Hi Maggie - I believe the notation means that Lt. Jno D. Bryan, Lt., Co. E., 6th Regt., Kentucky Calvary, retired under Special Order 217 in 1864. The "S.O." notation generally refers to "Special Order" with a numeral following which indicates the sequential number of the Special Order in any given year. You'd want to look to see if there is a regimental book containing the Special Orders issued for the regiment in 1864. Special Orders were issued when there were personnel changes (among other reasons), and they were common practice. Janeth L. Murphy North Carolina -----Original Message----- From: Maggie Champion <mcgen@cinergymetro.net> To: TGF Group <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tue, Feb 5, 2013 7:30 am Subject: [TGF] question about a Civil War service record Hi, I have a Civil War service record that has a "Retired" card in it. I do not understand what the notation means on the "date" portion of the card. If you have time, would you mind going to my blog at maggiegen.wordpress.com and look at the new post? I have a copy of the card there. I have also put my idea as to what it says on the blog. Thank you for your help! Maggie The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message