In the diary of Ralph Leland Goodrich, he writes that to avoid being conscripted into Price's army in August 1863, he took a position as a guard "on the wall" at the Little Rock penitentiary. On the day the Union army occupied Little Rock, September 10th, apparently the officials at the penitentiary released the "convicts" -- many of whom joined the Confederate army in its retreat. Can anyone identify this "Smeads" for me? I may have transcribed it wrong; perhaps it is Sneads? Was he affiliated with the Little Rock prison in a civilian capacity or was he a military official? To see the entry, go to: http://goodrichpoems.wordpress.com/1863-2/september-1863/