Henry Seale
J.R. Caps
Mon Jan 8 20:59:27 2001


Hayes --- What is the source of the info that you have on J.R.Caps as a private in Co. B, 40TH Ala. Inf.? This I could believe as it would not be unusual for a man to enlist in say January 1865 and not be with the regiment at the final surrender due to wounds or sickness and therefore not be listed in the Compiled Service Records as there are no known muster rolls that exist after December 1864 for this regiment. I am certain that this man was never an officer in any company in this regiment and particularly certain not an officer of Company B as I have access to two diaries of men of Company B that I am certain would have mentioned him. One was by the captain that commanded the company from its organization in 1862 until his promotion to major in late 1864 and the other was by the 1ST sergeant of the company through the final surrender. With all the other descriptions of the other officers and men of the company and others of the regiment, he surely would have been mentioned somewhere. Also, there are no other records at all mentioning this man in any capacity in any other unit in the National Archives according to my Broadfoot Roster CD. So this fairly rules out the idea that he may have transfered to the regiment near the end of the war. This is why I feel certain that he was not a captain in this regiment and probably not in the army anywhere else. He very well could have been a private that enlisted or was conscripted just before the regiment left Mobile to join Johnston in the Carolinas who was away from the regiment at the end. The only thing at all in this man's Compiled Service Record is his parole at Montgomery 22 June 1865 at U.S. Army XVI Corps Headquarters.

By the way, as to Capt. Samuel H. Sprott who had commanded Company A of the 40TH; the Company B that he became commander of after the reorganization on 09 April 1865 at near Smithfield, North Carolina was officially of the 19TH Alabama Infantry Regt. as the 40TH along, I think, with another regiment was consolidated into the 19TH just before the end.

Please let me know the source of your info on J.R. Caps.

Thanks!

Henry







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