Believe it or not, I've been asking questions about your ancestor and other Poarch Creeks, just recently on the Alabama in the Civil War Message Board at http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/boards/alcwmb . You might also be able to find additional information there.

There are some "likely" candidates for your ancestor.

J. Durant is listed as a private in the 23rd Alabama Infantry, Co. I. This company was recruited in Baldwin Cty., AL. A history of this unit is located at http://www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/tracy.html#23rd-Inf

There is also a J. A. Durant listed as a member of the 15th Confederate Cavalry, Company "C". This company was also known as the "Baldwin Rangers" as they were recruited in Baldwin Cty., AL.

There is a gentleman by the name of Art Green who is currently writing a history of this unit and I'm sure he'd be willing to help you however he can. He is a frequent contributor to the Alabama CW Message Board.

The 15th Confederate Cavalry was composed of companies from Alabama and Florida. As a "Unit Raised Directly By the Confederate Government" you would NOT find his service record under the Alabama units.

The units which included Eastern Creeks and/or Poarch Creeks were the 15th Confederate Cavalry, 23rd Alabama Infantry and 32nd Alabama Infantry.

Try visiting the Alabama in the Civil War Message Board at the URL shown above and post your query there. There are some excellent historians on that board who may have additional information for you.

Good luck,

Jim Martin