Sorry for the confusion George. You're correct the man who made the Confederate Compiled Military Service Records was General Frederick Ainsworth and of course his staff. Much of his work was done in the early years of the 1900's. He also had a lot to do with the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion in the 1880's.

What I posted was my biography of this soldier and in the biographies I often refer to myself and the compiler.

Generally speaking when a soldier was taken prisoner during the war he was sent to the Provost Marshal. The Provost Marshal or his subordinates would then make some inquires of the prisoner. Normally the Provost Marshal would be a the mercy of the prisoner about his Confederate unit and name.

I did some work on a soldier that has some CMSR's on fold 3 from Georgia. Because he had such an off-the-wall surname I was able to track him down. His name was Alexander Gadwood. He has Federal POW Records and are with the 16th Georgia Infantry.

He was really a Union soldier who had deserted at Gettysburg and when he was arrested said he was with the 16th Georgia Infantry.

So that is how his false Federal POW Records were created.

In the case of Cowart the Provost Marshal originally had it correct. But after that mistakes were made and today he has Federal POW Records with the 40th Georgia Infantry.