The following message was obviously supposed to have preceeded the John P. Jennings discharge transcription. I kept wondering why it hadn't appeared on the list. I emailed it to another list I am on. <duh> Yes, I AM an idiot <grin> and I have not surewhat I was thinking of! > Dear Grainger County researchers, > > The first first soldier's discharge I will send to the list is John P. > Jennings. I photocopied this document as an example of a typical discharge. > (Actually this is a little better than average since as you will see in this > particular document, a description of the soldier and his occupation before > the war is given.) I initially photocopied the record as I said because it > is a good example of would or COULD be included. I kept thinking on the way > home though that the name John P. Jennings was very familiar although I > couldn't think of where I had run across John P. Anyway <duh> I think I > have figured out the connection. I believe that a researcher or researchers > on this list is (are) descended from John P. Jennings. Or at least A John > P. Jennings. I can't remember who is researching John P., but I am hoping > this is the discharge of YOUR John P. Jennings. > > A little cheating is involved in this transcription since as I was having a > little trouble reading John P.'s Captain's name I read John C. Bile.. John > C. Bills.. and finally decided the Captain's surname was most likely Bible. > > Then I tried to search on John P. Jennings at the Soldiers and Sailors > system and came up with zilch. I eventually did find John P. on the > Soldiers and Sailors system, but more about this later. I have found the > search engine at Soldiers and Sailors system to be a tad bit tricky and I > sometimes have to find the soldier I am looking for by trial and error. > > I think I have sent this address to the list before, but the Soldiers and > Sailors System is online at: > > http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ > > My next step was to try the Tennesseans in The Civil War site. I think I > have sent this URL to the list, too, but here it is again. I checked Union > Cavalry regiments (according to his discharge John P. Jennings served in > the 8th Regiment of Tennessee Cavalry). > > See > > http://www.tngennet.org/civilwar/usacav/usa8cav.html > > for a history of the the 8th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, USA. Sure enough > John C. Bible was listed as a Captain (Co. G.) > > Not wanting to give up on Soldiers and Sailors System I returned and pullled > up the roster for the 8th Tennesseee Calvary Regiemnt. <sigh>. There were > a couple of thousand names on the roster and I thought I would have to go > through a lot of pages before I found Private John P. Jennings. Actually I > tried this for a while and was somewhere into the B's when I decided to quit > and try something else. > > I simply used a little broader search criteria and searched on Jennings, > Tennessee, Union, and Cavalry and came up with six |Jennings (some of the > others may be of some interest to whoever is searching Jennings) including > John P. If you try this yourself you will note that John P. is listed as > John P. Jennings 8th regiment, Tennessee Calvary. (ie the criteria I used > the FIRST time I tried to seach for John P.) Sorry to natter on so and I > will quit and send my transcription of John P. Jennings discharge papers to > the list. <grin> > > Anyway tip for the day. If you are searching at the Soldiers and Sailors > system sometimes it is helpful to eliminate some of the search criteria EVEN > if you have the correct information. > > Gail >