A furlough from camp near Bristol TN would still have meant a long, round-about trip as the Federal army stood along the direct rail line through Knoxville and Chattanooga TN. It may have been an even longer trip by rail from that point to Hardwick's home at Eufaula AL than it would have been from Petersburg VA.

At any rate, Hardwick applied for an extension of his leave from Eufaula on May 9, 1864. He must have decided to visit family in Cherokee County as he was captured near Cedar Bluff AL by cavalrymen attached to the XVII Army Corps on June 3, 1864.