Thanks Matt,

I have been doing some research into Frederick Douglas (the friend of John Brown) and found that he visited Dundee and Arbroath in 1846 during his tour to collect money to buy his freedom. Arbroath is also the town where Col. Moonlight was born near and where his father was well known to visit. Col. Moonlight left Arbroath (where he may have worked) suddenly in 1847. I am currently trying to make a connection here between the two factors of Douglas in Arbroath and Moonlight (as well as his attitude). Douglas described the people of Arbroath as “wide awake” before his visit. Perhaps “a” Moonlight was actually present at the Douglas lecture in Arbroath. It was one of Frederick’s more impassioned lectures. Col. Moonlight also seems to have been extremely happy at the news of emancipation and seems proud of Lincoln at that time and while still a democrat.

I read somewhere that the reason Moonlight switched from Democrat to Republican in 1864 was the Democrats claims that the war was a waste of time. His move back to Republican was due to anti-drink attitudes of the Republicans. A concern for the common man perhaps?

His respect for that cause may have been one of the influences in his appointment as Silas Soule (the abolitionist and attempted rescuer of John Brown) as Marshal for Denver in 1865.

I would be interested to hear more about his attitude toward the Irish as his wife was Irish!

I have booked my time for my visit to America for 12th May to 17th June. I would have liked later to include the Honey Springs event but other engagements dictate. That will have to wait for another time.

Graham Duncan