Kelley

I will try to answer some of your questions as best I can. I have done quite a bit of research in documenting the activities at White Sulphur Springs, Ark. A quick search of enlistments at that locations does not show any enlistment for a Lawrence Martin. This does not mean that he did not serve. Enlistment records only show those who served in the military.

The first thing that I noticed is that you state that Lawrence Martin was born in 1818. This mean that he would have been in his mid 40's in 1861. This would have been above the age of mandatory enlistment in 1862 and therefore exempted him from necessary service.

The second thing is that his residence was at Dudley Lake which was north of the Arkansas River from Pine Bluff and White Sulphur Springs. It would have been as easy for him to have served out of Little Rock as it would have been Pine Bluff. The most notiable unit raised in that area of Jefferson County was Company "D" of the 1st Arkansas Infantry.

The third thing is that a courier was basically a postman. He sometimes carried dispatches IF he was employed by the army, but most often he carried mail from home to the soldiers from his area.

The fourth thing is that there is a possibility that Lawrence Martin eldest son Samuel Martin enlisted as a private in Company "D" of Crawfords Battalion Arkansas Infantry at Camp White Sulphur Springs. fought in the battle of Arkansas Post was taken Prisoner and sent to Camp Douglas POW camp in Chicago Illinois and died there on February 10th, 1863.

I hope that this helps with your research.

Doyle