Alan J. Pitts
Deserted after 30 days....
Mon May 14 10:14:07 2001


This means that he received a thirty-day furlough from the Atlanta hospital and didn't return to his company within that period. Sometimes soldiers weren't fully recovered within the time allowed for them to be on leave, or they suffered a relapse. Sometimes they elected to stay at home or reenlist in another unit. Evidently some thought the latter was an acceptable course of action until they learned that charges of desertion had been written up against them, and that deserters could be shot or hung.

A fellow with a story like this appeared on the 1907 census. I believe he was from Walker County and served with the 28th Alabama. He came home on wounded or sick furlough and decided to join Capt. Whatley's Co. "B", 10th Alabama Cav. when he was well enough to serve again. Not long afterwards, Capt. Whatley passed along a notice from the Army of Tennessee that decribed this man as a deserter. He couldn't stay in White's Company, and feared to return to the army. His solution was to make his way to Decatur and join the Union army. So he ended the war in one of Kilpatrick's cavalry commands.

Go figure....