This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/xhC.2ACE/809.1.1.1 Message Board Post: Frances -- Thanks for the kind words. I don't like to rule out military records when an initial isn't right. Clerks just weren't too careful when these files were created, and it's not unusual to find an index card showing one name, and records showing another. Differences may be just enough to throw you off the trail if you're being too strict with your search. I remember seeing an Alabama service file that had complete records of three different men filed under one index entry. If you know where this man lived in 1860, it should help us.