Sharon --

Please accept my apologies for offering information at variance with what you already have. Allow me explain.

After returning from prisoner-of-war camp, members of the 4th Confederate Regiment (AKA 1st Alabama-Tennessee-Mississippi) from Tennessee reenlisted and were assigned to a Tennessee regiment. The others were assigned to a new regiment, the 54th Alabama, also commanded by Col. Alpheus Baker. The company from Choctaw County became Co. "F" of the 54th Alabama Regt. Men from the old 4th Confederate regiment could have reenlisted in other commands, such as the 37th Mississippi, but most elected to stay together in the same company.

During this search I found the name can look like 'Barnes'. I've already posted about Mathias R. Baines not having a service record with the 37th Mississippi. While using the name 'Barnes' in my efforts to locate another service file for MRB, I found a record for Mathew R. Barnes with the 54th Alabama, right where Mathias should be. This man came from Choctaw County and has a detailed physical description on record. Giving an enlistment date from memory as Nov. 15, 1861, this man took the oath of allegiance to the U.S. at Nashville TN, Jan. 21, 1865.

Despite all this, it's entirely possible for MRB to have a pension application for service with the 37th Mississippi Regt. Here are a few points to remember about pension applications. Financial needs after the war were significant, so veterans and widows were anxious to have their appications accepted. People understood that applications would be researched and those submitted by deserters would be rejected. On the other hand, officials on the pension board knew that

• captured Confederate records at the U.S. War Department were incomplete,
  
• dates and other facts about wartime service cited from memory might be wrong, and
  
• most widows were unlikely to recall much about their husband's military service.
  

Consider also that many veterans and their widows who could not read or write needed help with their applications. Despite my ability to do both, I still have problems filing Federal and state taxes &c., and appreciate their confusion/frustration with these forms. It's possible that someone helping with these forms knew that Richmond Baynes had served with the 37th Mississippi Regt. and assumed that MRB did as well. It's also possible that whoever completed these forms knew that MRB deserted, and supplied data on the 37th Mississippi as an acceptable alternate that probably would be accepted.

Records of the 37th Mississippi are complete through mid-1864, so we can be reasonably certain that MRB never served with that regiment.

Final notes ---

• Records of the 37th Mississippi Regt. show that Richmond B. Baines of Co. "B" was killed on May 9, 1864,
  
• Simeon R. Baines enlisted in Co. "A', 40th Alabama Regt., the "South Sumter Rifles", retiring from service on Sept. 28, 1864.
  
• William A. Bain of Choctaw County enlisted in Co. "F", 40th Alabama Regt. He died on March 25, 1863.
  
• Mathias R. Baines did not serve in the 1st Alabama Regt. That's another unit. Col. Baker's command was known in the field as the 1st Alabama-Tennessee-Mississippi, service records being filed under its official name, the 4th Confederate Regiment.