Under the steely gaze of Lieutenant Colonel Alonzo W. Slayback, a band of Missourians, hardened by guerrilla warfare and the ravages of a divided land, formed a battalion of horsemen.
Their baptism of fire came amidst the smoke and thunder of Pilot Knob, a fiery introduction to the brutal realities of war.
From the blood-soaked fields of Sedalia and Lexington to the banks of the Little Blue River, they rode, shadows against the fading light of Southern hope.
At the Battle of the Big Blue, while the fate of the Confederacy teetered on the precipice, Slayback's men scoured the river, searching for a lifeline, a path through the enemy's grasp.
They witnessed the carnage of Westport, the grim dance of death along the Marmiton, and the fiery crucible of Second Newtonia.