Wayne,

We corresponded about a year ago on this, and I am glad to see that you have found more from the records to flesh out this story of Captain Chandler. Please allow me to make two additions to what I wrote you on 30 Apr 2001:

As I wrote then, the MO Adjutant General's report for 1865 reveals that then 1st Lieutenant M. P. Chandler was removed from his position in Company F of 73rd EMM Regiment according to Special Order Number 126 along with many other EMM officers. I have discovered since that earlier writing that S.O. 126 in summer 1864 removed these scores of EMM officers "for being too hard on rebels," if you can believe that! There was consider political infighting in the state government between the "radical" northern power brokers who wanted to snuff out the southern cause at any cost and the moderate northerners. The moderates were in power at this time, and S.O. 126 was partly the result. As I understand it, the "radicals" later took supremacy and the harsh 1865 Drake Constitution disenfranchising all southerners in MO was one of their achievements.

You mentioned that the record states that Chandler was "on detached service acting Q.M. for the Battalion." I would guess from this that CPT Chandler was assigned the job of squaring away quartermaster business or logistics of much of the 73rd EMM Regiment. Possibly he performed these duties in the nearby large Union base at Springfield, Greene County, or in one of the local county seats. Actually, EMM regiments did not have much quartermaster work to be done, since on inactive status they were not paid or issued rations or even uniforms. Their weapons, if their regiment had any, were usually kept guarded in a makeshift armory in county seats in that region. However, much of the 73rd EMM, including part or all of Company F, was detailed in April 1863 for some months into the 6th and 7th Provisional EMM Regiments in that area and headquartered, as I recall my reading, at Springfield. Possibly, CPT Chandler had these duties on that occasion.