Bryce,

I wish I had a nickel for everyone named B. F. for Benjamin Franklin of the Civil War era. What I am saying is that there is a strong likelihood there were two Benjamin Franklin Simpsons living close to each other. The same goes for guys named G. W. (George Washington), A. J. (Andrew Jackson), F. M. (Francis Marion), and so forth. Those first and middle name combinations were as common as Smiths and Jones in those years.

Leslie's B. F. Simpson enlisted at age 25 in Company H of the Cass County Home Guard 25 August 1861 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and mustered into service the same day. He was promoted from First Lieutenant to captain 13 October 1861 in place of Irving Walley who resigned. Simpson was mustered out 5 February 1862 at Quindaro, Kansas (I've forgotten from reading where Quindaro is or was, but in eastern Kansas somewhere). This I obtained from his CCHG record card available online at MO State Archives. Also, I could find no other MO military record for him at that source.

I seem to recall that February 1862 is about when the Cass County Home Guard was disbanded by higher Union authority. The Federals ordered all the Union home guards of Missouri disbanded during the winter of 1861-1862 for a variety of reasons, the chief one was their concern that the home guards would not obey duly constituted authority placed over them. The home guardsmen were then encouraged to join "regular" Union units then being formed. Based on my earlier emails with Arleigh, Simpson doesn't seemed to have enlisted in any of those that other men of Reverend Nugent's CCHG joined when the CCHG was disbanded.

If this is so, this was not good for Captain Simpson, since the CCHG was a "shoot first, and ask questions later" kind of outfit, according to its reputation. He would have been a marked man anywhere in west-central Missouri, and I would surmise that some southern men found him and assassinated him June 22, 1862.

Leslie, since there was another Captain Benjamin Franklin Simpson living very close to yours of Cass County (see below), you must consider very hard the possibility that your man faked his death and carried on life after June 1862 but in Kansas. Other members of the CCHG did things like that, because they were marked men. However, if you are certain that your Simpson is buried there in Dayton, then don't read what I write below, as there are two Benjamin F. Simpsons, both captains of Union troops of west-central MO and east KS.

The "other" B. F. Simpson was recruited as captain of Company C, 15th Kansas Infantry Regiment from Paola, Miami County, KS just over the border from Cass County, MO and mustered in 6 October 1863. He served nobly in that unit and was promoted to major in that regiment 7 June 1865. This I obtained from the Kansas Adjutant General's report published in Topeka in 1896. This Captain Simpson of Paola was probably in military service before October 1863 or else why would his regiment bring him in from the "get go" as a captain? The short history of the 15th in W. S. Burke's "Official History of Kansas Regiments" on pages 382-383 says this regiment was recruited mostly from veterans of other units, and I would guess that applied especially to the NCOs and officers. However, I do not know this man's military background. Perhaps one of the other readers can determine that.

Now that's about as clear as mud, right?

Bruce Nichols