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Acknowledgments At the top of my list, I must thank my dear friend Tina Read. Without her encouragement, this book might never have come to be. Her friendship, faith, courage, and example continue to inspire me. Playing an equally important role, though much, much earlier in the process —indeed, at the very beginning—are the men and women of Battery G, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery reenacting group. It was through my acquaintance with Paul Rambow that I first learned of the “Shober broadside”—the document that contained the tantalizing statement about the “murder” of Captain Heath and that prompted this journey, lasting nearly twenty years. To both Tina and Paul I owe an enormous debt of gratitude, and their influence is proof positive that even the tiniest of actions—telling a friend to “go for it,” to chase her dream and make it real—or simply sharing an interesting research document—can profoundly influence a person’s life. Indeed, by so doing, these two individuals have helped to literally “rewrite history”—by prompting me to bring this long-neglected but very important battle to light. Wayne Henson, Gene Wright, Larry Werline, and the entire Tedrick family, along with many others of Battery G (reactivated) also deserve my thanks for their encouragement and support during the early days of this project. Their dedication to preserving the memory and honoring the men and families of the original Battery G is admirable and important. My research, of course, has been aided along the way by countless librarians and archivists. The late Phyllis Kelley of the Joiner History Room, Sycamore , Illinois, was a great help early in my research, going out of her way to track down within their collections any reference to Corydon Heath. Michael Knight, DeAnne Blanton, and Jill Abraham at the National Archives on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., used their intimate knowledge of Federal and Confederate records to guide me in my search. Without their help, this book would have been impossible. It was through their guidance that I found Lieb’s report (reproduced in Appendix D), a criti- xviii acknowledgments cal document for discovering what happened to Corydon Heath and George Conn after Milliken’s Bend. Of course, they led me to many other important resources, as well. Larry Foreman and Lora Peppers of the Ouachita Parish Public Library in Monroe were kind enough to assist me when I arrived in the midst of an already busy and hectic day. Their resources and assistance are greatly appreciated . William Dobak, of the U.S. Army Center of Military History, graciously shared a portion of his research with me. Had he not done so, I may have neglected the story of the 1864 “mutiny” in the 49th United States Colored Infantry (USCI). His assistance was also instrumental in identifying by name some of the black men from the 49th USCI who were taken prisoner at Milliken ’s Bend and returned to their regiment at the end of the war. Thomas G. Knoles of the American Antiquarian Society diligently acted on my behalf by obtaining basic information about the unprocessed (and very moldy!) Isaac F. Shepard papers, which are in their holdings and, at the time of this writing, were still closed to research. Although it was not immediately apparent that any information relevant to Milliken’s Bend was contained in the collection, Mr. Knoles, as well as the conservator, went to an extraordinary effort to provide me with this preliminary assessment of this collection. I am grateful for their time and assistance. In addition, staffs at the following institutions greeted me with patience and expertise as I peppered them with questions, picked their brains, and made request after request: Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Vicksburg National Military Park; the Old Court House Museum in Vicksburg; LSU Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library; Louisiana State Archives; Tulane University Special Collections; the Center for American History at the University of Texas—Austin; Texas State Library and Archives Commission; the Austin (Texas) History Center; the Texas Heritage Museum (formerly the Confederate Research Center), Hill College, Hillsboro, Texas; Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives in Washington, Arkansas; Indiana State Library; Indiana State Archives; Indiana Historical Society; State Historical Society of Iowa—Des Moines; Illinois State Archives; and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (formerly Illinois State Historical Library). I also want to thank those who are so often omitted from acknowledgements —all of those individuals at archives and other institutions who staff the reading rooms, provide security...

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