It is great reading historically, includes names including Thornton, Taylor, Bissett, Quantrill, just to name a few. It includes accounts of the behavior patterns of the Paw Paw Militia in Parkville and in Platte City. It mentions that after the capture of Platte City, Thornton's men numbered about 300 including recruited (sign up or be "paroled") Paw Paw's from both Parkville and Platte City. The article describes how Thornton was named a Colonel, John Thraillkill was promoted to Major, others as well.
I found this info while researching "Paw Paw Militia" as another ancestor, James Pace, from Platte County, MO and one of his brothers were surviving members of the Paw Paw Militia at the time. Their names appear on a flyer warning them and several other Paw Paw militia members to get out of Platte County by sundown or die. I'm not near my records at the moment but I have a typewritten copy of the flyer with several names on it.
I also have US Provost Marshall documents showing one of my Callahan cousins riding with Thornton's men about the same time. Interesting reading.
Col. Thornton wound up in Butte, Montana where died in 1887. He apparently married and had at least seven children. He was quite influential in post-war Butte, had a hotel there and I believe a street named after him. Obviously his Civil War record in Missouri didn't follow him there as there must have been a few Union sympathizers in Butte who would have "paroled" him.
Nice site, interesting historic reading. Fun but sometimes sad to find how family died during the uncivil war.
Tom Thomas, Jenks, OK.