So you're projecting about April 25, 1865, for pedestrian ANV parolees. I'm not sure which if any railroads in the former Confederacy actually operated in mid-April 1865. Certainly none in Georgia, few if any in South Carolina. On April 24, Croxton's brigade was busy destroying the depots and railroad at Blue Mountain (now Anniston).

The context to Captain Dance's journal, which admittedly is problematic to reconcile Dance's perception of events and what actually took place, suggests that this encounter may have taken place during the encampment north of Northport. He says that after the First Brigade had taken Tuscaloosa the second time (April they burned the bridge (which had been burned April 5) and safely rested men and horses (Croxton's brigade encamped for four days on Binion Creek north of Northport April 8-11).

Other diarists indicate that numerous scout patrols were dispatched during this period, including Captain Dance's Company K on April 10 "on a scout to Christian Mills, 17 miles (distant), stayed all night." Dance says that "we were then ordered to pick 25 good men (Co K had 49 enlisted), go back and find out where (Wirt) Adams and (William H.) Jackson were. We found 15 Rebels in an old mill, who had regularly printed paroles from General Grant! With Jackson pushing hard after us, we reported to Gen. Croxton at six a.m. the results of our scout." Captain Dance does say that they got back from "Christian Mills" on the 11th at 9 a.m. so these may be separate and distinct episodes. Dance seems to think that Croxton's brigade was trapped between Wirt Adams and Red Jackson during this time, though this was hardly the case.

It's really hard to place ANV parolees in Alabama much before April 20, I would think, at which time Croxton's brigade was in Jefferson County.