George --
I'm amazed and very grateful for your response. (If only you could help me determine where in South Carolina that A.B. Middleton was originally from!)
My apologies, but I'm a novice in these matters and have some questions about your reply:
1) Regarding being recorded absent and later present: were these daily records, or an end-of-the-month records that summarized what happened at any point in time during the month?
2) When A.B. Middleton was captured May 10, 1865: Did he desert for a second time, or was he captured by Union troops? Any clarity on the location of the capture?
3) Would A.B.'s 1864 desertion have prohibited him from applying for pension benefits?
4) Any insights on how CSA deserters were treated by their contemporaries after the war?
5) Your reply did not mention a pension application by A.B. Did you happen to look for one?
6) Is a timeline available as to where the 29th Battalion served?
I'm thankful for your assistance and for any other advice that you might have for me.
Best regards,
Scott O. Middleton