Conscription Laws in the Fall of 1864 and choosing which regiment and
company to join

What conscription regulations would a young man turning 18 in later
September 1864 be subject to? Upon turing 18 was he allowed to choose
which company and regiment to join, or was the selection made for him? How
much time after turning 18 did he have before reporting?
My great grandfather lived in Highland County, VA. In April 1864 he was
enrolled in the 10th Battalion Reserves. He turned 18 on September 26,
1864. He was paroled at Staunton on May 20, 1865. The parole indicated he
was in Company B of the 23rd Virginia Cavalry.
The 23rd Virginia Cavalry was notorious for poor record keeping. The only
existing complete muster roll was for October 31, 1864, and he was not
listed on it. So apparently he had not yet enlisted, meaning he had been
18 for over a month by then. How long could he have avoided regular
service? More importantly, I'm puzzled as to how he ended up in the 23rd
VA Cavalry. A more obvious choice would have been, for example, the 62nd
Mounted Infantry, which was also part of Imboden's brigade and contained
many Highlanders, including his older brother. Interestingly, his brother
was listed as AWOL from the 62nd from October 1 to at least October 31.
Perhaps both were trying to avoid the fierce battles going on in the
Shenandoah Valley during that period. However, his brother was again
present on December 31, 1864. Therefore I will assume that at some point
between October 31, 1864 and April 9, 1865 my great grandfather also did
his duty and did join officially the 23rd Virginia Cavalry. I may never
determine exactly when he enlisted, but can someone suggest some ideas as
to why he ended up in the 23rd VA Cav, Co. B instead of some other unit??

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