Thanks for responding Rick. It is good to know that a distant cousin is on the website.

Early Jun 1861 – On the north side of Bull Mountain, Captain David Lee Ross (William B. Conner’s uncle on his mother’s side) mustered a company of men on his farm in Patrick County, VA.

I have read the book you recommended by Dr. James A. Davis. It is most informative of the regimental history of the 51st Virginia Infantry. I did not find the topic of Confederate soldiers going AWOL and how they were accepted and treated by their families and friends. I sincerely hope that someone can direct me to some research pertaining to this most sensitive subject.

Perhaps Private William B. Conner went back to the 51st Virginia and finished out the war in some capacity. Historian, O. E. Pilson in his History of Patrick County and his papers at the Bassett Historical Center of the Blue Ridge Regional Library, has a Lieutenant William B. Conner listed among Patrick County Soldiers. Other listings have three soldiers with similar Conner names. They are William Conner, William B. Conner, and W.B. Conner. I agree with George Martin that these men's records could easily have been confused with one another.