This is interesting- I'll have to look into Dr. McDonald when I get home. Some of the information from the article seems to be wrong: Jere Williams did not command the 9th Alabama in 1861, but he did later in the war; McDonald was never to my knowledge Captain of Company H (unless it was very late in the war around Petersburg); a J. R. McDonald was elected 3rd Lieutenant of Co H in June of 1861 in Richmond, Virginia. There were at least two and maybe 3 John McDonalds in the 9th Alabama plus a couple of Thomas McDonalds. A John W. McDonald served in Co F.

Dr. John R. McDonald was listed as a leading planter in Limestone County before the war, and doesn't seem to be 18 years old. He is also referred to in some camp letters as having been seen in camp in Richmond in 1861. I have run across conflicting records showing J. McDonalds being killed in front of Richmond in 1862, being taken prisoner at Petersburg in 1864, and transferring to "Gen. Pillow" in 1862. Obviously not the same man.

The "older: Dr. McDonald may not have been the private to captain John McDonald of Co H- he may have been a volunteer surgeon or a visitor to the early camps in Richmond.

I would like to figure this out, since the man is mentioned in my ancestor's letters. I have had him on my things to do pile for awhile...

John