Alan J. Pitts
Re: Robert Lewis Cummins
Tue May 1 17:03:30 2001


You should start by learning where your ancestor lived in 1860. There's a much stronger probability he enlisted in a company recruited near his home than in one from somewhere else. Then you look at the person's age and occupation. Most males between the ages of 12-13 up to 40+ enlisted during the war and should have a service record.

Of course, census notes about a man being blind or crippled exclude him from consideration. Also, there were many professional exemptions from military service, which allowed teachers, preachers, state officials and others to stay at hom if they wished. Initially overseers and some larger slaveholders were exempted; oftentimes you see an overseer enlist towards the middle or end of the war.

If you know that a veteran lived in Alabama a number of years after the war, he may well have applied for a state pension. Information on the application should help. If he lived in Alabama in 1907, his name may have appeared on a census of veterans taken that year. That's equally useful. Again, it helps to know his county of residence.

A little bit of knowledge can go a long way.