Union Gen. John McNeil I stumbled upon an interesting book while digging through some archives. The book entitled "Crimes of the Civil War and Curse of the Funding" contains the story of 10 Southern citizens in Palmyra, Missouri who were executed because a Union informant had gone missing. This book goes into more detail of the event than any other book I've read that touched on this subject.  According to the author Henry Clay Dean: "In the town of Palmyra, Missouri, John McNeil had his headquarters as colonel of a Missouri regiment and commander of the post. An officious person who had acted as a spy and common informant', named Andrew Allsman, who was engaged in the detestable business of having his neighbors arrested upon charges of disloyalty, and securing the scouting's and ravages from every house that was not summarily burned to the earth.  This had so long been his vocation that he was universally loathed by people of every shade of...