I have as distant relatives a pair of brothers, James and Benedict Whitill, from Grayson County who apparently were part of Sypert's Cavalry, Co. A. From what I can tell, they were recruited or conscripted during Lyon's Raid into Kentucky - I learned that the Leichtfield courthouse in Grayson County was burned about that time. I have no real information about their time in the ranks, which was apparently very short and ended at or about the battle of Red Hill in Marshall County, Alabama in mid-January 1865, where the 15th PA Cavalry surprised Lyon's command. The brothers ended up in Camp Chase and unfortunately both passed away from illness there by teh end of April, 1865.

Are there any references, letters or biographical notes about these events? I am searching for tales from survivors, so far I've only found a little about General Lyons and a paragraph or so on Sypert. My relatives pulled the microfilm on the brothers but I'm hoping to find contemporary accounts of the raid, the battle or the prison camp.

Also, I find their records filed under 13th Ky Cavalry, apparently each one is listed twice with slightly different initials, but not on the rosters specifically associated with Sypert's unit. We spell the last name differently, too, in our family records (Whitfill instead of Whitfield) but that's a common name and such changes can easily occur from the spoken word to paper. I understand that records of these units are sketchy and often mixed up with other units.

Thanks, Mark Henry