OK, I'll bite. McGhee has Colonel DeWitt C. Hunter as commander in 1864 of Hunter's Cavalry Regiment (pp. 117-123) and in 1862 of 11th MO Inf, (pp. 225-8), and also a Jason H. Hunter as an artillery battery commander (pp. 37-8). I'm pretty sure we are not talking about an artillery battery here, so I will concentrate on Col. DeWitt C. Hunter as a battalion or regimental commander.

Right off, I disagree that "the man named Shirley" is a negro. Since Hunter is from southwest MO and Company E of the 11th MO Infantry is from Cedar and Vernon Counties, Shirley was a Rebel from the Jasper County area. I seem to recall that in Ward L. Schrantz' 1923 book about Jasper County in the Civil War he mentions Belle Boyd's real name as a Miss Shirley and some Shirley families lived there. Further, at one point in the book when Belle's dad, Mr. Shirley, was killed by Union troops, she strapped on two pistols and went looking for somebody to kill, an indicator of her life to follow as an outlaw queen in NW Arkansas postwar.

Your mention of "a man named Shirley," tends to point to the Jasper County area and Hunter's old 11th Missouri Infantry. The LDS index of the 1860 census of Jasper County shows a John Shirley page 827 in Marion Township and a Robert C. Shirrell on page 921 of Jasper TWP.

In the online military service record card of the Missouri State Archives is a card for a Private M. D. Erwin of Company E of Gordon's Regiment of Shelby's Brigade was was "Missing" according to page 271 of the Trans-Miss Headquarters Order Book for 1860-1864.

Remember, that Shelby was trying to piece together regiments out of bits and pieces in summer of 1864, so it is no surprise that he referred to Hunter's "battalion," as a work in progress.

Speaking of "bits and pieces," I apologize this is so disjointed, but does it have any merit for what you seek?

Bruce Nichols