Len, although my heritage is the exact opposite of yours, some four of my direct ancestors having fought in Yankee outfits, two in Wisconsin outfits and another two in New York ouffits, with no Southern soldiers that I know of in my family during the Civil War, I still appreciate the courage of the Missouri guerrillas and their tenaciousness, and I tried to tell their side of the story in my book, Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border. My mother's German family settled around Cameron, Missouri in 1870, so my roots still run deep in Missouri. I especially appreciate your miliary experience, which I think is essential if one is to have a deep insight into the Missouri guerrillas. While I did not fight as a soldier in the U.S. Army, fortunately serving between wars by a few years, I did feel the pressure of being a soldier and having my life on the line, ready to be spent, for six years. Thanks for your thoughts.

Don G.