In many ways going through the various documents about my soldier, Alfred Thayer, has been very tedious. But, after trying looking for specific information, opposed to the inventory stage, the task has become much more interesting. Hitting on the previous post about immersing yourself in the history, looking up information about a soldier from the civil war has been a much more narrow focus than what I am used to. It has been interesting trying to piece together the various aspects of his life by using documents that are well over 100 years old. One of the most challenging parts of accumulating this data has been trying to decipher the handwriting. I am always relieved when I find a transcribed, typed document. However, after spending some time looking at the documents, I am starting to get a better idea of what took place during Thayer’s time in the army.