I am still working on exactly what kind of unit Cochran's Six-Month Militia was there in the Bollinger County area. Researchers who know better than me will probably answer that better than I can.

I would like to answer your question about why General Ewing (the District commander), and Colonel Rogers (the commander of the 12th Cav MSM and commandant at Cape Girardeau) would have authority over Captain Cochran, and how that chain of command worked. I have studied that for some time. It all harks back to martial law, and Missouri was certainly under martial law at that time. Frankly, that means that whether Cochran realized it or not, he was under certain obligations to those correctly appointed over him, even if they were Federal officials and he was not. In simple, those officers were the nearest Union authorities and Cochran was obligated to obey them to some extent. Ewing and Rogers had even more power over Cochran since they probably supplied his ammunition and perhaps many other things such as rations, forage for the horses, and other things soldiers needed. Cape Girardeau was the nearest Union post with logistical support to Bollinger County. Not pay, however. For the most part the local milita was not paid. Cochran's men were probably not given blue uniforms, either, and may have had to supply their own firearms and horses. Also, they were hardly trained, either. That is why Cochran, whether he believed it or not, fell under the chain of command of first Colonel Rogers and higher than that, Brigadier General Ewing.

Does that help?

Bruce Nichols