Gary Wehner of Smyrna, Ga., a self-employed landscaper who founded the 5th Missouri regiment of Civil War reenactors in 1986, has erected a 7-foot-tall memorial to honor the infantrymen of the 1st Missouri Brigade at Allatoona Pass Georgia. All 91 soldiers who were killed are named on the back of the stone. Gary, a former native of Festus Missouri, designed the monument himself, it is a slab of gray Georgia granite from Elberton, Ga., carved in the shape of Missouri sitting atop a base of red Missouri granite. The inscription states: "On this field of honor, Missouri soldiers of Cockrell's elite brigade fought and died for Southern independence, October 5, 1864. 91 killed." The monument also has a small depiction of the Missouri battle flag carried by the regiment, which was a rectangle of blue with a Christian cross by the staff. "The gray is for the Confederacy and the red represents the blood they shed and their devotion to their cause," said Wehner. The Missouri Brigade, commanded for most of the war by Gen. Francis Marion Cockrell, had few peers in either shedding blood or devotion. Some 8,000 strong at the war's start, its ranks had dwindled to just 600 by war's end. Along the way, it fought in 13 major battles, six sieges and seven states. Among them were Shiloh, Vicksburg, Port Gibson, Champion Hill, Iuka, the Atlanta Campaign, Franklin and Nashville. Gary is now involved in another project of erecting a memorial at Pigeon Hill (Kennesaw Mountain). The 1st Brigade held the line here against Sherman. Anyone interested in helping, or willing to make a donation, should contact Gary at: Captain Gary Wehner 5th Missouri Co. F 3410 Atlanta Rd. S.E. Smyrna, Ga. 30080 Work & Home Phone: (770) 436-4444 I have a picture of the monument posted at our website, if you would like to view it. Desoto Joe/The Record Man