Dixie,

What a great name for a person who is interested in Civil War.

Well.................he didnt make it.

Alleson West, 79th Indiana Inf,co E. Enlisted 9/2/1862 as a private. His residence was Freeport,Indiana. Freeport is in Shelby county,Indiana, southeast of Indianapolis. Actually it is still on the map.
He was shown as missing on 6/25/1864. The 79th was involved in the Marietta,GA and Kennesaw Mountain,GA battles during the time frame of June 10- July 2,1864, so I imagine he was captured and sent to Cahaba prison in Alabama. I couldnt find him listed at Andersonville but that doesnt mean he wasnt there because the records arent complete. Most of the men on the Sultana were paroled prisoners from those two prisons that were heading home.

There were only 4 men from the 79th Ind Inf on the Sultana, and Alleson was the only man from Company E. Two of the 4 from the 79th Ind Inf lived, Samuel L. Winkle of Company B and Jacob Medsker of Company A. Winkle was at Andersonville but I couldnt find Medsker there. Alleson West of Company E and Isaac Chappel of Company C both died.

Hope this helps.

I remain your obedient servant,
Mark Davis
Hartford City,Indiana
md9105@skyenet.net