This information gives me a start on identifying my great grandfather's service. He was in Company F J.E. McCord regiment for three years. If he started in 1861, he was 17 years old! He says on his pension application that he served three years. He could not have been more than 22 in 1865. He served with his two brothers:

William Green Collins

Asbury Sebastian Collins

Eli (?) Collins

They all ended up at Williams Ranch near Goldwaite after the civil war. Family tales say they were Texas Rangers but they weren't Texas Rangers. Now that part of the story fits.

The pension paper that I have was denied; it was written in 1903 and he died in 1904. His widow did get a pension later, so his service was verified.

Family tales bear out the stories of being out on the prairie alone or with just one or two others. They were in great danger. There is one story of having to retrieve the spent bullets in order to make new ammunition. Could that be true?