Thanks for the personal story. I love to hear such family stories. They add a lot to the discussion as "big history" is just the summation of a lot of personal stories. And I think this connection with and respect for the past gives even heated discussions over here a much higher plane than the PC broad brush Civil War rantings one might read on a site like Democratic Underground.
My great-uncle Gordon used to have the original letter that Mogan had left with the mule in the stable, but I’m not sure what has happened to it now that he has passed away (about two years ago). I don’t know his side of the family too well, so I’m not sure who to ask.