Bleeding Kansas and the Missouri Border War

Kansas/Missouri Border War - Page 7

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Lawrence was a town long hated by Quantrill and his men. Home of the demagogic antislavery Senator, Jim Lane, it was also a stronghold of the Red Legs, Union guerrillas who had sacked much of western Missouri. An attack on this citadel of abolition would bring revenge for any wrongs, real or imagined, that the Southerners had suffered.

Early on the morning of August 21, 1863, Quantrill, along with his murderous force of about 400, descended on the still sleeping town of Lawrence. Incensed by the Free-State headquarters town, Quantrill set out on his revenge against the Jayhawker community. In this carefully orchestrated early morning raid he and his band, in four terrible hours, turned the town into a bloody and blazing inferno unparallel in its brutality.

The Lawrence, Kansas Raid as illustrated in Harper's Weekly,

September, 1863.

Quantrill and his bushwhacker mob of raiders began their reign of terror at 5:00 a.m., looting and burning as they went, bent on total destruction of the town, then less than 3,000 residents. By the time it was over, they had killed approximately 180 men and boys, and left Lawrence nothing more than smoldering ruins.

In response to the Lawrence Massacre, Union Brigadier General Thomas Ewing signed General Order No. 11 on August 25, 1863 which required all persons living more than one mile from Independence, Hickman’s Mill, Pleasant Hill, and Kansas City to leave their farms unless they took an oath of loyalty to the Union. The cities that were excluded were already under Union control This order included Cass, Jackson, Bates and portions of Vernon Counties. Some did take the oath, but many others fled to other areas never to return. The remaining homes, building and crops were burned by the Union Army and the entire area became known as "No Mans Land."

By denying Quantrill and his guerillas the support of the populace, the Union hoped to force them out in the open where they could be destroyed. The enforcement of Order No. 11 resulted in terrible hardships for the people of Jackson County. Many Union and Southern families alike were killed in the ensuing melee.

Evacuation of Missouri Counties

Evacuation of Missouri Counties under General Order No. 11, painting by

George Caleb Bingham, 1870.

Original Painting held in Cincinnati Art Museum , Cincinnati, Ohio

By October, Quantrill and his men were riding south towards Texas to spend the winter. Along the way his men attacked a column of Union cavalry and wagons near Baxter Springs, Kansas. Then they went on to capture nearby Fort Blair commanded by Union Major General James Blunt. Blunt escaped to nearby Fort Scott, but more than 80 his soldiers (60 of whom were black) were captured and massacred. Blunt was relieved of command as a result. Later a drunken Quantrill boasted that he had accomplished in one day what Confederate Colonel Jo Shelby and Major General John Marmaduke had failed for years to do -- beat Blunt.

Upon his arrival in Texas, Quantrill reported at Bonham on October 26, 1863 to General Henry E. McCulloch. Quantrill and his men were ordered to help round up the increasing number of deserters and conscription-dodgers in North Texas. The band captured a few but killed even more, whereupon McCulloch pulled them off this duty. The General then sent them to track down retreating Comanches from a recent raid on the northwest frontier, which they did without success.

During this time, Quantrill's behavior had become too bizarre for many of his own men and he was beginning to lose control over them. Some wanted to join the regular Confederate army. Anderson's quarrels with Quantrill led him to form a fierce band of his own, including Frank James and his 16-year-old brother, Jesse James. During their winter in Texas, "Bloody Bill" Anderson, took his group and began to terrorize the area. With two such groups in the neighborhood, Texas residents became targets for so many raids and acts of violence that regular Confederate forces had to be assigned to protect residents from the activities of the irregular Confederate forces.

Finally, General McCulloch determined to rid North Texas of Quantrill's influence and on March 28, 1864 Quantrill was arrested on the charge of ordering the murder of a Confederate Major. However, Quantrill escaped, returning to his camp near Sherman, Texas, pursued by over 300 state and Confederate troops. His band then crossed the Red River into Indian Territory, where they re-supplied from Confederate stores and started the journey back to Missouri.

Soon, his guerrilla band began to break up into several smaller units and his vicious lieutenant, "Bloody Bill" Anderson, known for wearing a necklace of Yankee scalps into battle, would continue with his own band to terrorize the state of Missouri. As Quantrill's authority over his followers disintegrated they elected George Todd, a former lieutenant to Quantrill, to lead them.

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