A brick wall - maybe a fake name???

[Ohoopee]

Hi, I am hoping for some help but have not gotten very far.  Basically I am trying to identify a man who fought in the civil war.  If what he told the US Army is true, his very interesting military record provides some clues but as of yet, I have found no match before, during, or after the war that seems to be this individual other than his military records.  I am wondering he was using a fake name and gave the US army false information?

What is known,

His name was Peyton Smith.  He originally enlisted as a Private on September 9th, 1863 in Company A, 4th Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters.  He enlisted in the city of Augusta Georgia.  He was captured at Peachtree Creek and was sent to Camp Douglas Prison.  At Camp Douglas, he enlisted as a Private in Company G, 5th US Volunteer Infantry and was sent out west.  From his US enlistment papers, we get a few clues.  He lists his age as 19 when he enlisted on April 4, 1865 and lists his birth location as Edgefield South Carolina.  He did not remain in the US Army long.  He would desert the army on June 18, 1865 at or Near Cottonwood Crossing Kansas.  His military record states that when he deserted, he also took his musket, musket accoutrements, and camp equipment with him. 

That is all I have been able to find on this man.  Now of course Smith is a very common name but the first name Peyton is not as common and the combination of Peyton Smith was not very common back in the 1850's and such.  Based on that and the fact that I have a birth location, and a relative birth year, I have been very frustrated with the lack of any information that I have been able to uncover.  It would be very interesting to learn more about this man, who he was, where he came from, and ultimately what happened to him.  I reach out to all of you here for help and any help would be greatly appreciated.

[maddys52]

Welcome to RootsChat!

Doesn't have any further information about him, however there is this mention of a Peyton SMITH of Company A, in 1865:

Clarksville, Tenn, Aug 4 1865
Editors of the Journal:
Last night, between ten and eleven o'clock, some forty soldiers forced the military jail guard here, with the intention of killing a colored soldier confined some ten days ago for shooting Peyton Smith, of Company A. They believed they had killed him outright, but there is a chance of his recovery. He was sent to the hospital. Public opinion is on the side of the soldiers. He is severly wounded in the left shoulder and right hand.
Our letters and papers give us the particulars of a similar affair in Evansville.
In haste, Co. G

Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.), 09 Aug. 1865
 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86059181/1865-08-09/ed-1/seq-2/  (3rd column, bottom)

The dates don't really fit with the information you have above. But as you say, a somewhat unusual name (though not unique, I see a few others of that name including some who were involved in the Civil War, and a Baptist minister).

[shanreagh]

On Family Search there is a record in the 1870 census for a Peyton Smith of Gowdysville South Carolina. 
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8RB-B17
and one for 1869

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WTQG-C1MM

Then this one from Ohio for a PS born 1824 in SC
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHJ1-6L7

The one born 1824 says he is white while the reference to the person from Gowdeysville says he is mulatto.

Is there any thought that the Peyton Smith you are seeking might be of mixed race? 

The other idea is that perhaps the surname is Peyton Smith and usually has a first name in front, say Robert or john or William.  if he was trying to be hard to track he might just say his name was Peyton (first name) and Smith (surname) In the customs of the times he would be well used to being addressed as Peyton Smith as many people addressed others by their surnames.   

[Lisa in California]

…I have found no match before, during, or after the war that seems to be this individual other than his military records.  I am wondering he was using a fake name and gave the US army false information?…

…He would desert the army on June 18, 1865 at or Near Cottonwood Crossing Kansas.  His military record states that when he deserted, he also took his musket, musket accoutrements, and camp equipment with him…

…That is all I have been able to find on this man…

Welcome to RootsChat from me as well.

Might he have totally changed his identity after the war, since he deserted?

[Lisa in California]

Strange, there’s a similar tale for a different man:

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/texas-confederate-pensions.120117/page-2
Reply #21, and #30

Perhaps Peyton eventually returned to Georgia or South Carolina?

[Ohoopee]

Thank you everyone for your replies.  I think it is a strong possibility that he returned to Georgia or South Carolina..but I suppose just as likely that he also stayed out west.  I will say, my uncle, Joshua Daughtry served in the very same company as Peyton Smith and was also captured at Peachtree Creek and also just like Peyton Smith, was sent to Camp Douglas where he enlisted in the US Army.  My uncle Joshua Daughtry enlisted as a Private in Company H, 5th US Volunteer Infantry.  Also just like Peyton Smith, my uncle Joshua Daughtry deserted the US army and also took a gun and camp equipment...it is an almost identical story except the location where this occurred.  Peyton Smith deserted at or near Cottonwood Crossing Kansas.  My uncle Joshua Daughtry deserted at Chapman's Creek Kansas.  My uncle returned to Georgia after the war although he would not stay in the same county of Georgia that he grew up, he would move down to Southern Georgia where he died and is buried. 

In regards to the possibility of Peyton Smith being a mulatto, it is certainly possible.  Further, if he was a mulotto, he would not be the only mulatto in Company A, 4th Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters.  Private Hilery Brady of this Company was also a mulatto.  His father was a slave owner and his mother was an unknown slave who was owned by this father.  His father had at least two more children by this same woman. 

There is a description of Peyton Smith in US Army enlistment papers.  He is described as: Blue Eyes, Dark Hair, Fair Complexion, height 5ft 5.5 inches.  To me this doesn't scream mulatto but it also doesn't prove he wasn't. 

[Lisa in California]

…I will say, my uncle, Joshua Daughtry served in the very same company as Peyton Smith and was also captured at Peachtree Creek and also just like Peyton Smith, was sent to Camp Douglas where he enlisted in the US Army.  My uncle Joshua Daughtry enlisted as a Private in Company H, 5th US Volunteer Infantry.  Also just like Peyton Smith, my uncle Joshua Daughtry deserted the US army and also took a gun and camp equipment...it is an almost identical story except the location where this occurred.  Peyton Smith deserted at or near Cottonwood Crossing Kansas.  My uncle Joshua Daughtry deserted at Chapman's Creek Kansas.  My uncle returned to Georgia after the war although he would not stay in the same county of Georgia that he grew up, he would move down to Southern Georgia where he died and is buried…

May I ask, please: are you mainly wondering about Peyton Smith because of all of the similarities?  Since you’ve not found matches for Mr. Smith other than his time in the war, he mustn’t be distantly related to you?  I’m surprised that so far he hasn’t been positively found in 1860.  I can understand disappearing after he deserted, but no sign (so far) of him before?  Hmmm.  Would there be any clues that you have other than what has already been stated, please?  I’m also guessing that Uncle Joshua was really a gr-gr-etc. uncle.

[Lisa in California]

…His name was Peyton Smith.  He originally enlisted as a Private on September 9th, 1863 in Company A, 4th Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters.  He enlisted in the city of Augusta Georgia.  He was captured at Peachtree Creek and was sent to Camp Douglas Prison.  At Camp Douglas, he enlisted as a Private in Company G, 5th US Volunteer Infantry and was sent out west.  From his US enlistment papers, we get a few clues.  He lists his age as 19 when he enlisted on April 4, 1865 and lists his birth location as Edgefield South Carolina.  He did not remain in the US Army long.  He would desert the army on June 18, 1865 at or Near Cottonwood Crossing Kansas.  His military record states that when he deserted, he also took his musket, musket accoutrements, and camp equipment with him. 

That is all I have been able to find on this man…

Have you tried researching G. W. Smith and his family?  He was born in 1837 in Edgefield.  (The family was living in Gilbert Hollow, Lexington, South Carolina in 1870.) I wonder if they could have been related.  Of course, Smith is a terribly common name.

[Ohoopee]

May I ask, please: are you mainly wondering about Peyton Smith because of all of the similarities?  Since you’ve not found matches for Mr. Smith other than his time in the war, he mustn’t be distantly related to you?  I’m surprised that so far he hasn’t been positively found in 1860.  I can understand disappearing after he deserted, but no sign (so far) of him before?  Hmmm.  Would there be any clues that you have other than what has already been stated, please?  I’m also guessing that Uncle Joshua was really a gr-gr-etc. uncle.

Hi, I am actually attempting to create a biographical roster for the 4th Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters.  This Battalion was only composed of three companies and I had at least 1 relative in all three companies including a GG grandfather on my fathers side in Company B. In Company C, I have cousins on my fathers side who enlisted and in Company A, 2 gg uncles and cousins on my mothers side of the family.  I have almost completed my biographical roster of Company C, there is only one single individual that I have been unable to find any information on in company C and his name was simply John Smith so it is going to be an almost impossible task to identify this man.  Company B, I also have a few men that I have been unable to identify.  However, Company A has been the biggest Challenge.  This company started the war as Company G, 3rd Battalion Georgia Infantry and were called "The Baker Volunteers"  They were technically raised in the city of Augusta Georgia but in the words of a member of the company who wrote about the after the war "only about a third of the men really belonged there" meaning only about a third of the company were from the Augusta Georgia Area.  The first captain of this company was a bit of a local celebrity.  He had become famous all across the south due to being a high ranking member of William Walker's filibustering expedition.  Men flocked from all corners of Georgia to serve under him, and other states as well, most principally South Carolina as written by this same soldier who wrote about the company after the war.  This same soldier also wrote that there were many immigrants in this company as well, he stated that "France, Germany, and Ireland, the later especially, were all represented."  Because of this, when I look for information on a soldier in Company A, 4th Batt'n Ga SS, they literally could have come from anywhere...the 1st Lieutenant of the Company (later promoted to Captain) was a native New Yorker. 

No living in the United States myself anymore, I don't have the resources I use to so I was hoping for some help finding the men who I have found very little or no information on.