Progress!

Well, another weekend of writing is gone and I have made significant progress.  It is amazing how it is all coming together.  Still not sure what had a greater influence on Vickers, his time as a POW or Judson Kilpatrick.  My gut says Judson.  We will see where it leads.  If so, here is a snap shot of Kilpatrick:

He reacted rashly under pressure, striking out blindly against adversaries without thinking of the possible consequences.  He was not a man that one would want to follow into battle.  Another shortcoming was his arrogance, his feeling that he was not subject to the same rules as others, that he could steal, take bribes, or use his office for personal advantage with impunity...Kilpatrick had no loyalty to his command.  He was quick to abandon his responsibilities if he saw a brighter future looming elsewhere.  

That is from Samuel, J. Martin.  Kill-Cavalry: The Life of Union General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick. ( Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000). 

And then there is this from General Sherman as he was beginning is march to the sea:

Summing up Kilpatrick in 1864, Sherman about to undertake his march to the sea said, “I know that Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry on this expedition.

So, after the war Vickers hitches his star to a man such as this.  Why?