Talking about desertion is never an easy task. We are all proud of our ancestors and what they did. We kind of confine the deserters in the back room closet. What I want to know is this: what regiment, North or South, had the most deserters.
If you know anything about the 58th NCT, you probably know that desertion was bad in the regiment throughout the war. At least eight men from the 58th NCT were executed in Dalton, GA, in May 1864 for desertion.
At Chickamauga (September 1863), it appears that at least 372 men were absent from the regiment. There are another 139 that had disappeared from the records by this date. It is not possible to know just how many from the 58th deserted. The records after August 31, 1864, are gone. There are many men who disappear. They are not present in May 1865 at the surrender at Greensboro. Did they die? Were they sick? Were they discharged?
So, back to my question: which regiment had the most deserters?
It is a very intressting articel you have put up.
ReplyDeleteceep on with it