Your list of errors for the editor is concise and to the point. Well done.

I find it interesting:

"2. The map on page 16 has several errors. First, Ewing did not withdraw to St. Louis, but rather evacuated Fort Davidson and marched to Leesburg on the Pacific Railroad, not too many miles east of Rolla where he fought an action against Gen. Marmaduke's men until rescued and relieved."

Indeed. A council of war with Marmaduke and his officers was held in the early evening of Sept. 27, 1864 at Fort Davidson when the decision was made. The bridge over the moat into Fort Davidson was covered in tent canvas to muffle the sound of the horses hooves, and the troops evacuated Fort Davidson, quietly moving right through the Confederate lines in the direction of Potosi and Mineral Point. Ewing had left a company of troops in Mineral Point to guide additional troops from St. Louis. They never made it even that far. Ewing ran into Shelby's advance guard in Caledonia, and there was a brief skirmish. A captured prisoner told Ewing of the capture of Mineral Point and the burning of rail facilities in Potosi. At that news, the plan to travel in the direction of DeSoto was changed. Instead, Ewing turned towards Leasburg on the Pacific Railroad in an attempt to reach relief from Gen. McNeil's command in Rolla. Mc Neil was the commander of that sub-district. Marmaduke and Shelby were furious about Ewing's escape, as they felt quite vengeful against the author of the infamous General Order No. 11 (Ewing).

Marmaduke pursued and caught Ewing on the Leasburg plain on the 29th, retiring about an hour before sunset when the attack was continued by Shelby until sundown. Ewing's men continued to add to a barricade that was already built. Ewing's men had been ready to board a train at Leasburg, when they looked down the track to the east and saw smoke. Shelby's men had fired the station at Bourbon. They looked to the west and saw another telltale sign of smoke. Marmaduke's men had fired the station at Cuba.

The whole escape is an epic of determination both on the part of Ewing and his men. They covered 66 miles in 39 hours, and saved themselves.

George H. Davis