[log in to unmask] wrote:

> Hi to the List
>
> Would someone more familiar with the terminology please explain to me the
> next step in finding more data on a soldier when this very little is handed
> down in the family.  The man was from Virginia and is not seen on the index
> to  confederate soldiers on line.  Would it be likely a man would have served
> in the war of 1812, the Mexican American War and the Civil War?  That is a
> long spread of time.
>
> "He was a veteran of the 1812 War, and also was at
> the side of Winfield Scott,  when Mexico City was
> captured in 1847."
>
> "He rode with General Rosser's cavalry during the War for Southern
> Independence."
>
> Someone thought the person could be traced through these two men (Winfield
> Scott) and General Rosser...I have always thought the soldiers would be
> identified with a smaller unit and its ranking officer (Captain?)
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Alice in Fluvanna

    Unless the person was on the staff of the senior officers, your guess about
them being identified in a smaller unit is true.  But it could also be that what
is said is not literal...that the member was in a unit that was part of the force
that was there.
    From a more practical point of view, I don't see how a member could serve
militarily spanning a period of approximately 50 years.
    There are records available for the War of 1812, and the Mexican-American
War.  Possibly looking for the name in those records would be a start.  There are
records available through the archives; when I searched military records at the
archives, the ones I researched were in alphabetic order on the microfilms.
There are also records available at the Library of Virginia for Virginia units
with some rosters for those who saw service in the War of 1812.  The LVA also has
a card index of confederate Virginians with name, rank, and unit...I used this
before the library moved to the new facility.  Good luck.

Ed Hamblin
Virginia Beach, VA

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