I could freely give my life to save his. Virginia C.

[Steve]

(07-03-2023 05:28 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  Private John Wilson, Company D, Seventy-first Pennsylvania; Private James Lane, Company B, Seventy-first New York; Private Joseph W. Clifton, Company F, Sixth New Jersey; Private Ira Smith, Company I, Eleventh New Jersey; Private Allen G. Maxson, Company D, First Michigan; Private John Keatly, Company I, Second Delaware; Private Daniel P. Byrnes, Company A, Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania; Private Samuel Tyler, Company G, Third New Jersey; Private Robert Gill, Company D, Sixth New York Cavalry.

Forward the records in these cases for examination.

A. LINCOLN.

Here are the fates of the other men besides Pvt Clifton (released from Ft Jefferson after the war) and Pvt Gill (pardoned). Clifton and Gill's stories are in the earlier posts above. I didn't look into the biographies of these other men (except for Pvt Maxson) and all I know about them is their military records:

- Pvt John Wilson D co. 71st PA: Imprisoned at Ft Jefferson and released after the war

- Pvt James Lane B co. 71st NY: Imprisoned at Ft Jefferson and dying there on 09 June 1865, just before he was due to be released

- Pvt Allen Maxson D co. 1st Michigan: Imprisoned at Ft Jefferson and dying there date unknown

- Pvt Samuel Taylor G co. 3rd NJ: full pardon granted by President Lincoln; returned to his unit and later mustered out with them

- Pvt Ira Smith I co. 11th NJ: returned to his unit by 12 May 1864; I can't find a record of a pardon for him like I could for Taylor and Gill, but that's the most likely scenario. He remained with his unit and was mustered out with them after the war

- Pvt John Keatley I co. 2nd Delaware: desertion conviction overturned by Division commander as unjust and was returned to his unit before Lincoln could review the case. He survived the war and later received a pension

- Pvt Daniel Byrnes A co. 98th PA: I don't know what happened to him. He deserted in October 1862 and was dropped from the rolls before he was recaptured, presumably over a year later. The Civil War service biographies on Ancestry are mostly created from state records, with Byrnes' bio ending in 1862 before his capture and desertion conviction. There are federal carded civil war service records (created after the war to assist with pension applications) which are currently being digitized but it could be years before Byrnes' record images show up in the database (and the pandemic seriously slowed progress). So probably the only way to get concrete information on his fate right now is to go to the National Archives. With the little information we do have, we can reasonably infer that he very likely was sent to Ft Jefferson. What happened afterwards is anybody's guess. His name is common enough where I can't trace him in other records before and after the war.