http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/mocwmb/webbbs_config.pl?read=12418

In the above post to this site Elmer wrote the following:

Here is most of it. Also I think Chronister was from Reynolds County

A short time after Lieutenant McHenry returned to Pilot Knob, he made a drive to Logan Creek and came to the Hugh Chitwood farm. The road ran west past the house and just west of the house.
A wagon to haul their booty was stopped there..
The Federals occupied the house, floor, all that was to spare, and the entire porch for sleeping quarters, and while sleeping peacefully, two bunches of Shannon County Jayhawkers..twelve in all. One bunch consisted of Alex Chilton, Joe Butler, Sam Nesbit, Geo. H. Davis, Chas. F. Chilton. The other bunch was headed by Wm Chronister. They visited the Federal camp and led away 24 good horses to a safe distance and resolved to go back and kill some of them, so Captain Chronister and nine others were making their way up to a level with the porch floor to open fire on them. Alex Chilton and Joe Butler were passing the wagon and Chilton stepped over the wagon tongue and tapped it with his heel. The little red-haired, freckle- faced, butcher that said he liked to shoot prisoners down to see them kick, was sleeping under the wagon. The heel tap on the tongue awakened him and he crawled from under the wagon and asked, “who come there?”
Mr. Butler replied with a shot, killing him instantly. The shot waked the soldiers and they began to shoot in all directions. Captain Chronister and the other men had reached the desired position and after firing several shots at them, they fled. The result of the raid was that the Federals were minus their butcher and the rebels were ready to start to a southern horse market with 24 good horses.

Elmer

The above post from Elmer was a transcription of some of the John J. Chilton writings. John J. had the Lt’s name wrong. It should have read Lt. Henry, (of the 7th Kansas) instead of McHenry. In a couple of postings to this board Carl Burkhead had directed our attention to the 7th Kansas. Our chase for records on the 7th KS led us to enough information to connect the 17th IL to the activities in the region. Gerald and Elmer discovered in documents loaned to us by John Bradbury enough information to identify the red-haired, freckled-faced, butcher as a member of the 17th IL. By going through regimental casualty records it was found that one member of this unit died during that time period that they would have been where John J. Chilton said they were. Although the descriptive portion of the record does not support the red-haired part very well, the date and location (Logan Creek) match.

Carl Burkhead and Lou Wehmer solved the Devil Dick Boze mystery of Oregon County using the same sources and documents that implicate the same people. I believe a report of their findings has been online for several months. If needed I will locate the site address. There is some copywrited material involved and permission to use this information has been sought and I believe the whole story will soon be told.

Gerald, Elmer, and I, with much help from others, have been able to include the killings of Peter Hanger and the Reed boys with all of the above. So far I have only found a few details, about which John J. Chilton wrote, that I cannot confirm. Other documents have been obtained that even verify that it rained on the days that John J. Chilton said it rained, 50 years after the fact.

Jim Morris