The Gordon you indicated is Confederate Captain Silas "Cy" M. Gordon of Platte County, who was strong for the southern side from the early days of the war in 1861 all the way through to the end. Cy Gordon served in the regular southern service at times mostly during parts of 1861, 1862, and 1863 and was a guerrilla leader of a small band of men from Platte and Buchanan Counties, and maybe also Clinton, and Clay Counties at other times during parts of 1863, 1864 and early 1865. His mother, Lucretia Gordon, age 55, born in Kentucky (according to the 1860 census of Lee Township in west-central Platte County) operated a farm two miles outside of Platte City as best she could, but she died during the war, if I recall my reading correctly. Gordon is different from other southern leaders in that he operated as an irregular in northwest, southwest, and northeast Missoruri during parts of the last three years of the war, so he was not limited to any certain region. Some of Gordon's regular service was in Company I, of Gates' 1st Missouri Cavalry Regiment.

Two recent softback works that tell some of Gordon's exploits are James W. and John W. Farley "Missouri Rebels Remembered: Si Gordon & John Thrailkill," Independence, Missouri: Two Trails Publishing, 2003 and Larry Wood, "Other Noted Guerrillas of the Civil War in Missouri," Joplin, Missouri: Hickory Press, 2007 who devoted all of his Chapter 13 to Gordon. There is also a good, short biography of Gordon in Joanne Eakins & Donald Hale's 1993, "Branded As Rebels," publ. in Independence by Wee Print, but still available (I think) from Two Trails Publishing. You could also borrow these books for a few days via Interlibrary Loan through your local library for a slight fee. Gordon is also mentioned some in other books, too. We also discussed Gordon in great detail in this forum back in October 2003.

Your JCC Thornton was Confederate Lieutenant Colonel John Calhoun "Coon" Thornton, who conducted highly successful behind-Union-lines recruiting for six or seven months in 1864 centered in Platte County, until he brought his secret war into the open in insurgency that Union forces brutally put down in July and August 1864. Thornton used two guerrilla bands to screen his secret recruiting efforts, one led by former Quantrill member Charles Fletcher "Fletch" Taylor from south of the Missouri River, and a local group headed by Confederate Captain John Thrailkill. After Union forces squelched Thornton's uprising, Taylor's and Thrailkill's bands operated independently.

One thing you said confuses me. You said "Had John Callahan not been wounded in July 1864, he could have been at the Centralia Massacre, 27 Sep 1864 when his uncle James W. Thomas was murdered." I estimated from the context that Callahan and I suppose also his uncle James W. Thomas were on the southern side at Centralia that day, so I am confused about how Thomas was murdered there on 27 September. Was Uncle Thomas on the Union side at Centralia? Could you please explain?

Bruce Nichols