Hi,

First, let me say THANK YOU for this wonderful board. I have been working to document our family history, and I have yet to find a lineage in my family or my husband's that does not have a Confederate soldier in it. I knew we had many, but I have been surprised at just how many-- including a Hispanic ancestor, Lt. Randolph Hernandez of Pensacola, and a Prussian immigrant, Frederick Orange, who joined out of Louisiana-- the rest were generations Southern as I would have expected.

Since I am not a Civil War buff, as I come across these records I have often needed help understanding what they mean, and this board has been so helpful. Right now I am researching Randolph Hernandez. He enlisted in Company K, 1st Florida Infantry, in the spring of 1861, (rank in as sergeant, rank out as 2nd lt). His muster records show him present at all but two through 1864 (sick and in the hospital Jan-Feb 1863, sick again Nov & Dec 1863). In 1862 he was ordered to Company A McDonell's Florida Battalion. The last muster I could find for him was as 2nd lietenant of Company C 1st Regiment Florida Infantry. Here is the mystery I ran across in trying to chase down more details...

http://myweb.fsu.edu/rthompson2//cw/1-fl-inf/1-fl-inf-a.html

The above link takes you to a document about the 1st Florida Infantry, with a typed list of soldiers-- but I don't know what the comments mean. On Randolph Hernandez, it has:
HERNANDEZ RANDOLPH PV MN GALNTRY CHIK 20SEP63

GALNTRY? That sounds like gallantry, but I don't know what that is in a specific sense, just in a descriptive sense. I assume CHIK is Chickamauga, since the date corresponds with that battle, 20 Sep 1863. Any guesses what MN might stand for? I don't know if these are common abbreviations, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to go backwards on that link and take a look at the big picture.

Thanks in advance for any help diciphering this!

Donna Arcara