Taken from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion is a communication that was sent to the Fort Delaware commanding General by William Hoffman and it read:
"Office Commissary-General of Prisoners, Washington D.C., August 4, 1863
Brig. Gen. A. Schoeph, Commanding Fort Delaware, Del.
General: Applications for release on taking oath of allegiance by prisoners of war or citizens are not entertained unless some good reason is urged for granting this indulgence. It must be shown to the satisfaction of the examining officer that the applicant was forced into the rebel service against his will and has taken advantage of the first opportunity to free himself from it; or it may be granted as a favor to his family or friends, they being loyal people and vouching for his sincerity in desiring to take the oath of allegiance; or it may be granted on account of the youth of the applicant, it being shown that he was led away by the influence of vicious companions, his Union friends guaranteeing his future loyal conduct. Unless the cases are presented substantially after this manner, with your recommendation, it is not worth while to forward them. I respectfully return herewith several applications for such further information of a commendatory character as you may give.
W. Hoffman
Colonel Third Regiment Infantry
Commissary-General of Prisoners"
One such Confederate prisoner was Alexander Gadwood listing his unit as Company I of the 16th Regiment, Georgia Infantry. His Confederate Compiled Military Service Records are listed under Alexander Gadwood and he can be found on the National Park Service and has Confederate Compiled Military Service Records at the NARA in Washington, DC. He listed his age as 17 years old and he expressed being desirous of joining the Union Army and was sent to see a Union examining officer in which the following statement was made.
"Baltimore, Maryland August 19, 1863" "I certify that I have examined Alexander Gadwood an enlisted man in the Rebel Army and prisoner and that I believe him to have been unwilling in the Rebel service and desirous of good faith to join ours. I recommend him for enlistment. (Signed) Major (unable to transcribe his name) (looks like 9th Maryland and Exam. Officer of Prisoners of War."
Perhaps because of his age and his eager attitude young Gadwood must have been happy over his acceptance into Company H of the 3rd Maryland Cavalry. Young Gadwood told the 3rd Maryland Cavalry authorities that he had been born in Owego County, New York and that he was a member of Company I 16th Regiment, Georgia Infantry and his physical description was 5' 3" in height and 17 years and 8 months old; blue eyes with light hair and light complexion and told Union authorities he had been a cooper prior to the War. He enlisted the very same day after passing his examine and was mustered into service on September 28, 1863 along with a $25.00 sign on bonus. Private Alexander Gadwood helped begin loading his companies supplies on the steamer which was to leave Baltimore, Maryland for New Orleans, Louisiana and probably was one of the happiest former Confederate soldiers in the 3rd Maryland Cavalry to be leaving Baltimore, Maryland to fight his former comrades in the South, he must have been thinking the further away from Gettysburg I am the better. The boarding process normally took about 3 days and on November 27, 1863 his steamer the "Blackstone" left Baltimore. The "Blackstone" pulled into New Orleans, Louisiana on December 7, 1863 and Private Alexander Gadwood proved to be a model soldier and was appointed as bugler for Company H on February 1, 1865. On September 7, 1865 the 3rd Maryland Cavalry was discharged at Vicksburg, Mississippi and standing within those ranks was Alexander Gadwood.
His fellow soldiers must have ask him where he was going after his regiment had been discharged at Vicksburg. Was he going back to Georgia or going back up North where he was born or was he going somewhere else? Gadwood knew that answer he was going back to where he was born in New York. He had managed to keep his secret this long and not sharing it with anyone else, he kept it until the day he died on September 17, 1908. Had it not been for being such an unusual last name his secret may have never been revealed. His tombstone can be viewed at Find A Grave Memorial# 91366960 and he has an American Flag engraved on his tombstone in which he may have requested prior to his death. It does NOT appear to be a government headstone but rather a private one. Alexander Gadwood applied for a received a Federal government pension for his service in the 3rd Maryland Cavalry and in the 1880's was staying at a United States Soldiers Home in New York. His widow applied for and received a pension after his death.
What the Federal government had failed to realize was that he had enlisted in the 14th United States Infantry in 1862 in New York and had deserted the 14th United States Infantry after the Battle of Gettysburg. He never once was ever in the Confederate Army let alone the 16th Georgia Infantry. We have to remember that the only information the Union authorities had to go by was with the information that he told them. The only records in his Confederate CMSR's are of Federal POW records NOT the first mention of enrollment records. The United States census report confirm that he indeed was living in New York State according to the 1850 and 1860 census. His lies to Federal authorities are with us today in forms of bogus Confederate CMSR's. Had the government put together that he had been a Union deserter he never would have received a Federal pension and a free ride at the Soldiers Home. I don't know how many Union deserters were being held at Fort Delaware or other Union prisons as Confederates but it's safe to say he was NOT the only one. As for Gadwood, fate gave him a second chance and he made the most of it. He may have talked to other Confederates of the 16th Georgia at Fort Delaware and decided to use that as his Confederate unit to Federal authorities. Using family search you can also find some of his information in the 14th United States Infantry and they also have a physical description of him and it fits like a glove.