Free Republic

Lawmen and outlaws Emmett Dalton (1871–1937), Frank Dalton (1859–87), Grattan "Grat" Dalton (1861–92), Robert Rennick "Bob" Dalton (1869–92), and Mason Frakes "William" "Bill" Dalton (1865–94), five sons of Adeline Younger and Lewis Dalton, came from a family of fifteen children who grew up in Kansas near Indian Territory. Their mother was an aunt of the Younger boys of James-Younger gang fame.Frank Dalton served as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Federal District Court of Western Arkansas at Fort Smith from 1884 until horse thieves and whiskey peddlers killed him on November 27, 1887. He was a good, efficient officer and...

A teenage farm boy is about to get a killer education Close to a half million boys under the age of 18 were involved in both the Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. Some historians believe as many as 100,000 Union soldiers were 15 years of age or younger. Although statistics are not available for the rebel forces, it is believed the South had a similar proportion of underage soldiers. What is shockingly clear is that the boys who were exposed to the horrors of war in the four years of unbridled bloodshed were hardened and trained to...