Thank you for your thoughtful commentary. This is very helpful especially in terms of understanding how he could have been with the unit as an officer (then captured) then by factor of his child being conceived (went home) and then rejoined the unit still as an officer. Your commentary about their struggle was also touching. My difficulty as Patricia points out is still connecting him "for sure" as this David. We do know he went by either OD or David and not by Owen. This David seems the best fit to me: His brother served in the same unit, his child's conception/birth matches up with the gap in service, the location is right and the fact that he was an officer matches family legend. Still the name thing slightly confuses and the age...although I have a lot easier time understanding how a transcription error could result from 24 to 34 than from 34 to 18 as was the age of the only other Owen David Griffin who served in Texas. I've yet to see anything where he went by Owen though as even our family bible...gifted to him by his father David Griffin and Mary B Mahan Griffin was inscribed: To OD...(I suppose to differentiate him from his father). I have posted all the records I've pulled off footnote.com as well as his land grant, obituary which mentions his service and his photo taken about 1897 at his son's wedding in California. I'm open to considering he might not have been this David but cannot find any other who is a better fit.

Other things which may/may not be a factor. This family was from the Miss. Territory. They came to Texas in 1850 crossing at Bowie County. The parents of my Owen David Griffin had been in Coosa, Alabama and his father Benjamin had been in the Tensaw District near Goat Hill/Montgomery Ala as early as 1805. One of their son's Walt Griffin is reported by family to have been killed at the Fort Mims Massacre. His death is recorded among the list of dead as "Bird" likely because that was his mother's clan. This family is very like a "metis" family as Benjamin's wife was likely Cherokee or Creek (opinions differ on family lines) but DNA testing shows a likelihood. After the Fort Mims massacre, this family were probably part of the "White friendly" Metis (not redsticks) fled back to Georgia hence Owen was born in Georgia in 1826 in Heard County. What I am trying to say is these were very frontier savvy folks...they would have really known the terrain and how to get around...great as a scout for deserters. They were also educated and some quite wealthy. This odd combination of being mixed families themselves and yet owning slaves and large plantations in the Tensaw District...still is difficult for me to understand with my contemporary sensibilities. When they came to Texas they continued to hold slaves and large plantations. James Griffin, also of this line had a plantation in Rusk county with 50 slaves and 13 slave cabins according to the 1860 census.