Remember Corporal-Captain Radar on M*A*S*H?
My thanks for publishing the story of my telegrapher great-grandfather, Seargent Prentiss Peabody. There is one small correction that my family would appreciate. I want to point out to your editors the proper spelling of a family name and not a military title.

Peabody's name was Seargent. Note the different spelling from the military title, sergeant. The Peabody family apparently admired someone named Seargent, hence the name. It caused him more than a little confusion in his lifetime. Obituary writers had problems with the name, too. My father, a Vermont newspaper editor, had the name as well, Seargent Peabody Wild, and his son (my older brother, same state) inherited the name Seargent Kendall Wild.

My father's nickname was "Sarge." His main name problem came as a lieutenant in World War I when some people found it hard to understand that the Army had a "Lieutenant Seargent" in its midst. My brother prefers S. Kendall, but every now and then he is required to give his complete name, most recently when he bought a new car. To his surprise, the automobile company sent him a questionnaire addressed to "Sgt. Kendall Wild" and asking for his opinion of their vehicles in either military or law enforcement work.

So you see you are not alone, and the family is used to the confusion. Despite occasionally being called "Wild Bill," I'm really quite calm about it all.

William H. Wild
Dayton, Ohio

Where the Hale Was He?
I was most interested to read J. David Petruzzi's response to Mr. Kennedy's letter in the November 2006 issue regarding Petruzzi's story "Opening the Ball at Gettysburg." My interest was not only because my wife and I recently visited the battlefield but also because of Petruzzi's statement regarding the forward outposts at the Ephraim Wisler home being manned by soldiers of the 8th Illinois Cavalry.

One of those troopers was a private named Hale. It is just possible that he was one of my ancestors. Part of our family history states that my maternal great-grandfather, John Francis Hale, served in an Illinois cavalry unit. No one in the family knows much about his unit's designation or its engagements. At some point in the conflict we know he was taken prisoner and incarcerated at Andersonville, where his eyesight was badly damaged. After the war Hale returned to his home and became a judge.

Our family doesn't know too much more about this man, and I certainly would like to do more research on him now that I'm retired. I would very much like to learn more about Petruzzi's sources and the availability of records, particularly pertaining to the 8th Illinois Cavalry. The possibility that the young Private Hale present at the opening of the Battle of Gettysburg might be my great grandfather is exciting and intriguing.

I enjoy America's Civil War and look forward to every issue, which I read from cover to cover.

James M. Thornburgh
San Diego, Calif.

J.D. Petruzzi responds: The story of your great- grandfather is quite interesting indeed. The private who was with Private Thomas Benton Kelly at Wisler Ridge along the Chambersburg Pike on the morning of July 1, 1863, at Gettysburg was James O. Hale. This is the name with which he is identified in both the regimental roster of the 8th Illinois Cavalry and the way he signed his name on the June 30, 1863, Present For Duty Roster of Company E of the regiment. Therefore, it appears that they are two different men.

Your great-grandfather, it seems, was a member of the 6th Illinois Cavalry. I did a search on the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database (located at www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/) for "John Hale" and came up with a John F. Hale of Company H, 6th Illinois Cavalry. His service record is located in the National Archives at Film No. M539, Roll 36. The 6th Illinois Cavalry served admirably in the Western theater, participating in many battles, skirmishes and raids. If you go to the Web site above and put your grandfather's data into a soldier search, you will get a listing of all Hales in the unit. You can then click on both his name and the regiment for more information.

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