marion county and yellville saw quite a bit of activity during the war. it was used as a base by missouri troops on and off throughout the war, and if you look at a map you can see why. i don't recall hearing short mtn mentioned, but i am sure what you say is true. there are few avenues of approach to the area, and it would be natural to have lookout posts in the mtns, making it difficult for union troops to come into the area undetected. union reports have several accounts of 'actions' in the area, but it doesn't appear they were able to maintain control of marion county for any length of time. one confederate officer frequently mentioned in these reports as operating in the area was john schnabel(sometimes spelled schnable). in fact, i think he and his command were there when the war ended.