It looks like this may be an old thread and I can only hope it's still active, since I am also looking for information about an ancestor who deserted. My g-g-g-grandfather Thomas Butler b. 1823, as best I can tell, enlisted in the 1st Reg't South Carolina Art'y 5 May 1863 at Camp Walker, SC. His muster roll has an entry for the same day that states he deserted. He must have returned home to SC because he fathered more children. Family information states he is buried in a nearby church in Edgefield SC but I can't find evidence of it, nor a death certificate. There's only the one page military record, with no middle name, but family history tells me he was a deserter. If you are still available for information, how do I find out what happened to him?
Maria Hatfield