Confederates punished a man for not being married

[Gary of CA]

Read all about it! (Sensationalist headline news worthy of a local daily rag)

In the Spring of '64 and before the Wilderness Campaign, furloughs were granted in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

"During this period, furloughs were given to several classes of soldiers. To capture a deserter, to obtain a new recruit, or to get marrried, entitled the fortunate Johnnie Reb to a two-weeks' furlough. One of our boys (John Glenn) went to Richmond to get married, and came back singularly wretched. In fact, Captain Parker put him on 'double duty' for coming back single."

The writer was wrong about furloughs for going after deserters. Men sent after deserters were "detailed" or "detached" from regular duty and sent to recover the deserter. There are numerous cases that I've read in the National Archives of the Confederates doing this. BTW, the excerpt came from retired National Park Service Ranger Robert Krick's (the editor) newest book, "Where Men Only Dare to Go or the Story of a Boy Company, C.S.A." It's published by LSU and I got mine autographed by Krick when I saw him recently.