That is fascinating information, thanks so much for sharing. As I stated, Mr. Benedict reports in this book that he did not find this Vaughan in the 1860 census for St. Clair County. The 1860 census was also his basis for stating the town of Osceola was much smaller than the "2,000 and upwards" that is commonly reported in accounts of Osceola. The Vaughan example gives me some pause on the conclusion regarding Osceola's population.

One of the Osceola legends is that a large number of Lane's men were too drunk to march or ride when it came time to leave the town behind, and that the wagon train departing Osceola was more than a mile long. This part of the story is sometimes dismissed on the grounds that there simply could not have been that many wagons in Osceola.

Here is a statement from the Legends of America website: "Beginning in the early 1840's, small steamboats began to ascend the Osage River, making Osceola an important port, as it was situated at the head of the navigatable waters. Acting as a transfer point between the steamboats and wagon trains, sometimes as many as 100 wagons would be lined up to obtain supplies."

So, with Osceola being a port and center of commerce, it is not unreasonable to assume that a large number of wagons would be in Osceola. Plus, I recall some reports of Price having left part of his supply train in his rear, in Osceola. So, considering how easy it is for horse-drawn columns to string out, I don't think a "lack of wagons" is necessarily sufficient grounds to dismiss the "mile-long wagon train of plunder and drunks" story. What do you think?

On the other hand, I am having a hard time giving much credence to the story of executions in Osceola. The letter printed in the Memphis Appeal went into quite a bit of detail on the events during the sack of the town, and I find it difficult to believe the author would be unaware of executions if they did indeed take place, or that such an outrage would have gone ureported in her letter.