George and William,

I looked in the online Missouri State Archives under the MO Sec'y of State website and found service records for Private Jasper Thompson in only the 4th Prov EMM Regt for his service between 13 June 1864 in active duty until 81 August 1864 when the remark on this service card says "M.R. August 31, 1864, Enlisted in the U. S. service."

His record in the 44th MO Infantry Regt. picks it up at that point with his 18 August 1864 enlistment, his mustering in 9 September 1864 at St. Joseph, and mustered out May 18 1865 at "Vicksburg, MO?" (No such place, so must be Vicksburg, MS, under Union control since 4 July 1863). Interestingly, the remarks on his 44th MO Inf card says "left sick at Eastport, Miss. Feb 5, '65. No discharge given at muster out of company." Interesting.

Now, Jasper had more service after the 44th. He has a service card with Tiffin's Ray & Caldwell Counties General Order Number 3 "Regt EMM" is marked out and written by it "VMM" which as I recall is Volunteer Missouri Militia, Union Department of the Missouri commander MG Granville Dodge's units of county militia which replaced all the earlier versions to keep the peace in home counties from the order's date about March 1865 until well past the end of the war. This card says Jasper served under Captain Tiffin mostly at Richmond, MO from 14 April 1865 through 30 June 1865, for a total of 77 days service. Some of these county VMM were armed by their own county gov't with the latest in firearms, suggested by Union BG Fisk to be "Spencer rifles and Colts' revolvers," which was quite an improvement on the single-shot muzzle-loading rifle-muskets they had before. I recall from my reading in the "Official Records" that several of the north Missouri VMM were so armed, but don't recall if Ray County's was.

It looks like whatever illness he had at Eastport, Mississippi in February did not chill his desire to keep serving in his home county and under hid old commander, Clayton Tiffin.

Bruce