Joe,

I waited a while to see if somebody else could add something to this, and I am disappointed that nobody did. The problem with guerrillas in those Missouri counties that abut the Arkansas border is that local histories, especially the old county histories, mostly kept mum on the subject. Add to that, the nearest Civil War period newspapers were a distance away in Rolla and Springfield, and you can see that a lot of the local information about southern irregulars in Ozark, Howell, Oregon, and Taney Counties was allowed to slip away when those that knew about it died years ago.

That doesn't mean that it's all gone. There are bits and pieces in this source and that source, but it's difficult to tell where to look and then to find old sources to view them. You may want to visit the Missouri State Historical Society at Columbia, and the archives and collections held by the Department of State in Jefferson City. Some of the larger libraries (such as Kansas City and St. Louis public ones) that have genealogical collections have some material on guerrilla warfare in those counties, too. Some college libraries could be of some help, also.

Of course, it would be nice if some eccentric would gather up a lot of those bits and pieces and place them in sensible order in some kind of history. Yes, that would help. Yes, sir. Hmmm. That sounds familiar somehow.

Bruce Nichols