Incidentally, Charles Harrison really was a gunfighter in Denver before the war, according to seemingly reputable sources. He was a gambler and evidently shot some men over quarrels and cards and such. He obtained a commission in a Kansas regiment early in the war, then deserted and went over to the guerrillas in west-central Missouri for a while. Harrison led his own guerrilla band in Quantrill's operating area for some time, too. It seems Harrison eventually was promoted in the Confederate regulars to a colonelcy and was helping to lead a group of Confederates to Colorado Territory to recruit for the South when they got into a shooting scrape with Native Americans on the Republican River in southeast Kansas and Harrison and all but two of his party were killed in May 1863. That was the end of him. A fascinating man.

If Coleman Younger praised Bill Gregg's bravery, I would regard that as true, since sources cite Cole's bravery under fire, such as at Lone Jack in August 1862. That would be one brave man praising another. Who better to say that?

Bruce