Keith,
Am hard pressed to remember such destruction prior to Osceola but destroying towns was Lane's hallmark. He certainly did the same thing to Daytom a few months after Osceola. Have you had a chance to read Richard Sunderwirth's book on the burning of Osceola? Fascinating read & since he grew up there & has lived there his whole life, he sure does know the history. As a matter of fact, the piano in the hotel, was rescued after Lane left town, & was restored & is to be played in a concert at the museum this spring. Strange, Osceola was one of the larger town's in Missouri during that period & had it not been destroyed by Lane, one can wonder what it would be today instead of the sleepy little town that it is. On another note, was privy a few years ago to a tour of the mansion about 2 miles south of town that Lane missed. Saw the little cemetery there that held some from that massacre. The mansion was built by southerners who moved to the area in the 50's. The person giving the tour also showed us where the slave quarters where. Very fascinating.