All excellent points, Lars. Since there are virtually no records for this period, we don't know what happened when their two-year enlistments ended or where they were prior to surfacing in San Elizario, TX. There are no "Confederate records" that identify them as deserters or AWOL. The term "deserter" in this case is perhaps too extreme in its connotations. The fact that the Tinnin brothers returned to their homes in Arkansas after the war may suggest they were not considered "deserters" by their neighbors. Also the fact that they went southwest to the Rio Grande instead of north may suggest they did not intend to 'turn over' but rather to avoid conscription.