I didn't realize Lafayette "Pete" Robert of Linn Township, south-central Cedar County, Missouri spent parts of 1862 and 1863 in Arkansas operations. I have a little of his 1861 and 1864 guerrilla operations in the Cedar, Camden, Dade County, Missouri area.

Lafayette was 18, Tennessee-born in the 1860 census of Linn Township in the household of 46-year-old, TN-born John J. Robert and 42-year-old, TN-born Etha Roberts. All of the family were TN-born even all the younger kids, so the Roberts family must have moved to Cedar County not long before the war.

During 1861 Lafayette was a 3rd lieutenant then a 2nd lieutenant in Company C, 4th Missouri Cavalry, 8th Division of the southern Missouri State Guard (Carolyn Bartels, "The Forgotten Men" 1995, p. 311).

I next pick him up in late February or early March 1864 when the Cedar County Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM), responding to Lafayette's guerrilla band "robbing and killing Union sympathizers," shot up five of his men ("Daily Missouri Democrat" St. Louis newspaper, 9 March 1864).

We skip to early June 1864 when a Rebel recruiting group composed of Captains Pete Roberts, David Rusk (of Jasper County), and McCullough (perhaps of Oregon County) under a Colonel Palmer and perhaps Major Jesse F. Pickler rode north out of Arkansas into McDonald County, MO. ("Official Records" series 1, vol. 34, part 4, pp. 345, 633).

On 14 June 1864 Pete Roberts with about 75 riders raided Melville, NE Dade County, for two hours, robbing and burning, while the Union garrison was away patrolling ("Official Records" series 1, vol. 34, part 1, pp. 1006-7).

The next day a combined Union force of both 7th Provisional EMM and 6th Cavalry Missouri State Militia (MSM) pursued and attacked Pete Roberts' and Kincheon West's gang at White Hare, south Cedar County, killing 7 and wounding several of the guerrillas for one or two EMM slightly wounded ("O.R" series 1, vol. 34, part 1, pp. 1009-10).

I next hear of Roberts about 15 October 1864 when Roberts' and West's band again raided Melville, burning again (Dade County History, 1917, page 92).

On 16 October 1864 Roberts' and West's band attacked Greenfield, Dade County (Dade County History, 1917, p. 93).

I would not be surprised to hear that Roberts surrendered at the end of the fighting in May or June 1865.

Bruce Nichols