Robert Tappin was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 1864. There were; however, possible errors contained in his military records. Some historians may argue that there was more than one Robert Tappin, who was born in Bermuda and served in the Union military. This was most likely the result of a clerical error.

On March 10, 1864 in Tompkinsville, New York two men (Robert Tappin and Robert Tappan) with the same biographical information (place of birth, height, age, hair color, etc.) were recorded as enlisting in two different coloured regiments of the Union army. A soldier typically enlisted in the Army and was then assigned to a particular regiment, which could explain how a soldier could have been assigned to two different regiments.

Furthermore, only enlistment records were on file at Ancestry.com for Tappan in 26th US Coloured Infantry, while more complete service records were on file for the 31st US Coloured Infantry. I strongly believe Robert Tappin and Robert Tappan was the same person. The military career of Tappin is definitely deserving of additional research.