This was probably the most deserted place Harding ever saw in his life, so maybe he felt a need to live apart from other human beings. Maybe he was trying to disappear. Otherwise, the sultry climate, differences in culture, and widespread economic devastion would have made such a move less than enticing to most.

I'm curious as to the reasoning of veterans like Harding who came to live in Alabama or elsewhere in the South after the war.
Did large numbers of veterans settle down in Germany or Japan after WWII?
After the Revolution, how many of King George's Hessian troops made their homes on American soil?