Thanks, John, for that wonderful plug. I appreciate that. I have been away and only recently came back home.

Glennon, It doesn't appear that any of the sources for the Crooked Creek fight indicate where the three dead Federals are buried. Those sources are:

United States Government, "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion," series 1, vol. 13, pp. 258-9;

Cletis R. Ellinghouse, editor, "Old Bollinger: A Collection of Articles From 'The Banner Press,'" publisher and place of publisher not stated, 1975, vol. 1 (of 6 volumes), pp. 45-7;

McLarty, Vivian Kirkpatrick, editor, "The Civil War Letters of Colonel Bazel F. Lazear," "Missouri Historical Review," vol. 44, April 1950, pp. 260-2.

The last is Major Lazear's letter to his wife about the fight, but he omits most details so as not to worry her. That article also quotes from Lazear's report of the fight, which is the content of the "Official Records" entry--the first source. The 1975 Bollinger County history states that the fight took place near Laflin on the Andrew Snider farm. The United States 1860 Census tells us that Andrew Snider lived in Lawrence or Lorance Township of central Bollinger County near Marble Hill or Dallas, as they called it at the time of the war. Basically, Major Lazear's Union cavalry was hunting for Confederate Colonel William Jeffers' recruiting command then located at Crooked Creek, and that Jeffers' command ambushed Lazear's men when they got close. The Yanks bolted for the rear at first fire and the Union officers had difficulty getting enough of their men to form a defense line and prevent a complete rout. Jeffers' untrained recruits made a good accounting for themselves and got the better end of the fight. After the war Jeffers operated a hotel in Dexter of nearby Stoddard County.

It is difficult to say where the dead were buried, or I should say "finally buried," since after the war most of the Union war dead and many of the Rebels were exhumed and re-interred in government cemeteries. The nearest one I know is the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery south of St. Louis, so perhaps you should begin your search for the burial place there. You can find their webpage on Google.com. You may look for the contact information for the local historical or genealogical society of Bollinger County or the area in your local library and see if somebody there can assist you.

Bruce Nichols