Thanks for all the reponses. I must confess I felt somewhat disappointed to discover that my great grandfather's service in the famous 2nd Mo Cav was that of their chief chicken stealer. A necessary duty, I'm sure, but one which perhaps renders that Navy colt which passed down through the generatations as merely ceremonial. Unless he used to slaughter hogs ("slow deer"). Still, I also wonder if there were really any noncombatent positions in such an outfit. The chaplain, perhaps? Certainly not their commanding officers, some of whom seemed to spend much of the war leading the troops from ambulences (as was reported of Black Bob McCulloch).