I want to thank you gentlemen for responding. When I wrote to NARA I tried the Union Army and the response was that a search was made but the file I requested was not found. When I wrote to the State of Alabama, I was sent a file on a William W. Blankenship who had joined the lst Ala. Cav. in companies D and I. The only problem with that file is that William W. Blankenship had died during the war and my William W. Blankenship not only survived but lived untill the year 1928. I checked the lst. Ala. Cal. that you suggested to me and found a Pitts and a Burns as well as a William W. Blankenship. He could be my Blankenship and a mistake was made about his death. Once again I want to thank you for helping me. Helen