Thank you so much. I have been looking for my Ggrandfather, and believe that he was your Charles, son of Nijah. My grandfather was Walter Chamberlain of Ft. His father disappeared when he was an infant. Writing was difficult to decipher.
Dates match as well.
Wonder what happened to Charles after he disappeared. I'm writng a book about the Sixth Michigan Cavalry and have posted notices on several sites in a search for photos of men who served in that unit. I just want to say how helpful your site has been. It's been a way of connecting with photos, diaries, original equipment used by men from this unit and most of all people who are interested and want to help. It's been great.