The Merrill family genealogy has Robert A. Merrill as "killed in the war 1864". My MS relative, mom, passed in 2000. The story was that Pvt. Robt. A. Merrill, of Co. H of the 30th MS infantry, was last seen mortally wounded leaning against a tree. That is the end of the story and always has been, his life. I went through Footnote.com a number of months ago and some records of POW's before that. I saw that Pvt. Merrill was captured at Murphreesboro TN; was a prisoner in Louisville KY that was transferred to Camp Butler, Il in March of 1863. Perhaps a prisoner exchange was the reason for him being back on the 30th MS rolls in Jan/Feb. 1864. The last records that Footnote had on Pvt. Merrill were for a receipt of clothing June of 1864. That path is more than the family and it's genealogy has given me.

It appears that if Pvt. Merrill was mortally wounded, it was during Sherman's Atlanta campaign, sometime during the summer/Fall(?) of 1864. I have not ordered his records from MS or this site yet. Any thing would be helpful, but am curious, at that time in the war, if any records of burials were kept by the regiments.