Booth Moses Watson was the other soldier that helped tie Elec to his horse to send him home when he got typhoid. He ended up marrying Elic and John's sister Margaret Jane Maxwell. The story has them camped in LA near the MS river "toward the end of the war". Maybe John Columbus joined up with one of the LA regiments after his furlough instead of going back to his original one. Would that have been a possibility? The story about John C. in the book (told by a grandson) stated he enjoyed going to civil war reunions, telling stories (none acctually recounted unfortunately) and showing him his medals he got in the war.