At age 46 this man should have been in the senior reserves. The law of Feb 17, 1864, required men ages 45 to 50 not otherwise exempt for service to enroll in a senior reserve command. Thomas Knight would not have been required to serve earlier.

As best we know, in late 1864 this man belonged to the 17th Alabama Regiment. He could have volunteered for service as a substitute in 1863. The Confederate government abolished substitution in December 1863, but both the substitute and the man who hired him were required to serve in the army.

Based on the 1860 census, several men named Thomas Knight lived in Alabama. How do we know that this particular Thomas Knight is an ancestor?