Cheryl, that may have been true in some areas, but it seemed that in our area of Pennsylvania there seemed to be alot of 30 - 40 year olds that joined. Some for the duration of the war. I can list every man in Co F, 143rd PVI and tell you exactly how old they were. I believe there was only one that was in his 20's. Now, my great great grandfather Downing went off to war in 1862 at the age of 36 with a wife that was 3 months pregnant and five children under the age of 11! I think if I had been grandmother Downing he may have been shot before he made it to the recruitment camp! <grin> We were pretty rural back then and "town" is still 18 miles from the homestead (that means trees instead of sidewalks). Flour didn't come pre-packaged, like henny penny had to be taken to the mill and central heating was around the cook stove - that burnt wood which was not delivered by a nice man in a 4-wheel drive truck. Running water was only if the kid was 10 who was sent to get it from the well. No forumula, no disposable diapers. In a surviving letter back home he asks her for understanding and hopefully that she not be "mad" at him!!! There were a few young "bucks" signing up for adventure and travel. But the majority of men in our area of northeastern Pennsylvania believed strongly in the Union, enough to leave everything to keep the ideal that their great grandfather''s had paid dearly for less than a 100 years before. Linda

Fancy that Linda! I have a great great grandfather Downing who went off to the Civil War too. <g> He didn't come back, dying in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, while there with the 106th Illinois. I assume he went willingly -- a couple of his brother-in-laws, also Downings but another line, and some Downing cousins also joined the 106th in Lincoln. Cheryl Rothwell LoganCty@mindspring.com http://www.rootsweb.com/~illogan/loindex.htm Central Illinois Regional Coordinator, ILGenWeb --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.268 / Virus Database: 140 - Release Date: 8/7/01