William Quantrill - The Man, The Myth, The Soldier by Paul Peterson

William Quantrill by Paul R. Petersen - Page 2

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Captain William Gregg, Quantrill's adjutant, reported in a letter after the war that, "Quantrill and his men have been unjustly slandered by the people of the North, a people who, even to this day, know nothing of them, except what they have read in irresponsible books and newspapers.” Gregg goes on to say that, "It is not enough that their valor is recognized, it is not enough that their honesty be confessed. We ask of our Northern brother, we ask of all mankind and all womankind a recognition of their patriotism, their love of country, and of liberty…we cannot remain silent, so long as any aspersion is cast by the pen of the historian, or the tongue of the orator upon their patriotic motives, or the loftiness of their purposes throughout that mighty struggle. We make no half-hearted apologies for their acts. It is justice for which we plead, not charity.”

Colonel R. H. Hunt, who served in the Union army fighting against Captain Gregg, said of him after the war, "That in so far as his memory serves him his statements can be depended upon absolutely. He is a man who would not willfully misrepresent.”

The Confederate flag in the 1860s.

This image available for photographic prints HERE.

Quantrill did not act alone, and his followers have suffered a similar mischaracterization. According to the Northern press, every guerrilla was a bloodthirsty, brutal, psychotic killer. Their relatives were low-class individuals and criminally natured and their women were said to have loose morals. Historians refuse to acknowledge that Quantrill and his men were soldiers; instead they refer to them as outlaws. From this perspective, Quantrill's partisan ranger band could not be credited with winning a military victory in open battle, so they became bloodthirsty killers who murdered and massacred their victims. These were the accounts carried down through history, written by a victorious enemy over a beaten but unbowed foe. John McCorkle, one of Quantrill's men, wrote a book about his experiences with Quantrill, explaining that it was "not published in any spirit of malice or hatred, but in order that the truth may be known, that the world may know that Quantrill and his band were justified in nearly all of their acts and that they were not altogether bad; that they were driven to desperation by brutal outrages committed against them and their friends…”. Likewise, Captain Gregg wrote that "History after history has been written of Quantrill and his men, none of which can be characterized as true. And that which is not true, is not history.”

Our understanding of the Civil War is largely viewed through the eyes of the victors but the majority of the inhabitants along the western border, however, were Southern sympathizers and their viewpoint has been generally ignored. There is no way to clearly understand the surroundings and character of the men on the western border by today’s standards of conduct and values. Ideals such as chivalry and good manners, including kindness towards those younger and weaker was an ideal that kept the fabric of their society together. Integrity was paramount for a respectful character. Pride, honor, devotion: these intrinsic values which have all but lost their importance, except to a chosen few in today’s society, meant everything to the men who had but these values to fight and die for. Everything else they held dear and sacred was taken from them by the very government that was suppose to protect them.

Everything about Quantrill's life has been greatly distorted by prejudicial historians and journalists. The hatred of his Kansas enemies and of those he fought against during the war were manifested in writings and were grossly exaggerated by those who had never come face to face with him. Only sensational claims previously heard by those who had cause to try to blacken his name because of their own political views and sectional feelings have been noted for history. Quantrill's critics have painted him in the worst possible light and have collectively and in collusion told unfounded and unproved stories of him.

Many past writings on Quantrill have been written by Kansas and Northern writers and others, without military backgrounds or experiences to draw upon, merely capitalizing on the sensationalism of fictionalized accounts about Quantrill and his men. Many repeat the same worn out rumors and inaccuracies and still claim that they have done exhaustive research. A modern military saying is: "For those who fight for it, freedom has a flavor the protected never taste.” This experience is much more beneficial when books are written by actual combat veterans compared with those authors who have never had any military experiences or those who have never walked over the same ground or are familiar with the area known as "Quantrill Country”.

By viewing Quantrill through different eyes we can see him as he really was: an educated and moral young man who began his career protecting the lives and property of the people who were daily being robbed and killed by an enemy who were hiding their criminal deeds behind the cloak of a flag that they used for their own selfish greed and ambitions. We should seek to dignify his life, not to romanticize it.

Loved and respected by his men; hated and feared by his enemies; adored by the young Southern women who he met, and befriended by those who sought justice and protection: this was William Clarke Quantrill. This is the truth behind the man, and the soldier.

About the Author: Paul R. Petersen is a lifelong resident of Jackson County, Missouri, the same area in which William Clarke Quantrill’s partisan rangers operated. A highly decorated Master Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and a combat infantry veteran of Vietnam and Desert Storm, Petersen is uniquely qualified to interpret the nature of guerrilla warfare that characterized the Civil War along the Missouri-Kansas border. He lives in Raytown, Missouri. His recent book Quantrill of Missouri by Cumberland House Publishing is his first book in a trilogy concerning Quantrill during the Civil War.

Also See:

Battle at Fort Blair, Kansas

Bleeding Kansas and the Missouri Border War

Bleeding Kansas Timeline

Lawrence, Kansas - From Ashes to Immortality

The True Account of William "Bloody Bill" Anderson

William Quantrill - Renegade Leader of the Missouri Border War

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