Re: Burning of Barnesville, Reynolds Co.
Yes Bailey Smith was his son. I can't prove it but I believe that Thomas Scaggs was Peter Hanger's brother-in-law. Smith W. Cotton's first name came from the admiration his father had for John L. Smith. John L. Smith, according to some researchers, was described as a half Cherokee, fire and brimstone preacher. I have never been able to find James Morris' middle name or even an initial. The Penningtons and Whitecottons, or Cottons as some were being known at that time, were cousins to the fueding Hatfields from Scott County TN, some of whom were in Douglas County Missouri during the war.
Jim Morris