With so many guerrillas wearing Union blue, federal troops relied on an elaborate and ever-changing system of hand signals and passwords to separate friend from foe, but Anderson and his lieutenants always appeared to be up to date on these signals. Lawrence had been seen for years as the stronghold of the antislavery forces in Kansas and as a base of operation for incursions into Missouri by Jayhawkers and pro-Union forces. Thirty-two such reunions were held, with the image of William Quantrill adopted as a kind of icon for the veterans, who posed with his portrait and wore ribbons with his image. Bills 16, 14, and 12-year-old sisters were imprisoned upstairs in a 3-story building in Kansas City. Even the remains of the troubled young warrior, William Clarke Quantrill, have found little peace in death. The reason for the bloody raid that left nearly two hundred men dead and caused between $1 million and $1.5 million in damage (in 1863 dollars) is still the subject of speculation. The police were unable to solve the murder. Quantrill's men believed that the collapse was deliberate, which fanned them into a fury. Did they enjoy the fear they saw in their victims eyes? The garrison commander did not appreciate their humor but added their names to the roles as required and ordered them out of town. (including. However, most of the soldiers fighting the guerrillas were young, inexperienced conscripts of the Missouri militia. After a local request, the US government provided a new headstone for Andersons grave in 1969. With perhaps a bit of trepidation still in his heart, he delayed releasing much information locally except to family and close friends. Many had no homes left to go to, and there was always the danger of being waylaid by vigilantes. Other members of the bandincluding Frank James and Cole Youngers brother, Jimdispersed. As one of the few regular officers to bother studying guerrilla tactics, Cox was the man for the job and was given men experienced in fighting bushwackers. In the Kansas City region, the name is largely associated with William Clarke Quantrill, the infamous Missouri guerrilla who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and led a violent raid on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas, on August 21, 1863.. Citizens on the front lines of the bloody Missouri-Kansas border war viewed Quantrill very differently. This left the field open to independent guerrilla commanders who took little if any direction from Confederate authorities. Quantrill, William Clarke (1837-1865). 133-44. Castel, Albert and Thomas Goodrich: Bloody Bill Anderson: The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War Guerrilla, Lawrence Kansas, 2006, Colton, Ray C.: The Civil War in the Western Territories, Norman, Oklahoma, 1959, Goodman, Thomas M., and Captain Harry A. Houston (ed. Hand-in-hand with this was the terrorization of the civilian population by murder, torture, and property destruction. Terrell provided wagon transportation to a military hospital and prison in Louisville. Frank James was an early member of Quantrills band. Angered by incidents of scalping by Kansas Jayhawkers, the guerrillas took it up themselves in the summer of 1864. A Union patrol caught up to a group of seven of Andersons men, killed them, and scalped them. . The final death toll was three guerrillas to at least 116 Union dead. Langford described the shooting in few words: I shot him in the left shoulderjust back of the shoulder bladethe ball ranging downward and lodging in the right groin. Quantrill was reportedly shot a second time as he fell, the bullet cutting off the trigger finger of his right hand. The group helped protect Missouri farmers from the Jayhawkers for pay and slept wherever they could find lodging. 2023 Missouri Life Magazine. The most significant event in Quantrill's guerrilla career took place on August 21, 1863. One night while working the late shift, he killed a man. A man of action, it was said that Quantrill planned, but Todd executed. The rifled muskets carried by the Union cavalry were unwieldy on horseback, so Johnston ordered his men to dismount and form a line, with a quarter of his force held back to hold the horses. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. The very nature of warfare in Civil War Missouri, often unseen and unrecorded, has rendered it difficult to produce a definitive account of the guerrillas despite the best efforts of many highly competent historians. Artist David Plank cant remember a time when he wasnt drawn to birds. Quantrills band broke up in the spring of 1864 after the guerrilla leader backed down from a challenge from George Todd. Anderson ordered Clements to muster out the naked prisoners. He worked for us. Anderson was beside himself with anger and now became dedicated to a single purpose; the killing of as many Union soldiers as possible. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Born in Canal Dover (today, simply called Dover), Ohio, on July 31, 1837, Quantrill was a bright but troubled young man. The local dentist, who doubled as the town photographer, was summoned to take two shots of Andersons corpse propped up in a chair. His once-large band broke up into several smaller guerrilla companies. During the caravan, Quantrill was heavily guarded but treated with respect. [citation needed], Quantrill's actions remain controversial. The nonfictional leader of a pro-Confederate group of men who tore through Kansas and Missouri fighting Union soldiers and sympathizers. These rarely agree in detail and are usually colored by the perceived legal, political, or personal need for the veteran to present his story in a certain fashion, resulting in a variety of contradictory accounts. William Clarke Quantrill (Charley Hart, Charles William Quantrill, and Billy Quantrill), Civil War guerrilla leader, was born at Canal Dover, Ohio, on July 31, 1837, to Thomas Henry and Caroline Cornelia (Clarke) Quantrill. At the time of his death, she was 17. Clements was soon back to taking scalps and leading a band of as many as 100 men in a rampage of murder, arson, and robbery even as the Confederate Army collapsed elsewhere. I aim to see him shot or hanged." "Yes, yes, well might you labor to that end," said Stonehill. Johnston unwisely left half his force at Centralia to chase a small group of bushwackers led by Dave Poole, who led them into a large clearing in the midst of a forest. If the South had won the war there would have been statues erected in his memory and countless mothers would have named their children after him. A Missouri newspaper, The Albany Ledger, published since 1868, is rich in information about the last chapter of Quantrills life. On his person was a letter from his wife with locks of hair belonging to her and their child, $600 in gold and greenbacks, $15 in Confederate script, a small Confederate flag presented to him by a friend, and Prices written order to Captain Anderson. There was also a silk cord to which Bill was said to add one knot for every man he killed by his own hands. The weapon of choice was the .36 caliber Navy Colt, favored over the heavier Army Colt. He also called the Democrats "the worst men we have for they are all rascals, for no one can be a democrat here without being one". He was wounded nine times before his death and was described as a maniac in battle. Todd wrested control of Quantrills band in the spring of 1864 before allying himself with Anderson. Considered guerillas and not recognized as legitimate soldiers, Quantrills men were denied the general amnesty offered to the Confederate army upon Lees surrender. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses Grant on April 9, and General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered most of the rest of the Confederate Army to General Sherman on April 26. After what became known as the First Battle of Independence, the Confederate government decided to secure the loyalty of Quantrill by issuing him a "formal army commission" to the rank of captain. As the name Bushwacker implies, the main tactic of the guerrillas was the ambush, sudden attack followed by a quick withdrawal and dispersal on fast mounts into country best known to the guerrillas. He led a charge expecting results similar to those at Centralia, but the veteran Union troops laid down a withering fire that brought the charge to a halt at 100 yards distance. Privacy Policies, Heritage Post Much of the dramatic build-up to the Civil War centered on the violence that erupted on the KansasMissouri border between pro- and anti-slavery militias. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. As a result, Todd became a captain and Anderson a lieutenant, but these ranks existed only within the unit and do not appear to have ever been commissioned officially by the CSA. It would be this group of scouts, under the command of a young officer of the worst imaginable reputation, that would hunt down William Quantrill and end his life. He received medical attention in towns along the way when available. Age of Discovery The best known of the leaders of the Missouri bushwhackers, also called pro-Confederate partisan rangers, was William Clarke Quantrill (often spelled Quantrell in period newspapers and writings). It was considered good sport to switch the decapitated heads to different bodies or impale them on fence posts. A doctor examined him and advised him that his days were numbered and he should settle his business affairs. Torrey and Beeson agreed to pay for Quantrill's land in exchange for a couple of months' worth of work. Germans (who were called Dutch by the guerrillas) were routinely murdered by the bushwhackers, who regarded all of them as Unionists. Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill taking notes. You cannot escape.. "A 'Fiend in Human Shape?' Largely relieved from having to pursue guerrillas by Prices choice to attach them to his force, Union troops were able to concentrate in a force much stronger than Prices at Westport. He eventually died leading a charge while attached to General Prices forces in 1864. Quantrill's father earned a living as a coppersmith. Quantrill was born in Ohio in 1837. For brave men there's never a bolt to his door. With the end of the Civil War around the corner, the Union had driven the formal Confederate army presence from Missouri and was redirecting troops to hunt down the guerrilla bands still operating in the upper South. At this time, many Ohioans were migrating to the Kansas Territory in search of cheap land and opportunity. The next year, their first child was born and they named her Katie Scarlett, Margaret Mitchell We endure hard times by the power of God. The Quantrill band joined with other guerrilla groups operating in the Bluegrass State, such as the group led by Marcellus Jerome Clark (also known as Sue Mundy) to terrorize with relatively little fear of reprisal or punishment. Bills grey mare was found adorned with Union scalps. It was Mayes who taught Quantrill guerrilla warfare tactics, the ambush fighting tactics used by the Native Americans, as well as camouflage and the tactic of the sneak attack. With the war over, Clements began hanging out in Lexington saloons with Dave Poole, who was now robbing banks. Be the first to contribute! Biographies There was a $300 reward on Archies head, but no-one had the nerve to try and collect. Bandits and renegades on both sides roamed freely throughout, robbing and killing at will. The party of three departed in late February 1857. Nodaway County author Homer Croy wrote of Quantrill, Because of Quantrill, widows wailed, orphans cried, maidens wept. Croy was echoing the sentiment of William Elsey Connelley, author of the 1909 book Quantrill and the Border Wars, in his introduction to the 1956 Civil War Book Club edition of Connelleys book. Struggling with distance learning? [citation needed] Soon thereafter, he signed on as a teamster with the U.S. Army expedition heading to Salt Lake City, Utah in the spring of 1858. Familiar faces at these events included Cole Younger, Frank James, and John Noland, Quantrills loyal Black-American scout. He had moved from Georgia to the old Indian Territory in 1838. William C. Quantrill, in full William Clarke Quantrill, pseudonym Charley Hart, (born July 31, 1837, Canal Dover, Ohio, U.S.died June 6, 1865, Louisville, Ky.), captain of a guerrilla band irregularly attached to the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, notorious for the sacking of the free-state stronghold of Lawrence, Kan. (Aug. 21, Were they able to loot stores and rob civilians? Related Topics. Union counter-measures included the death penalty for interfering with the railroads. His father, a high school principal, was less supportive. After about a year, he converted to the Union side where his federal guerrillas plundered and killed Southern sympathizers, an official but lawless band. " [He] was always a good boy. Terrell believed his story and left to continue pursuing Quantrill. Initially, before 1860, Quantrill appeared to oppose slavery. Andersons reputation actually helped in recruitment; according to Jim Cummins, a member of Andersons band: Having looked the situation over I determined to join the worst devil in the bunch, so I decided it was Anderson for me as I wanted to see the blood flow., Union supporters or relatives of soldiers could expect little mercy. Price was strongly criticized by Jefferson Davis and others for his misuse of the guerrillas. [18] When Quantrill's men rode out at 9 a.m., most of Lawrence's buildings were burning, including all but two businesses. Quantrill was also the oldest of twelve children, four of whom died in infancy. Quantrill is known for his violent ways, as he led his men in the infamous read analysis of William Quantrill Frank James General Sterling Price led the last Confederate attempt to secure Missouri in September 1864. Complete all tasks in a timely manner, meaning as soon as possible. Quantrill traveled back to Utah and then to Colorado but returned in less than a year to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1859[6] where he taught at a schoolhouse until it closed in 1860. Once he and his men caught nine Union soldiers in a schoolhouse and killed them. Quantrill then joined a group of Missouri ruffians and became somewhat of a drifter. Their flag was the black flag of no quarter, not the Stars and Bars. Complete your free account to request a guide. Only two riders continued, plunging hell for leather through the Union line, but the troops turned around and brought both men down dead. While Langford had the distinction of shooting Quantrill, the notorious guerrilla leader, he was never boastful, the newspaper eulogized. Bill Anderson arrived in Kansas as a child in 1857 along with his Southern parents, two brothers, and three sisters. Upon reaching adulthood, Quantrill briefly taught school in Ohio. By comparison, William Clarke Quantrill was one of the most dangerous men of the Border Wars, cutting a swath of atrocities wherever he and the Quantrill Raiders rode..