassigned". Right before this time, the 13th consolidated their regiments down to three! Maybe they didn't have room for him and he didn't live in IL. Maybe he didn't have a good horse. I have no idea.

Are you positive this is your Nicholas Clark from Brunswick, MO? There are quite a few CMSR's with that name. Just double checking.

Forgot to mention Nicholas' daughter inquiring about his military service. I bet she was trying to apply for a childs pension. This could be a valuable clue to the date her mother died. I think you said you did not know the date/year.

 

[ethos92]

This info may be helpful to understand why there are no hospital records to be found. There wasn't just one hospital.

Chattanooga was chartered in 1839. While a limited number of physicians resided and practiced medicine in the town in its early years, no hospitals were open before the Civil War. Temporary hospitals sprang up as the war progressed when boxcars of wounded soldiers were shipped into this Union-held rail center. Thousands were treated after the bloody Battles of Stone's River (1863-1864) and Chickamauga (1863) in local military hospitals, often tented structures, and in converted local facilities. The Crutchfield House, on the site of the current Read House, received wounded arriving across the road at Union Station. While some were treated there in the Foard Hospital, previously named for the Confederate Army's medical director, many were dispersed across the town.

Ella Newsom, a wealthy widow, converted warehouses and buildings near the railroads into hospitals and directed the care of more than 700 patients. Other community leaders followed her example. The General Simon Bolivar Buckner Hospital, the Bragg Hospital and the Gilmer Hospital joined the list of medical sites along with the Masonic Academy on College Hill (at the current West 11th Street). Chattanooga's congressman, Reece Brabson, and minister Thomas Hooke McCallie were among those who made their private homes available. Local women's groups sponsored concerts to raise money for much-needed medical supplies.

When the Civil War ended, the hospitals disappeared.

Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press; 3 Sept 2022, Linda Moss Mines.

Wow, so knowing this now, I certainly feel like Chattanooga is the likely place of my poor ancestor's demise. I just wish it had been recorded and he had been honored with an internment at the national cemetary there. And that his wife and kids would have gotten paid the money they were owed.

I see his name on the 13th IL Cavalry. It does not show a enlistment date but shows a muster in date. So, they had accepted him to that point. His name in on the list of "unassigned". Right before this time, the 13th consolidated their regiments down to three! Maybe they didn't have room for him and he didn't live in IL. Maybe he didn't have a good horse. I have no idea.

Are you positive this is your Nicholas Clark from Brunswick, MO? There are quite a few CMSR's with that name. Just double checking.

Forgot to mention Nicholas' daughter inquiring about his military service. I bet she was trying to apply for a childs pension. This could be a valuable clue to the date her mother died. I think you said you did not know the date/year.

Yes I'm almost certain it was him. I've been researching this guy for so long at this point that I'm pretty much familiar with every Nicholas Clark that lived in America in the 1860's

The one that signed up for the 13th Illinois gave birthplace as New Jersey which is the same as my ancestor. Roughly correct birth year, and Brunswick is in the same county that he lived in at the time of the 1860 census. It's honestly too bad the 13th didn't work out because he probably would have fared better doing patrol duty with them around Missouri rather than going to the meat grinder in Georgia.

I dont know about if his daughter was seeking a child's pension, it is possible. But I don't feel like the wife was still alive in 1904 when she made the inquiry. The daughter shows up in 1876 living with her brother, no mom to be found. Then in 1880 with mom's sister, mom still nowhere to be found. I've never been able to figure out what happened to her either, unfortunately.

 

[Fairfield]

Wow that's quite interesting. I am not sure how to feel about that idea. My ancestor had a wife and 2 young children at home in Missouri, so while the idea of him dying during service is sad, it would feel pretty shameful if he abandoned his family in that way.

He may have figured that his wife had coped without him while he was away at war and so she was quite able to maintain the family without him. If this was true--and if it was a bad marriage to start with--maybe it wasn't so bad.

In one of my cases, I found the missing soldier by checking out his birth family: I discovered that his brother was into spiritualism and found a newspaper account of the brother's using esp (or whatever one would call it) to confirm this Maine veteran's death in Ohio where he fell off a roof. I checked Ohio records and, sure enough: there he was. This is cluster genealogy (that is, circling in on an ancestor by examining his family, friends and other associates).

 

[lupaglupa]

Okay @Fairfield - I'm adding possible ESP connection to my list of zany problem solving techniques!

@ethos92 - we tend to use a sliding scale of most likely to least likely in cases like this. Based on typical patterns of behavior from the time your ancestor's most likely scenario looks to me like: husband goes to war, falls ill, goes in and out of hospital without ever making a full recovery, dies in service at a time when he is not in a situation to have his death recorded (for instance, he is released from hospital and told to return to his unit but he never makes it and his death happening while he is between the hospital and his company leaves him without a record). Then his widow dies in the decade after the War, leaving her daughter to be taken in and raised by a close family member. As she has no husband at the time no one has money for more than a burial and she remains without a tombstone, so there is no lasting record of her death. Any and all of this would make sense and be similar to other stories from the time.

Scenarios like - he went west, he came home but didn't leave a record, etc. are possible but much less likely. Just as his widow remarrying but not keeping her daughter with her. That did happen, but it was less likely.

The fact that there were pension applications filed, even though not granted, does mean that the applications still exist. Those have a lot of information on them. Have you gotten a copy from the National Archives?

There are two resources that I would say to look at, if you haven't already.

1. Newspapers from that era published a lot of small town local news. As @Fairfield alluded to above, you may find a record of the wife's death by examining records of her family members. A simple line in the local news such as "Mrs John Smith was in Jonesville for the funeral of her sister last week" could be a valuable clue to the date of the widow's death. The daughter may show up in the paper winning an award in the spelling bee at school and you would know when she had transitioned to the new household.

2. Diaries and letters from soldiers serving with your ancestor likely exist. They might just have a clue in them. Both of these options take a lot of searching. But sometimes they do yield valuable results where other methods failed. There are collections online, some of which are searchable by place. Local history organizations often know where diaries and letters from their area are held.

I realize I am giving more work to do instead of an answer! But unfortunately that's often the best we can do.

 

[Don Dixon]

Cases like your ancestor's are not unusual. In 1865 Clara Barton created the Missing Soldiers Office in an effort to help families who had a missing soldier. By the time she closed the office in 1868 she had identified thousands of Federal soldiers who had simply disappeared and whose families had inquired regarding them. Her office is open in Washington, DC, as a museum, and I would refer you to their web page https://clarabartonmuseum.org/ Your ancestor may be on one of the lists of the missing she published, meaning that someone in his family was looking for him in the immediate post-war period.

Regards,
Don Dixon

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Have reviewed the bits of information presented and various theories proffered in this thread regarding Pvte. Nicholas Clark, Co. F, 18th MO Infantry.

It appears that he became detached from his unit when it's claimed that the muster rolls reveal he was at Chattanooga (hospitalized for illness or injury) since Sept. 15, '64 until at least early '65. But during this period, the 18th MO was involved in Sherman's 'March to the Sea' (Nov. 15 - Dec. 10, '64), then later participated in Sherman's 'Carolinas Campaign' (Jan. to Apr. '65).

In these circumstances, conclude that this soldier likely died around or shortly after Jan. '65 from illness (or injury), unidentified in unfamiliar surroundings, perhaps while in transit (far away from his unit), and is buried in an unmarked grave.

 

[ethos92]

Have reviewed the bits of information presented and various theories proffered in this thread regarding Pvte. Nicholas Clark, Co. F, 18th MO Infantry.

It appears that he became detached from his unit when it's claimed that the muster rolls reveal he was at Chattanooga (hospitalized for illness or injury) since Sept. 15, '64 until at least early '65. But during this period, the 18th MO was involved in Sherman's 'March to the Sea' (Nov. 15 - Dec. 10, '64), then later participated in Sherman's 'Carolinas Campaign' (Jan. to Apr. '65).

In these circumstances, conclude that this soldier likely died around or shortly after Jan. '65 from illness (or injury), unidentified in unfamiliar surroundings, perhaps while in transit (far away from his unit), and is buried in an unmarked grave.

I definitely agree that this seems like the likely circumstance!