My GG Grandfather William M. Parks, Sr. was mustered in as a Private in Co 'F' 16th Bn, Georgia Cavalry, State Guards at Tail's Creek, Ga. (Gilmer Co.) August 1, 1863. Almost 45 years old at the time, he enlisted to serve for a period of six months. According to his military records, the battalion was to provide "local defense in northern Georgia embracing what is known as the Cherokee portion of it." Civil war records indicate the battalion was assembled in May, 1862, at Big Shanty, Georgia, and was composed of six companies. It served in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia and took part in the engagements at Blue Springs, Bean's Station, Cloyd's Mountain, and Marion. In January, 1865, the battalion merged into the 13th Georgia Cavalry Regiment. [LW]