He is last shown present on the March 31, 1862 muster roll which was taken at Davis Ford, Virginia. The next bi-monthy muster roll which survived to be incorporated in these records, is that for the period Nov & Dec 1862. He is not shown on that or subsequent muster rolls. This would mean that during the intervening period April through October, 1862 he must have been dropped from the rolls and that would have been so recorded on one of these missing muster rolls. This could have been for any number of reasons, discharge, desertion, capture, etc. Capture does not appear as the reason as we would expect to see Federal POW records. If his wife did receive a widow's pension, many years later, I would suspect that he had been discharged for medical reasons and most likely died at home.
James T. Edward, age 19, enlisted as a Private in Captain J. R. Dickins' Company (Sardis Blues), Mississippi Volunteers* February, 1861 at Sardis, Mississippi and mustered into service April 20, 1861, recorded present March 3, 1862 [at Davis Ford, Va.] , no further records
[Company E -- Sardis Blues [also listed as Co. F] (raised in Panola County, MS)]
*This company was successively designated as Captain Dickins' Company, Mississippi Volunteers, and as Captain Dickins' Company, Captain Crump's Company, (Old) Company E, and (New) Company F, 12th Regiment Mississippi Infantry.
About April, 1862, the regiment was reorganized and the letters of all companies, except D, were changed.
May/June, 1863 stationed near Chambersburg, Pa.
July/Aug, 1863 stationed at Orange Court House, Virginia
M269: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Mississippi
See also: http://www.mississippiscv.org/MS_Units/12th_MS_Inf.htm