Jim,

Thanks, that's what I thought. I believe any attempt by a genealogical site/ organization to qualify Civil War service will meet with a considerable amount of resistence from the community and shows how much they really do not understand the circumstances/ all the variables that could lead to any conclusion of honorable, distinguished, or dishonorable service when it comes to the subject of desertion. The simple fact that there no consistant records overtime for any one regiment leaves an absolute void in the historical record when it comes to personnel.

In Mark A. Weitz's book, "A Higher Duty: Desertion among Georgia Troops during the Civil War", Weitz has some good arguments but I do not agree with all of his metrics or assumptions. He has the 36th and 39th Georgia regiments at the top of the list of desertion rates in the entire Confederate Army. I disagree because you have to track each of these individual soldiers down and find out what happened to them. The simple fact that they was captured at home in the winter of 1863-1864 does not mean that they deserted. Remember, the home counties of all of the 39th Georgia and some of the 36th Georgia were in the northwestern corner of Georgia that defined the Confederate lines and up to and behind the Federal lines. If Johnny Reb is going home on his 10 day furlough and a Federal Cavalry patrol happens to catch him how is that measured? Weitz's metric is if they showed up on the Provost Marshal's roster as a deserter (determined by the Provost Marshal). Then you have to start looking at Federal Policy on deserters vice capturing soldiers, the First Reconstruction Act, family demographics, etc. Genealogical data bases will never be able to achieve that level of clarity.

OK, off of my historical accuracy soapbox for a Sunday morning. Greg Biggs and I had a similar conversation at the Georgia State Archive yesterday morning but a slightly different twist.

Respectfully Your Obedient Servant,

Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
War Between the States Historian
Historian: 39th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
http://39thgavolinfrgt.homestead.com/39thHomepage.html