The service record establishes the missing link.

Washington Kirkland was a conscript enlisted by Lt.(?) Skipper in Henry County on Aug. 29, 1862. He was sent to Camp Watts at Notasulga AL and assigned to the 6th Alabama Infantry as a recruit. We might assume he's related to all the Kirklands in the two Henry County companies, but as a conscript he wasn't accorded the priviledge of joining a company of his personal choice.

Private Kirkland likely didn't volunteer due to severe physical disability. The camp surgeon at Notasulga missed it, but Surgeon Thomas A. Davis of the 6th Alabama gave Kirkland a discharge due to a double inguinal hernia on Nov. 22, 1862. [See http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/summary/inhernia/inhernia.htm for an explanation of his disability.]

The discharge described Kirkland as age twenty-eight, five feet eight inches tall, gray eyes, dark hair, a farmer born in Henry County AL. Evidently the surgeon described this man as capable of light duty and recommended that he be reassigned rather than released from service.

Washington Kirland was assigned to duty with the Confederate Ordinance Department. His duty station in 1864 was the arsenal at Columbus GA where he served as a watchman. Severe losses to his regiment during the campaigns of 1864 may have caused his recall in late 1864, since his name appears on a list of admissions to Howard's Grove Hospital, Richmond VA Dec. 24, 1864. He was transferred elsewhere on Jan. 28, 1865. There are no later records.

Based on information provided earlier, Kirkland must have returned to Columbus GA before the arrival of Wilson's Cavalry in April 1865. Obviously personnel from the armory, the naval base and other Confederate installations at Columbus were assembled to help defend the place. This force appears to have been led by the post commander, Col. Leon von Zinken. We discussed this officer on the message board a year ago, as referenced here:

http://www.kingwoodcable.com/tsalagi/alcwmb/archive/archivefiles/1311.html

Here's a good link about the "last battle" of the war:
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~bellware/index.html

I'm sorry to be unable to resolve the mystery about Kirkland's exact place of burial, but it should be in the Columbus/Girard area. Federal forces didn't remain in the area to bury Confederate dead, so civilians must have interred them after the riots ended and some order restored.

We might note that Brig. Gen. Robert C. Tyler was buried at Pinewood Cemetery, just off Hwy. 29 in West Point GA. See the following for Troup County GA:

http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers/gamarkersS-W.htm

Perhaps Washington Kirkland was buried there and marked "unknown".