I just discovered John M DeShields which I believe to be my great grandfather's brother, John DeShields is listed in the book, "If I should live" A history of the Sixteenth Arkansas Confederate Infantry by Mark Miller (available through Desmond Walls). I just contacted the Fayetteville Library and they had a copy and they gave me this information: Page 116 John M DeShields, Company E, Pvt/Pvt. Enlisted at Carrollton on October 19, 1861, at Carrollton. Discharged on 23 July 1862 due to disability. Can anyone tell me how I can get his military records? Also, Is Carrollton in Boone or Carroll County. And what county in 1861/62 - Marion? Was this Mitchell's troupe? I think I heard Mitchell recruited in Lead Hill/DeBuque. Did Carrollton have a newspaper at that time? If so what was the name? This is the first lead on John and would like to check it out further. It is possible he joined with his friend ?? Stone who he was working for. Any info on how to get more information would be appreciated. Reta DeShields Parton rpsodapop@aol.com

Your best bet for info re John DeShields and the 16th AR Confederate Infantry, Reta, is Ed Gerdes' site. It's called the Original Civil War Page and can be accessed at http://www.couchgenweb.com/arkansas. There are also some other Civil War links on the Marion Co web page http://www.rootsweb.com/~armarion. Were I you, I'd collect all the info possible before contacting NARA for his service record or his pension record. Either of these records is pretty expensive so you sure don't want to order info for the wrong person <g> Carrollton was - and is - in Carroll Co AR. It was a stop on the Trail of Tears as well as part of the Old Military Road. You might check out the Carroll Co web page http://www.rootsweb.com/~arcarroll to see if there's any info there that would be useful to you. You might also check out the Boone Co AR web page http://www.rootsweb.com/~arboone because that's where many DeShields actually lived (after 1869, of course). You might also contact Everett Burr searcher@yournet.com to see of his SCV (Sons of Confederate Veterans) group in Harrison (Boone Co) has any information you might find helpful. No, Colonel Mitchell's wasn't the 16th AR Infantry (CSA). It was the 14th AR Infantry (CSA). It first recruited at West Sugar Loaf Creek in what was then Carroll Co (Boone Co in 1869) and then marched to Yellville (Marion Co) to gather more recruits. Actually Dubuque was a landing on the right bank of White River - not real close to Lead Hill or West Sugar Loaf Creek, but in the general area. Doubt that Carrolton had a newspaper in those days - too far out in the boonies. Even if it did, it's doubtful even a snippet of it survived the Civil War and associated depredations. Let me know if there's anything I can look up for you in Marion Co, Reta. Good luck <BG> Mysty shakerag@mtnhome.com ----- Original Message ----- From: <RPSODAPOP@aol.com> To: <ARMARION-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 4:31 PM Subject: John M DeShields > I just discovered John M DeShields which I believe to be my great > grandfather's brother, John DeShields is listed in the book, "If I should > live" A history of the Sixteenth Arkansas Confederate Infantry by Mark Miller > (available through Desmond Walls). I just contacted the Fayetteville Library > and they had a copy and they gave me this information: > > Page 116 > John M DeShields, Company E, Pvt/Pvt. Enlisted at Carrollton on October 19, > 1861, at Carrollton. Discharged on 23 July 1862 due to disability. > > Can anyone tell me how I can get his military records? Also, Is Carrollton > in Boone or Carroll County. And what county in 1861/62 - Marion? Was this > Mitchell's troupe? I think I heard Mitchell recruited in Lead Hill/DeBuque. > Did Carrollton have a newspaper at that time? If so what was the name? This > is the first lead on John and would like to check it out further. It is > possible he joined with his friend ?? Stone who he was working for. Any > info on how to get more information would be appreciated. > > Reta DeShields Parton > rpsodapop@aol.com > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >