Messrs Knight and Odom-
There's no question that attempting to compile documented facts regarding Union attrocities in Jefferson Co. would be difficult. Of course I wasn't suggesting that indictments would have been brought in the 1860s, I'm suggesting that someone compile what can be gathered in the present day (21st Century). These are history message boards, and history is built upon some kind of documentary basis. Family traditions of Federal outrages are fine, but they must be written down and shared, otherwise they aren't part of that record. Historians can only evaluate and interpret what has been left behind. I would like to see the facts about the Pine Bluff/Jefferson county Federal attrocities. The commander was Powell Clayton, whose post-war career certainly made him one of the most hated men in Arkansas (then and still). But, during the war, were he and his troops (I'm more interested in his troops) committing depredations and perpetrating other crimes beyond some limit that has earned this command the especial hatred of modern Arkansans? All I'm asking for is the basis for all these charges against the Federal troops in Pine Bluff, something resembling evidence of whatever character it may be. I'm not trying to challenge anyone on this, I just want to see the basis.
John