Thanks Hollis:

The information about the Freedmen's Bureau. Since my family were free before the Civil War, it's an area of study that I need to focus on. (I've never found their names in the Freedmen's records.)

Babcock's diary and reference to the families of men working in Pensacola was during the Civil War. Therefore I'm curious as to why the Union army would send them (women and children) North during the war.

The answer is probably in Babcock's diary or in the archives of his unit.

Thanks again for your response.

K Wyer Lane