In September of 1864, Richard Taylor was appointed to command of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana. On May 4, 1865, Taylor reached an agreement with Gen. Canby to surrender all forces under his command. You will see that date on all paroles of this department, along with Citronelle, Ala.

Some people wrongly assume that soldiers were present at Citronelle. The only Confederates present were Taylor, one staff officer and two personal slaves. Actual paroles were issued no earlier than May 9th.

The agreement specified that a minimal number of Federal officers would be present at each parole site. That's the reason for a Federal officer's signature on the parole. The actual parole site shouldn't be too difficult to determine.

The unit to which the soldier belonged should be clearly stated on the parole. It would be interesting to know what it was.