I have a question I'm hoping someone out there has had experience with. My great grandfather, Edward D. Mathis was born in South Carolina, but spent most of his adult life in Calhoun County, Alabama. Family legend had it that he had served in the Confederacy during the Civil War, in a regiment organized out of Calhoun County. I have found three Edward or E. Mathis/Mathews serving out of Alabama and I believe have it narrowed down to one particular regiment, the 48th Alabama Volunteer Infantry Regiment. However, I have not proved this with any official records. In 1889, Edward D. Mathis was awarded a land patent in Calhoun County, pursuant to the Homestead Act of 1862 "to secure Homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain". In reading about the Homestead Act, however, I find that its purpose was to distribute public lands to those who were without and that the Civil War had brought about the need to encourage settlement in less-developed areas by "individuals loyal to the Union." This land was available to anyone "who has never borne arms against the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies". My question is this: Where veterans of the CSA able to apply for and receive Homestead grants after the Civil War? Thanks for any help anyone can give me! Sheila Mathis Sage