Hello Homer,

The National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System found at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/index.html lists a Sergeant John M. Snead, 27th Regiment, Alabama Infantry. If this is your man, perhaps he served in the Spanish-American War attaining the Lt. Colonel rank. Or he could be one of the many other John Sneads listed.

My two cents worth of research is hopefully not over-priced.

Good Luck,
John Pearson