Kenneth Byrd certainly inspired this entire effort with his original posting on the various state message boards. He's been most supportive of this effort and he has been involved from the inception as the collection of as many as possible of those names of the men most likely buried en masse in Shady Grove Cemetery at Iuka has unfolded. Indeed, this has been done in hopes that some sort of appropriate marker may be placed there.

To date, this project has confirmed the names of a total of 102 men KIA or who died of their wounds at Iuka within five days of the battle. This is significant in that initial Union reports from the battle state that the bodies of 99 Confederate soldiers were found "on the field" following the battle and another 162 bodies (that had already been prepared for burial) were also discovered behind the Methodist Church at Iuka by Union forces, (a total of 261).

The Federal Provost Marshal later reported he'd buried "265 Southerners". Unfortunately, those 162 previously prepared bodies remain unnamed, as these men could have literally come from anywhere and died from sickness or injuries unrelated to the battle, and likely died while in the care of Confederate physicians at Iuka before any fighting took place.

So, putting confirmed names to 102 of the up to 265 interred may be all that's possible... that's been a difficult realization.

The aforementioned 46 Texans, along with 19 Louisianans, 4 Arkansans, 24 Mississippians and 9 Alabamans are now known -- by name -- to have died next to one another in the fight and are virtually certain to be buried alongside one another in that long-ago trench at Iuka. So, in that sense, it has been a gratifying search.

Hopefully, some sort of marker may be the ultimate result.