Joseph N. Spillane came to the Groton Public Library earlier this month like a man on a mission.
The 100-year-old former Groton town mayor, who won a Bronze Star and a Distinguished Service Medal in t.
Hervey Dix was not a native of Missouri, but during his duties as a corporal in the early part of the Civil War, he became the first casualty of that war in Adair County, Mo. He was buried in Kirksville, and after the war, he was honored by having a post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Adair County named for him.
This past Monday marked the 159th anniversary of formation of the state of West Virginia. This column focuses on what occurred after Virginia seceded from the Union until April 1862