"I discovered the portrait of my paternal great-grandfather, Silas Brock, in the back of a closet in my mother's apartment. He is dressed in his Civil War uniform." So begins this story detailing Brock's decade-long quest to know more about Silas. What started as a simple family remembrance grew to encompass the lives of a community of pioneer prairie farmers, and their participation in the Civil War. Their perseverance and dedication to country were extraordinary.