Defeated by local militiamen, Sanders returned to Federal lines where he managed to talk his way out of a court-martial and was permitted to resign his commission, after being characterized by Asboth as "grossly negligent" and "incompetent.

[5] Initially enlisting for twelve months,[1] he re-enlisted in his same regiment on 13 April 1862 for "two years, or the war," by which time he held the rank of Third Sergeant in his unit and was paid a $50 bonus for signing on again.

[11] Returning to his unit in January 1863, he accompanied them to Port Royal, Virginia,[12] where he continued to serve until 20 July 1863 (just after the Battle of Gettysburg), when his health allegedly began to fail.

Insisting that he was "patriotic and loyal," and that "only his ill health and shattered constitution keeps him away from his command," the signers earnestly pleaded that Davis approve Sanders' resignation from military service.

[4] Thirty-two citizens of Dale County signed the petition, including the Probate Judge, Daniel Carmichael,[4] whose son Jesse had served as a corporal in the 15th Alabama Infantry, losing a hand at Antietam.

[16] No one knows for certain exactly what happened between 29 January and 5 July 1864,[2] but for some reason, Joseph Sanders decided to do the unthinkable: not only did he switch sides and join the Federals, but he chose to accept an officer's commission, to boot.

"[2] Sanders' service with the 1st Florida Cavalry seems to have gone reasonably well until 25 February 1865, when he was ordered to take twenty men and proceed to the East Pass at Santa Rosa Island, where he was to recruit new soldiers for his regiment, as well as 'confiscate' cattle and horses belonging to 'Rebel' civilians in nearby Walton and Holmes counties.

[2] Jesse Carmichael, the one-handed veteran whose father had attested the petition sent to Jefferson Davis on Sanders' behalf the previous Autumn, quickly organized the local Home Guard to oppose his one-time neighbor.

Opening up on them simultaneously in the darkness from in front and behind, the ten Newtonians managed to scare Sanders' men bad enough that they bolted for the edge of town and rode off into the night.

[2] Having been absent without leave for four months by the time he returned to Pensacola—and with only eight men[23]—in June 1865, Sanders found himself accused of desertion from the Federal Army, a capital offense.

"[24] Asked to explain himself, Sanders ingeniously asserted that sore feet, sickness among his troops, an alleged enemy force of "700 Rebels", lack of provider and rising floodwaters all conspired to keep him from returning to Pensacola at the time specified in his orders.

[2] Frank Crawford Armstrong - Confederate General who led a Federal unit at the First Battle of Bull Run, then switched sides to fight for the South.