This seem like a good board to get some insight into the reason my Irish family was in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1858, in Covington in 1860 and in Staunton in 1864 and in Baltimore in 1866. I do not think that the father was in the military but might have been a laborer in the iron works in Covington. They had two younger children with them and the third was born in Staunton in Jan 1864. I would appreciate any thought concerning the movement of this family Thank you, Carol