This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/CGC.2ACI/680.2 Message Board Post: According to the Civil War Pension records on Ancestry.com, Dorothea Kienast applied for the Civil War Pension of Samuel C. F. Kienast. It isn't very easy to read but it looks like he served in B 3 Wisc (the next word is hard to read but it could be Art for Artillery. She applied on 1882 May 12 with application #292742. Using this number makes the archives search easier and more successful. I sent to the National Archives for my relative and received a copy of his whole file with a wealth of information. Dorothea would have to supply proof of his death as well as his relationship to her. It took me 6 months to receive the copies but it was well worth it. Since she applied for his pension, she mustn't have thought that he was a deserter. www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/military/civil_war_records.html