Transferring units in Civil War

[ratwod]

I'm doing research on some of my ancestors, and it is illuminating. It is pretty clear that record keeping by the Confederacy was not necessarily accurate.

My Uncle D.F. fought at the battle of Shiloh for the 7th Arkansas Infantry. The official records say he then deserted. D.F. said later when he applied for a pension he was shot in the head, left for dead on the battlefield, and then returned home to recover.

Later, he was detained at his home by officials from the Confederate army, and returned to service in Hawthorne's Arkansas Infantry Regiment. He was given back pay to the date of the Battle of Shiloh, suggesting that he did not desert.

About a year later, he enlisted for service in the 8th Arkansas Cavalry. The unit he joined was made up of soldiers from his home county. I've found no indication that he was transferred to the unit. Any ideas how this might have happened?

Thanks!

 

[NedBaldwin]

By the time of his recovery it might have been infeasible to rejoin the 7th. There was a time when the Confederate War Department directed that any soldiers in the Trans-Mississippi that were separated from their unit because it was east of the river should be added to a similar unit west of the river. Hawthorne's regiment was reorganized around the same time the 8th AK Cav was formed so maybe in the shuffle he was moved from one to the other.

I'm doing research on some of my ancestors, and it is illuminating. It is pretty clear that record keeping by the Confederacy was not necessarily accurate.

My Uncle D.F. fought at the battle of Shiloh for the 7th Arkansas Infantry. The official records say he then deserted. D.F. said later when he applied for a pension he was shot in the head, left for dead on the battlefield, and then returned home to recover.

Later, he was detained at his home by officials from the Confederate army, and returned to service in Hawthorne's Arkansas Infantry Regiment. He was given back pay to the date of the Battle of Shiloh, suggesting that he did not desert.

About a year later, he enlisted for service in the 8th Arkansas Cavalry. The unit he joined was made up of soldiers from his home county. I've found no indication that he was transferred to the unit. Any ideas how this might have happened?

Thanks!