This is the story of a man who faced great tragedy in his life and eventually rose above it. A Union Officer, he was wounded in the American Civil War and had a stiff leg as a result. If that was not enough, the injury occurred because a confederate soldier who had been a childhood friend and could have shot him, hesitated and was himself killed. After the war his wife and small son died in a smallpox epidemic. Overcome by this he turned the family business over to a close friend and disappeared. He acquired the reputation of being dangerous when he was drunk and nearly killed a man in a bar fight. He fled for his life. An experience in California after another bar fight changed him and he devoted himself to being an itinerant preacher and teacher. He had gone to University and Seminary before the war but it had all changed. He assumed another name and dyed his red hair to try to remain anonymous. The business he left behind provided him with a living and a confidential arrangement with a bank allowed him to get money when he needed it. When he was found dead in a camp miles from town, they found a letter. It raised more questions. Who was he, really? Where had he come from? Why did he live as he had? The details of all this and the rest of his life were only learned through some coincidences and the collecting of stories about him by a few people who knew him and a bank that was concerned about the money he left and more that was accumulating from the business. When all the strange tales were pieced together it became apparent that he had lived a remarkable life, and touched many people.