The claim was made in a book called "Shasta Nation," which was published in 2004. According to an unsourced entry on page 8 of the book, a Catawba Indian (which are native to North Carolina) by the name of Andrew George, serving under "Captain Smart," was married to the daughter of a Shasta chief (Shasta are native to northern California and Oregon). As the story goes in the book, the wife of Andrew George died in childbirth at Jefferson Barracks, and Andrew George was wounded at "the battle of Patterson, Missouri" in April 1863, so General Halleck sent a letter to the Shasta chief out in California asking him to come get his grandkids. Andrew George died in the meantime and the chief supposedly came out in 1865, got the kids, and also hauled with him back across the continent the remains of 28 Shasta Indians who had been killed at the battle of Patterson, and buried them on the Upper Klamath River. Then on page 50 of the book there is a photo that purports to show the burial ground, with a caption that says that "Col. Edwin Smart" had about 30 men killed at Patterson on April 20, 1863, 28 of which were Shasta Indians that the Shasta chief took back to the Klamath and buried.

Now having conducted very detailed research into Colonel Smart's regiment (Third Missouri State Militia Cavalry), as well as the skirmish at Patterson on April 20, 1863 (including having a list of the names of Smart's men killed there), I can say with a good degree of certainty that this account has some very very major problems.

Without delving into all of the problems, I would note that Andrew George had been discharged for disability seven months prior to the Patterson fight. Furthermore, he belonged to Hummel's company, which was recruited in and around Cape Girardeau County in southeast Missouri--the troops killed at Patterson--almost to a man, belonged to Company E and Company I. Those two companies were from the Two Pikes--Pike County in western Illinois, and Pike County in northeast Missouri. Company E and Company I were hit particularly hard at Patterson due to the fact that they served as the rear guard while the remainder of the regiment escaped to Pilot Knob. Company E and Company I--around a hundred men total--made their stand at Stony Battery north of Patterson. Hundreds of screaming Texans from the 21st Texas Cavalry, backed up by 5000 Missourians under John S. Marmaduke overran them.

Most of the men of Company E and Company I had originally served in a predecessor unit, the Pike County Home Guard, which was recruited at Louisiana, Pike County, Mo., in the summer of 1861 during a scare of a Rebel raid on the town. The local Pike boys signed up, and a large number of Pike Ill. boys streamed across the river to help out--a very large number of them then remained in the service for the remainder of the war. Eventually Company E and Company I of the 3rd Missouri State Militia Cavalry was mustered in at Louisiana, Pike County, Mo. Not quite sure how a bunch of Shasta Indians from the Pacific Northwest would have ended up joining a Pike County militia unit under these conditions, or at the time and place described. Nor is there any indication whatsoever by name, or correspondance, or dispatch, or report, that any Shasta Indians were in those two Pike County companies that were overrun at Stony Battery/Patterson on April 20, 1863.

Anyway, in April 2007 I made contact with the authors of Shasta Nation via two different methods--via U.S. Mail, and via email. Other than an acknowledgement that my email was received, no other response was ever provided to either query.