Chace -

Thank you for your post. I'll take 90% anytime on anything. As far as Craig, well my grandpa would say that there is always one bad apple in the bushel.LOL. But to tell the truth I agree with a lot, and I mean more than I ever thought I would, of what he posts. He researches very well. You would not believe it from the post here, but the people I work with and the friends I have away from work, do not have any intrest in the Civil War. None of my 9 grandchildren have any intrest in it either. In fact I would say that the majority of the people in this state have no intrest. The main topic around here is Iraq and the reserve units that have been twice and are going back again. And how some of them have no jobs to come back to. Alabama has furnished more than its share to Bush's war.

Growing up, we thought of border states as yankee states with pockets of southern sympathizers around the southern borders. I have never understood Missouri. On the map its just as midwestern an Illinois. My son in Quincy IL. is a yankee and his friends across the river in Hanibal MO. are Johnny Rebs. So its not location, its politics huh? It does not surprise me that you can find two people with as different views as MoFed and the disappeared Sally.

My main intrest in the WBTS is how my family is connected to it and changed by it. Purely a genealogists point of view. Some of my ancestors had every male of age enlist in units that said Volunteers. Some fathers lost every son he had. Then lost his land and livelyhood. Some who came back were so severely wounded they had to live with their children and depend on them to support them til they died of those wounds. So I have as a result of studing the genealogy of these families devoloped an emotional tie to the WTBS.

I have ancestors that moved from Virginia to Kentucky then to southern Ilinois and fought for the north, but I have forgiven then. I just don't speak of them much. In fact there was over 400 Holcombes that fought for the north. All tied to the north geographally.

Forgive my long dribble that no one but me is intrested in. I do enjoy exchanging thoughts with you. - cuz-in-law, Ken.