Thanks Kirby for making that clear....I think.

This all came up as I was trying to catch up on the info re George Rufus Zimmerman who by family lore was killed by James Rogers August 24 1864 in a rather desipicable way. Seems that Rogers was a Sargent in the afore mentioned 6 month militia before becoming a Leut. in Cochran's VMM (a GO #3 unit maybe????) as of April 1865. Rogers was in charge in Fredericktown in May 1865 when Pete Smith ambushed a supply and pay train at Bessville. He later became Sheriff of Bollinger county in 1866 but fled back to home state Michigan in early 1870's about the time pre war Democrats started to get elected to office.

Zimmerman may have been in cahoots with Smith and Hilderbrand ala your note about Steakley and 3rd MSM in Autobiography Sam Hilderbrand pg 223, No 6. At the time of that incident July 20th '64 per Steakley, Cochran's unit was just getting organized with Rogers, Limbaugh, Lincoln's etc mustering in on July 24 and 29. About one month later is when Zimmerman was murdered in front of family on the farm on Castor River just a couple miles south of the Peterson farm. Apparently this group of militia caught up with and killed several Southern sympathizers in the same couple days in the area. Zimmerman's wife related that she contined to raise nine kids in a community where at least 3 who were involved in her husband's death continued to live. Sure the war ended in 1865 but I'm not sure its anywhere near forgotten by some of these families. I was just trying to get a feel for what Cochran's Company was doing and what authority it had to do what it was doing. Sounds a bit loose to me.

Thanks

John R.