Congratulations! Better late than never. Your story reminded me of a young lad who wanted to join the 12th Massachusetts regiment the day before the battle of Gettysburg. Charles F. Weakley lived in the mountains in the vicinity of the regiment's camp on Marsh Creek. After questioning by Captain Clark and Colonel Bates, he was allowed to join the regiment and equipped with odds and ends of equipment. He went into the fight the following day, fought like a veteran, and was wounded twice by gunshot, in the right arm and thigh. He was treated in the hospital of the First Corps and then was transferred to the Mulberry Street hospital in Harrisburg. He was discharged on October 30, 1863 and sent home, never having been officially mustered into the service. I can recall reading of a few other similar examples, both North and South, just during the Gettysburg campaign. It's a reminder that even the official records don't always tell the whole story.