A talented field commander, Union General Philip Kearny began his career as a lieutenant with the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He studied cavalry tactics in France and fought with the Chasseurs d'Afrique in Algeria, where his fearlessness earned him the nickname "Kearny le Magnifique." Returning to America, he wrote a cavalry manual for the U.S. Army and later raised a troop of dragoons--using his own money to buy 120 matching dapple-gray mounts for his men--and led them during the Mexican War, where he lost an arm. One of the most experienced officers at the outbreak of the Civil War, he commanded a division in the Army of the Potomac, famously leading a charge at the Battle of Williamsburg, saber in hand and reins in his teeth. He disliked and sometimes disobeyed General George McClellan, once protesting an order to retreat as "prompted by cowardice or treason." Kearny was on the verge of higher command when he was killed in action in the Battle of Chantilly in 1862.

Often neglected, except for specific battles in the region, the Civil War in Missouri and Kansas had a profound influence in the course of the war; not to mention the effects on the towns and people in that region. The attempt here is to bring to life the experiences of the soldiers, civilians and officers of both sides. Outside of Virginia and Tennessee, Missouri was the third most fought over ground in the American Civil War. The story brings to life the influences and events in Missouri that contributed to the outbreak of the internecine strife. The war in Missouri culminates with a military expedition that re-wrote the book of military tactics and the application of how to use and not use Mounted Infantry. It is important not to see history through rose colored glasses, but from a time very different from our own. Let it be your guide.