Fascinating piece of history Ron. My direct descendants were back east during the War Between the States, with the exception of my Great Grandmother whose people were already in the Kansas City, Missouri area before the war. We had some offshoots that were west of the area you speak of. Two of them were killed as they were out haying, by a huge band of mixed Indians, Pawnees and other such, out in the Salina area during the war. I believe there is a crick named for my family in the area out there, but I seldom go that far north and west.
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I had a gun supposedly used in the Border War here in our area, west of Fort Scott. I never could document it properly and finally traded it off. It was manufactured in 1852 and had a three-digit or four-digit serial number, IIRC.