Marti,
Thanks for participating. As you may have figured out George Rufus Zimmerman was a southern sympathizer, Missouri State Guard soldier, and likely a bit of a guerrilla fighter in his neighborhood. His untimely death and death method was repeated many times throughout Missouri during the war. Ranging bands of men of both sides finding their enemy at home, oftentimes neighbors and even family, called them out and executed them. I know of at least 2 other similar events in Bollinger County. Though not known for sure if they were involved, a group of men from Bollinger county serving in Capt. Cochran's very unusual company, were certainly involved in such executions. Cochran became Sheriff for a while and eventually got run out of the county and ended up in north Cape County.

JJR