Lee P. Gray vs. John B. Dale – 1865
Lee P. Gray lived with his father and four other siblings on a small farm in Jasper County, Missouri. Due to its proximity to the Kansas, Jasper County experienced a heavy amount of guerrilla warfare during the war. Most of the towns were destroyed and the county became vastly depopulated. Lee Gray claimed that John Dale stole two of his horses, valued at $300, on December 14, 1861. Gray filed his lawsuit against Dale in July 1865. The results of case are unknown, but case represents the wide ranging depredation taking place throughout the Ozarks. Once the war concluded, many civilians spent the post-war years in court filing claims of restitution.
Contributed by the Jasper County Records Center
