"Grand Farewell Parade Ceremony Honors the Retiring Colonel Ted Prater" Story and Photographs by Ruben Gusman Not long after some of the troops and spectators observed an early Sunday morning church service, both Union and Confederate camps became very active and the troops began to assemble. Officers addressed the troops and encouraged the soldiers to make a good effort to present themselves most impressively in order to honor a retiring Colonel. Colonel Ted Prater, Commander of the First Missouri Battalion would be retiring this day and fighting his last battle after serving and dedicating himself many years to the hobby of reenacting. Troops marched down into the battlefield and dressed  their lines in a very impressive parade formation to recieve the Colonel. As in the case of the actual Civil War, where many family members found themselves taking up arms against their own kin folks, such was the case here. Wearing Union Blue and serving as a Colonel in the Federal Army, Colonel Stan Prater of the Frontier Brigades' 2nd Battalion is a cousin of Colonel Ted Prater. Having faced each other several times over the years and even fighting side by side on some occassions (140th Antietem) The Battle of Prairie Grove 2002 would be the last time the two would clash on the battlefield of honor. Below Union troops give three cheers for the retiring Colonel. After the conclusion of the grand parade, a painting was presented to Colonel Prater as a farewell gift from members of the Trans-Mississippi Brigade. High Ranking Confederate officers then posed for some period style group photos like one below to end the days' ceremonies. To send your comments to the writer of this article please: mailto:webmaster@civilwarillustrated.com   Also, If you have additional information, firsthand accounts or photographs relating to this story please feel free to submit those for approval as well. Thank you very much!   (All articles and photographs published on this site are copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced for any purpose without the permission of the editor)   VIEW MORE PHOTOS OF COLONEL PRATER FROM THE BATTLEFIELD