Ms. Metzger,

I will add on to the other respondent.

Federal soldiers did not walk great distances like the Confederate soldiers did. You may want to read the book "Homeward Bound: The Demobilization of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1865 - 1866" by William B. Holberton.

Page 39, "The greatest number of returning Union veterans were transported by railroad. For the returning Union soldiers, no matter how remote the location of the military unit or how great the distance to the state rendezvous point, the longest portion of the journey home was made by rail. Be it slow or fast - and some trains were excruciatingly slow - by boxcar, coal car, flat-car, or passenger car, with or without food and water, rail movement of troops was an integral part of demobilization." The story is different for the Confederates.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Respectfully,
Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
M.A. Military History - Civil War Concentration
Research - Preservation
Historian: 39th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
http://39thgavolinfrgt.homestead.com/39thHomepage.html
Athens, Tennessee