Graham.... I do not know the specifics of the naming of Moonlight, Kansas, but Kansas and many other U.S. locations were named after heroes of the Civil War. At least seven counties including Cloud, Harvey, Osborne, etc. were named after well-known Kansas Civil War soldiers. The same was true of towns that were founded after the civil war. Part of the reason was the huge immigration of Civil War veterans to the Kansas frontier from 1867 through the 1880's. Moonlight's exploits on the behalf of Kansas would easily explain the desire of the town's founders to name their place after Moonlight.

There is a book I do not own but have seen many times, called "Kansas Place-Names" which denotes each place-name's origin.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Howard Mann