Thanks for forwarding that article, it was quite interesting reading. I'm glad there's someone out there that takes that kind of time to research different aspects of the war and even better when it involves one's relatives. Her story certainly aided in filling in some of the gaps from the snippets passed down through the families. If it is all true, our families were quite closely acquainted and suffered the same tragic end.

I've had to slow down a little on my own research, but have found a bit more on Henry P. It appears that he enlisted with James Patterson into the 5th KY Inf., Co. "A" at West Liberty on Oct. 21, 1861, then inexplicably, he enlists with the 14th KY Inf., Co. "H" on October 25, 1861 in Louisa, KY. and was mustered in on Dec. 10, 1861. After reading the article and finding that the newly formed 5th KY was engaged in a battle and driven from West Liberty two days after enlisting recruits, makes me wonder if this was an impetus for him to swap sides. To further the confusion, Henry P. remains on the 5th KY's rolls until he is mustered out on Oct. 20, 1862. Another Henry (or the same one) is shown to have enlisted into the 5th KY, Co. "K" on Sept. 12, 1862 for a 3 year term and is listed as deserted on Oct. 21, 1862. The Sept. 12 enlistment date corresponds to the time when he was "arrested" by Capt. Blevins and remained with them in their camp until the muster-out date. I am coming to the conclusion that the 'desertion' label was applied to those that enlisted for 3 years and then became disillusioned when most of their fellow compatriots mustered out at the end of their one year term and left with them. There were a number of these 'desertions'. A note shows that the officers of the 5th had to deal with a lot of grumbling men and that it was hard to get them to re-enlist after their one year term.

A breakdown of Henry P.'s enlistments:

Enlisted into 5th KY Inf., Co. "A" (CSA) 10/21/61 Prestonburg/West Liberty, KY
Mustered out 10/20/62 Hazel Green, KY

Enlisted into 14th KY Inf., Co. "H" (USA) 10/25/61 Cattletsburg/Louisa, KY
Mustered in 12/10/61 Camp Wallace, Lawrence Co., KY
Sick 12/10/61- 12/31/61
Present Jan.- Feb. 1862
Deserted 4/20/1862 Landon(?), KY
According to court documents and Henry's own testimony, he had become sick and couldn't keep up with the regiment as they continually marched and felt that if he returned home, he would regain his strength and then be able to return to the regiment. When the 5th KY made their camp near Salyersville in September, Henry was encouraged by his friends to give himself up to them as the enemy surrounded all the land around them. He was assured that he could remain at home, but when he turned himself in, he was kept at the camp until the regiment disbanded 6 weeks later. It is equally likely that Henry could've heard of the presence of the 5th, including his brother's and even accompanied Andrew Osborne to the 5th's camp. Though he steadfastly denied enlisting with the 5th KY, records conclude that he did (a second time).

Enlisted into 5th KY Inf., Co. "K" 9/12/62 Salyersville, KY
Deserted 10/21/62 Hazel Green, KY

Following this 'desertion', Henry returned home to Flat Gap where he was arrested by a Capt. Sparks of the 14th KY on Apr. 3, 1863 for desertion and aiding the enemy.

As you can see, there is plenty of room for confusion. I believe the two Henry's on the 5th KY's rolls are the same person. I haven't found another Henry Estep in Eastern Kentucky. There can be two reasons why Henry P. remained on the rolls of the 5th KY from 10/21/61 - 10/20/62: Bad record keeping or maybe he was a spy.
It is quite confusing how he enlisted in both the 5th KY CSA and the 14th KY USA within days. Perhaps he was captured in the fracus that cleared West Liberty of the rebels and was assured that all would be forgiven if he would sign on with the 14th. The same assurances toward Henry could also have been levied by Capt. Blevins the second time around. It is clear that members of both regiments came from the same Flat Gap area and Henry was known by both sides. I know that the court records of Henry's trial are on record at the National Archives and at the University of Kentucky in Bowling Green and that sure would be interesting to read. The trial dockets of several people are included in Henry's service records and it includes a brief overview on the trial, the ruling of 'guilty' and his sentence to be shot. Interestingly, of the five people in the docket, all were sentenced to death. Four of those sentences were later commuted, but not Henry's. He had to sweat it out a little longer before his was changed to hard labor.