Unless someone has specifics of health in a diary or letters, you may never know. Some records state the cause. Most do not. Most do not even say where, which makes it hard to find a grave. Some hospitals have good records, some did not. Some soldiers were sick in the saddle or while marching an just lay down and died. One guy would be left behind to care for a friend. We are looking for the names of a hundred and fifty men behind the church, but near a hospital in Iuka, MS. So many died so quick, on both sides from disease. I have noted that more died when a unit went to war in the winter, than those that went in the spring.

Why a soldier deserted has more to do with the commanders. Good commanders did not have deserters. I am talking of company commanders. This is where a soldier is affected. Even good Generals had desertions. One of the companies I am studying, had almost half the company desert in a three day period in late August 1863. Some came back, but most did not. Many soldiers were sick of the war, and some were scared after seeing so many friends die. Some were hungry, stopped and never caught up. Many reasons.

You can keep looking. Some towns kept records. We are finding data about a major who died in February 1864. A diary described his death 9 days after the battle where records say he died. These notes have led to his grave, which we hope to mark this year in Jackson Mississippi. This is a hundred and forty eight years late, but I plan to drive from central Texas to help.

Many soldiers felt responsible for their friends families. Some loved the letters that were read by the camp fire. Again, many reasons.