Bill and Sandra Wayne have been involved in Civil War reenacting since 1986, but their interest in the era goes back much further. Their home, Cedarcroft Farm Bed & Breakfast, was built by Sandra’s great-grandfather, John A. Adams, shortly after his return from service with the 7th Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, a union regiment. Bill’s great-grandfather, William L. Truman, settled in Louisiana after the war – he served with Wade’s 1st Missouri Battery (CS) throughout the South. The farm’s parlor displays some of John Adams’ war mementos; Bill uses W.L. Truman’s war memoir to support first person impressions. Cedarcroft’s book collection contains many pre-war and early post-war volumes.
William L. Truman’s War Memoir is now on-line.
A bibliography of suggested reading about the Missouri Confederate Brigade and the war in Missouri.
2012-3 Schedule of Reenactments and other events in general area or affecting Missouri units, with projected events for 2014.
Links to Missouri Organizations and information
These links go to websites for organizations involved with Civil War history and reenactments in Missouri:
- Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri, a group that hosts symposia, bus tours and generally supports knowledge of the War.
- Sons of Confederate Veterans, Missouri Division has an excellent site for the Trans-Mississippi secesh.
- 5th Missouri Infantry, CSA Inc. Home Page: Bill founded this unit, and has recently become active again. Right now it has little information.
- MOLLUS Civil War in Missouri Pages is an extremely thorough listing of CW info relating to Missouri.
- Missouri Civil War Reenactors Association (MCWRA): Major organization involving dozens of units from several states and representing all branches on both sides. They sponsor events throughout the upper Trans-Mississippi theater. Their website has links to many unit webpages. The 2011-12 regional schedule of events is now available.
- Transmissippi Brigade is a blanket field organization for confederate reenactors throughout the ‘trans-mississippi theater. The website (transmsbrigade.com) appears to have been abandoned.
- 1st Missouri Battalion is the command group for Missouri-based Confederate infantry units. Website is no longer available.
- 3rd Missouri Infantry, Co. I is a Kansas City based unit that Bill started with in 1987
Bookstores and Research Sites:
- Missouri in the Civil War Message Board, a good place for your questions and answers about Missouri war subjects.
- Blue & Grey Book Shoppe in Independence, MO, specializes in books about the Border Wars, area units, and local history
- Civil War St. Louis Bookstore has some articles and records and looks well-designed.
Missouri Civil War Battlefield Links
- Battle of Lexington covers the September 1861 siege at Lexington, MO, just 40 miles from Cedarcroft!
- Battle of Lone Jack in eastern Jackson County (30 miles from Cedarcroft), August 1862.
Other Important Civil War Links
- U.S. Civil War Center This is probably the best set of Civil War links you’ll find. If you’re interested in the war, you’ll need to bookmark this site as an essential.
- The Camp Chase Gazette This magazine is the bible of Civil War reenacting with interesting articles, nationwide event schedules and even humor!
- The Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS) and the Civil War Preservation Trustrecently merged. I don’t have the web address for this worthwhile organization that preserves battlefields by buying them.
- Sons of Confederate Veterans: The SCV is an organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers. It supports the heritage and symbols of the South while condemning the use of those symbols by hate groups. The Missouri Division, SCV has a page, as well.
- Civil War Net is Michael Frosch’s essay at creating “a Civil War site that is easy to navigate and is not filled with unnecessary information.”
