Alan,

Thanks again. Yes, you read my mind. I thought Confederate "pension files" were like their Federal counterparts. For instance, in order to drawn their son's pension a parent needed to show that their son used at least part of his military pay to support the family. Usually the family would send ORIGINAL letters to the Pension Bureau in which their son had written something like "I'm enclosing $10.00 with this letter...." Sometimes these files can be a treasure trove. Once I found approximately 20 original letters written by a soldier in the 13th Massachusetts who was killed at Gettysburg.

Scott