You know Bill, you've got me thinking. I've been back to review some of the OR's and I'm not so sure the "first" Buster's Battalion was mounted. I know the second Buster's 15th Arkansas Cav Bttn was mounted until it was ordered from the Indian Territory back to Arkansas in late 1864 and was ordered dismounted.

I've always taken for granted that Buster's Battalion at Newtonia was mounted because all of the other troops of Cooper's and Shelby's commands were mounted and because of the distance they covered in six hours from Pineville to Newtonia about thirty (30) miles. In a review of these reports terms like gallop and trot are used, but always in reference to an officer. The terms used most often for the troops are march and double-quick.

I'm going to research this further, but it's very possible Buster's (Clarkson's) battalion was, in fact, infantry.

Regarding the reference to the "Missouri Osage Battalion" and in other places "Indian Battalion". I've discussed this earlier with Bryan Howerton and there were no "recognized" Indian or Osage troops in this unit. I am guessing but, the reference to Osage may have to do with the Osage River or Southern Missouri being a part of the ancestral homelands of the Osage tribe. The reference to the "Indian Battalion" is probably a shortened name for the "Indian Territory Battalion" which is the area the unit was assigned to defend.

I'll see if I can find more.

Jim