RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            7 April 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20040006531


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James E. Anderholm            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Eric N. Andersen              |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Linda M. Barker               |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that the records of his great-great uncle, a
former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he was not a deserter.

2.  The applicant states that, while doing genealogy research on his
family, he found that the FSM had applied for a pension and, as part of
that request, stated that he had been captured in the battle around
Lynchburg, VA.  From everything he has read about that battle, it was a
disaster, and people from both sides were separated from their units.  If
the FSM was a teamster, he would have been at a very real disadvantage as
far as speed to make a retreat or get-away.  He knows he cannot prove the
FSM was not a deserter, but on the other hand he sees no proof that he was.
 The FSM was never charged as a deserter, fined, or imprisoned.  He just
had a label of "listed as" on his records.

3.  The applicant states that the FSM, who reenlisted after three years of
service, seems to have been a dedicated Soldier who, through no fault of
his own, was branded, and had to live a life of disgrace, as well as the
rest of his family.  His family has had this thrown in their faces now for
over 140 years.  That is a sentence ten times that which a murderer would
receive.  Unless there is rock solid proof that the FSM deserted, the
statement, "listed as a deserter," on his records should be amended and he
should be issued an honorable discharge.

4.  The applicant provides his own birth certificate; his father's birth
certificate; copies of the 1910 census showing his grandfather's and
grandmother's names; his uncle's death certificate; the FSM's death
certificate; a copy of the FSM's funeral notice; a copy of the history of
The First West Virginia Infantry; a letter dated 8 December 2004; and the
FSM's request for pension.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The FSM's military records are not available to the Board.  This case
is being considered using reconstructed records which primarily consist of
the documents provided by the applicant.

2.  Documents provided by the applicant show the FSM enlisted in the Union
Army around September or October 1861.  He reenlisted on 28 March 1964.

3.  The First West Virginia Infantry history provided by the applicant
shows the FSM was listed as deserting at Lynchburg, VA on 18 June 1864.
The history
indicates the information was compiled from records kept by the Adjutant
General and included a descriptive roll for each company, individual muster
cards, the final muster-out roll, and the Annual Report of the Adjutant
General of the State of West Virginia for the Year Ending 31 December 1864.

4.  In February 1890, the FSM applied for a pension.  In his declaration,
he stated that he was captured after his reenlistment near Lynchburg, VA on
18 June 1864 and was erroneously (word illegible) a deserter.

5.  The FSM died on 25 June 1917.

6.  Army Regulation 15-185 governs the operation of the Army Board for
Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).  In pertinent part, it states that
the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of
administrative regularity.  The applicant has the burden of proving an
error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The only evidence of record available shows the FSM was listed as
deserting on 18 June 1864.  Although he contended, more than 25 years
later, that he was erroneously listed as a deserter, the Board must presume
that the official records are correct.  The lack of "rock solid proof" to
show he was a deserter does not overcome the applicant's burden of proving
the FSM was not a deserter.

2.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to grant the
applicant's request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jea___  __ena___  __lmb___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.




            __James E. Anderholm__
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040006531                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050407                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |134.02                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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