Carol --

Here's another aspect to matters. In September of 1864 the Federal army began destroying farms and homes in the Shenandoah Valley. In some instances Sheridan's men shot or hung Confederate soldiers they suspected of being guerrillas, and any able-bodied man found out of uniform could be spying for the Confederates. Anybody who lived in the area knew that the character of the war had changed, and no one was safe anymore.

Destruction in the Shenandoah was generally greater than destruction in Georgia and the Carolinas during Sherman's campaigns there, and that's saying something.

It may be that this man had a legitimate exemption from military service which kept him out of the army earlier. At this juncture, however, he may have decided that if he had to forfeit his life, it may as well be while defending his homeland!