I'll check into the routes they took. That would seem to be the most logical. I do have his service records and there is no mention of any AWOL. Her family stayed put on the same land for many years. The counties changed around them, but to my knowledge they never moved. At one point, her father was a slave owner. I have often wondered about the tension at dinner between them!! My gggrandparents moved away from her family, further west in Missouri... I sure wish I had known all this while my great grandfather was still alive, though I suspect he didn't have much knowledge of these things. At least he didn't tell my Aunt anything about this. Thank you for your suggestions. I will do some digging and see if I find out anything. I will share if I do!! Norma In a message dated 4/1/2011 12:38:58 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, brian@amason.net writes: If you figure that out, I love to hear about it. But perhaps he met her on his march through Arkansas and Missouri from September 17 to November 16, 1864. You have to look at more than just where the battles were fought. You have to track the routes they took. They have to stop once in a while to sleep and stock up. Do you have his service records? Did he ever go AWOL? Have you tracked her and her family's movements during the Civil War? Maybe they were part of a supply crew, or her father/brother were in a corps that fought with the 72nd. Any of his fellow soldier's moved there? Land grants after the war? Was her town along one of the westward trails? So many possibilities.