David had joined the 8th Texas Cavalry, Company "A" , Terry's Texas Rangers from Milam County, Texas and was killed as a Private in or near Pulaski, Giles County, Tennessee, most likely of desease. The following is from "Terry's Texas Rangers" , The Campaigns.
"The late fall and winter of 1861, in Kentucky, was both wet and cold. Camp sanitation among Confederates about Bowling Green was as bad as imperfect medical knowledge and lax discipline could make it. Epidemic outbreaks began early and continued through the winter, scourging the Rangers with the rest. Men to whom the war had been an unprecedented lark were now sobered as comrades died with measles, camp fevers and respiratory infections. Hospital facilities, irregularly organized and staffed, were inadequate, and the sick overflowed into private homes in Kentucky and Tennessee. Others were transported by rail to hospitals at Nashville. According to a contemporary newspaper account penned by Ranger Chaplain Robert F. Bunting, by the end of January, 1862, eighty four Rangers had died, only five from enemy action. At no time during the winter months were more than half the Rangers available for duty".
