In order for you to obtain records, you will need to know in which unit he served. His stone does not list a unit, so there is no help there. I searched for this man using the following spellings: Swanzy, Swanzey, Swanzie, Swansie, Swansy, and Swansey, and could not locate a record. I looked for John, John R, and J R. The closest name was John A Swanzy (the middle initial was very clear) of Perrin's Battalion, Mississippi State Cavalry - a 3 month enlistment in state service. This man appears to be a resident of Kemper County. I checked the units in which other Swanzy's from Lowndes County served; ie. G W Swanzy, 24th Mississippi Inf., and Sam A Swanzy, 43rd Mississippi Inf. Often family members served in the same unit, but I found no other Swanzys in either of those units. Also, in 1907, the state ordered a biennial enumeration of all Confederate soldiers and widows of soldiers living in the state. The first one was completed that year. His Confederate marker shows a year of death of 1904, but the original marker shows 1908. If he was alive in 1907, he should appear on that enumeration. Checking the record for Lowndes County, I found G W Swanzy and S A Swanzy listed, but there were no other Swanzys. If he was a veteran, living in Lowndes County at that time, his name almost surely would have been on that list. If his widow was living in Lowndes County at that time, her name should appear. In my opinion, there is a very high likelihood that this man did not serve. If you have any information that would expand the search, please let us know.