What a coincidence. James Johnston and I were discussing this same issue a couple of weeks ago. James is a walking encyclopedia on the Civil War in Searcy County. He ran across a memoir that stated that Brigadier-General McRae authorized Samuel Leslie to raise a battalion in Searcy County, and appointed him major; but James had doubts as to the authenticity of the statement. At first glance, the memoir you cited has sufficient detail to have a ring of truth to it -- Leslie may indeed have organized and led a unit in Searcy County. However, McRae had no authority to order the raising of a battalion or the appointment of field officers for regular Confederate service. Nor is there any documentation that I'm aware of that substantiates the claim. It is conceivable that McRae may have encouraged Leslie to organize Southern sympathizers to counteract jayhawkers, but it would had to have been strictly "off the books", so to speak.

I would be interested in learning whether anyone else has heard of this "battalion".