I wonder if those soldiers murdered Hugh Brown merely because he came from Virginia and may have spoken with a southern accent. Someone who lived close to him in the community had to give those soldiers his name. Sort of a neighbor versus neighbor thing. Gives you the creeps, doesn't it?

Hollywood to the contrary, emigrant families nearly always travelled in groups for mutual logistics, help, and protection at least until after the Civil War. Some say that individual families moving on in a single wagon is almost a myth, conceived by somebody who read too much James Fenimore Cooper, and extended by 20th century Americans who wouldn't consider a car trip with anyone more than their immediate family. You can see this even in third-world countries where the whole clan goes to town for market day, or extended family groups move from one place to another. It's a vulnerability thing. Oh well, I need to climb down off my soapbox...

By the way, thanks for revealing the Harshbargers to me. I've been working on this "kill list" group of soldiers for a while now, and you have given me not only proof but real bad guys to research. Before this, I started to wonder if I was just thinking too hard.

Bruce