Last Records or is it First Records

Since I'm going backwards at this point, the "last" records I have of my grandfather, he was 13 years old and was living in Augusta, Georgia.  The 1900 Census tells me that both he and his father James Canty were sweepers in the cotton mill.  Already working at the age of 13.  Since his sister Sadie Pearl was 5 years old and born in South Carolina, that tells me that he and his family were born and lived in South Carolina until that time.  I am guessing but it seems like their mother might have died in child birth or at least sometime thereafter, leaving Gr. Grandpa with four children to raise on his own.  The Census also tells me Gr. Grandpa's mother was born in Georgia so perhaps they had connections there or perhaps working in the cotton mill was an important reason to move.

So now, the story I have learned is that Grandpa Canty was born in South Carolina, lived there until he was between 8 to 13 and then moved to Augusta, Georgia.  Then his father dies, the family is again hit by sorrow and on top of that split up.  He ends up with in-laws in Ohio and decides to join the Army.  The Army sends him to New London where he meets my grandmother.  They have three children.  And then it gets confusing, leading up to a brick wall.

One Step [Backwards] at a Time

Grandpa Canty's last known whereabouts was in Clyo, Georgia.  His WWI Draft Registration Card said he was a salesman.  But before that, Grandpa was a soldier.  How do I know that?  I go back to 1913 - 5 years earlier.  The U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 is full of information.  When you go on Ancestry, you will only see the basics unless you click to see the original document.  Here is where it gets interesting.  This is basically a list of who joined the U.S. Army, when they joined, who signed them up, where they were originally from and then a spot called "Remarks."  Now "Remarks" is in abbreviated form, but I've done my best to transcribe.  In 1913 Grandpa Canty was on his second enlistment with the U.S. Army.  He had reinlisted back at Ft. Slocum, N.Y.; however, he was discharged early in South Carolina.  Here is what the "Remarks" say:

"Dis., May 25, 1913 at Ft. Moultrie, S.C. in S.A.(?) 75, Eastern Dept., May 14/13, Lot., Very Good, h.&f."

I don't know what some of this means, but I do see that when he left the Army, it was on  May 25, 1913 and after that he made his way during the next 5 years to living back in Georgia. [By the way, if anyone reading this has any helpful hints about what "Lot." or "h.&f." mean, please share.]

So I'll take another step backwards to end up in the New London, Connecticut area.  The city of romance...