Steven-- This is a wonderful story, and it proves that there are sources "out there" that are still waiting to be discovered. Maybe for people like Janet, whose Steven Barrett's death is not recorded in the official muster lists, there is still hope. Thank you for the explanation of exactly what it is that you are doing. I think it's a really admirable project! Just a comment about the diarrhea deaths: from what I've read and from what I see in the records of the 24th Texas Cavalry, more than half the deaths during the Civil War were caused by disease rather than by battle wounds. Diarrhea was the most common killer, but the men also suffered through epidemics of measles, small pox, and typhoid. The conditions in the prison camps were bad, but the conditions in the men's own camps were not much better. Some camps were worse than others, and those in the bottom lands near rivers also had malaria ("jaundice") to contend with. It was nearly impossible to get a medical leave, at least for the men of the 24th. I only found one who was able to get transferred back to Texas because of his medical problems, where he served the rest of the war in the Trans-Mississippi Department. He was an officer, which probably helped him get a transfer. For you Texans, I found a set of books in the Confederate Research Center that was very helpful. It is called Their Last Full Measure: Texas Confederate Casualty Lists. There are three volumes. The author, L. L. Kight (not Knight), went through the microfilms of old newspapers and extracted the casualty lists from the War. He used Texas newspapers, as well as newspapers from other states. I didn't think about looking for Steven Barrett, sorry, Janet. I was searching for my 24th Cavalry men. I did find some reports of wounds, to supplement what I already knew. I'm sure this set of books must be available in major libraries. When I started this project, I knew absolutely nothing. I want to publicly thank Steve and Gerry, who gave me (a complete novice) much support and sent me to the Civil War message boards and other helpful web sites (and Steven even posted my first query for me). And, of course, Janet, who babied me through the technical aspects of getting my stories online, created my directories, downloaded clip art, and did much of the ground work before she cut me loose. Thanks again for your story, Steven, it's an inspiration. Karen On Wednesday, April 14, 2004, at 08:00 PM, BARRETT-REUBEN-SC-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > This pointed them > to the hospital, now a church, in Leesburg, VA where they found the > actual > records still stored in the attic! > > Dr. Mott's records indicated that my James John Mitchell died the > evening of > November 11, 1861 of chronic diarrhea, a common ailment during those > war > time years due to the unsanitary conditions of their camps.