In August 1863, Frank James was with Quantrill when he led a savage attack on the largely defenseless town of Lawrence, Kansas. Images and documents related to Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, August 21, 1863, the survivors, and their stories. He and his men ambushed Union patrols and supply convoys, seized the mail, and occasionally struck towns on both sides of the Kansas-Missouri border. View Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence in a larger map. William Quantrill’s raid on the Free-State town of Lawrence, Kansas (also known as the Lawrence Massacre) was a defining moment in the border conflict. Todd died after being shot out of his saddle by a Union sniper, north of Independence, Missouri, a day before the Battle of Westport. [10] One of the main targets of the raid, abolitionist U.S. Sen. Jim Lane, escaped by fleeing into corn fields. Although Kansas entered the Union as a free state in 1861, ending the period called “Bleeding Kansas,” the animosities of the territorial period lived on with the outbreak of civil war that same year. Goodrich, Thomas. He was arrested, but he reportedly died a week later from his wounds. One such raid took place on September 23, 1861, when Lane and his men ransacked Osceola, destroying stores and homes and robbing the bank. All of these motivations are plausible explanations for why Quantrill chose to attack Lawrence. By August 1862, with the Union victory at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Missouri was free of significant regular Confederate troops, but the insurgent violence continued. They were cornered in a barn, where a shootout resulted in Quantrill being injured in the spine and left unable to move. Quantrill's guerrillas attacked Jayhawkers, Missouri State Militia, and Union troops and relied primarily on ambush and raids.[4]. By nightfall the raiders were gone, but traumatized residents now faced the daunting task of cleaning up between $1 million and $1.5 million of damage (in 1863 dollars) and coping with the high death toll. By Kristen Epps, University of Central Arkansas. George Ellis, a free black man, had risen early to finish some work on his family’s farm. provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State with additional support from the William T. Kemper Foundation - Commerce Bank, Trustee, Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865, Desperate Characters: The Development and Impact of the Confederate Guerrillas in Kansas, Bloody Dawn: The Story of the Lawrence Massacre. A hub of anti-slavery activity, the town had been sacked in 1856 by raiders from Missouri (see The Sack of Lawrence, Kansas, 1856) and eight years later was the target of one of the most vicious and bloody encounters of the Civil War. Quantrill's Raiders (1958) ... Leo Gordon, one of the scariest bad guys from many westerns, plays Quantrill who wants revenge on Lawrence, Kansas for kicking him out of town years ago. Several of his men continued as outlaws, emerging in time as the James-Younger Gang. The town of Lawrence, Kansas, a center of anti-slavery sentiment, had outlawed Quantrill's men and jailed some of their young women. Kansas Attractions Kansas Travel & … Many people would agree that after more than 150 years, William Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence—also known as the Lawrence Massacre—remains our city’s defining event. In Texas, they continued to embarrass the Confederate command by their often-lawless actions. Hugh Dunn Fisher, a chaplain with the 5th Kansas Cavalry who was home on sick leave, attempted to flee with two of his sons, but being unable to keep up with them, he returned to his house and hid underneath the cellar stairs. On August 21, 1863, Quantrill led approximately 450 Confederate raiders into Lawrence, a Unionist and antislavery stronghold that was also home to Republican Senator James H. Lane, who had become a target of proslavery forces. At dawn on August 21, 1863, Quantrill and his guerrillas rode into Lawrence, where they burned much of … Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1992. To control these guerrillas and prevent another massacre, Union General Thomas Ewing issued Order No. They left Missouri and Kansas during the winter of 1862–63 to quarter in Indian Territory, in Arkansas, and in Texas. Epps, Kristen. Quantrill's guerrillas, as a group, did not maintain operations in winters along the border. Quantrill's Raids. Summer 1968 (Vol. _ (NY) dated in August and September, 1863 with fantastic QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS history! "Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence" Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865. In the 1999 film Ride with the Devil, which depicts a group of fictionalized Missouri bushwhackers, the character Daniel Holt was inspired by Noland. Captain William H. "Bill" "Stuart" [Stewart] of Quantrill's Raiders was shot and killed November 1864 in Howard County Missouri as he tried to rob a Union cattle drover. The females, some teenagers, were jailed in Kansas City, Missouri, in makeshift jails, including the house on Grand Street in which local artist George Caleb Bingham kept his studio. The only surviving building from the time is the House Building at 731 Massachusetts Street. They immediately began to ransack homes, shoot civilians, loot stores, and set fire to buildings (including the prominent Eldridge Hotel, although Quantrill allowed its inhabitants to evacuate safely). Despite the legal responsibility assumed by the Confederate government, Quantrill often acted on his own with little concern for his government's policy or orders. Although Lane escaped, Quantrill’s men killed between 160-190 men and boys, many in cold blood, before looting and burning much of the town. This roster was found by yankee troops on one of the dead Missouri Partisan Rangers after the Battle at Pleasant Hill, Missouri on July 11, 1862. William Quantrill’s raid on the Free-State town of Lawrence, Kansas (also known as the Lawrence Massacre) was a defining moment in the border conflict. Bitter hatred on both sides of the Kansas-Missouri border prompted the Civil War’s most notorious guerrilla attack. 150-190 unarmed civilians were murdered during the massacre. One of the first casualties was Reverend Snyder, shot as he was milking his cow outside his home along present-day East 19th Street. Postwar pictures show him sitting with comrades at reunions of the Raiders. By June, open warfare occurred between Union forces and troops supporting the Confederacy. 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During the period of border warfare (1855–1861), the region became known as "Bleeding Kansas" in the press. Donald, Baker, and Holt (2001) p. 177. Reflecting the internecine nature of the guerrilla conflict in Missouri, Quantrill directed much of his effort against pro-Union civilians by attempting to drive them from the territory that he operated. Their assignments included attacking teamsters who supplied the Union, repelled Union and Jayhawker raids into northern Texas, warded off Indian attacks, and policed and rounded up deserters roaming in Texas and Oklahoma. The district stretched from 6th street to 9th street at the time. Unionists, led by regular US Army commander Nathaniel Lyon and Frank Blair of the politically-powerful Blair family, fought for political and military control across the state against the increasingly pro-secessionist forces, led by Governor Claiborne Jackson and future Confederate General Sterling Price. Anderson was reportedly shot dead north of Orrick. Along the way, they attacked Fort Baxter, Kansas, and ambushed and killed near 100 Union troops in the Battle of Baxter Springs. Lawrence was the historic base of operations for abolitionist and Jayhawker organizations. After the raid, Quantrill led his men behind Confederate lines down to Sherman, Texas, where they wintered in 1863-1864. In August 1863, Quantrill and his men committed what became known as the Lawrence Massacre. In 1863, Quantrill’s force had grown to over 450 men, one of whom was Frank James, older brother of Jesse James. Nearly 200 people were killed that day. Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence: Stories of Loss, Destruction and Survival. On that fateful August morning, a group of roughly 400 Confederate guerrillas entered the sleeping town. This monument to the victims of Quantrill's raid is in Lawrence Kansas' Oak Hill Cemetery. See more ideas about american civil war, civil war photos, confederate soldiers. In the song "Frank and Jesse James" on his 1976 eponymous album. (Library of Congress) August 21, 1863, was an oddly still summer day. Donald, David Herbert; Baker, Jean Harvey; and Holt, Michael F. This page was last edited on 26 January 2021, at 16:15. He was reputed to be Quantrill's best scout and helped to scout Lawrence before the 1863 raid. Accessed Sunday, February 21, 2021 - 05:35 at https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/quantrills-raid-lawr... Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict,1855-1865, This project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the One of the first casualties was Reverend Snyder, shot as he was milking his cow outside his home along present- day East 19th Street. Their entire family survived the raid. Calling for revenge, Quantrill organized a unified partisan raid on Lawrence although there is evidence that the raid had been planned before the collapse. As the day went on, terror spread throughout the town, with panicked citizens fleeing into nearby ravines, hiding in cellars or cornfields, and attempting to escape across the Kansas River. The Union soldiers enlarged the space on the first floor by removing supporting beams. Angered that the townspeople had … Todd's splinter group was attached to Major General Sterling Price's raid south of the Missouri River. Quantrill: Listed on a roster containing ninety-two names of Quantrill's men. Historians have also speculated that the Lawrence massacre was revenge for the unexplained collapse of a women’s prison in Kansas City only eight days earlier, which killed female relatives of the guerrillas, including one of William T. “Bloody Bill” Anderson’s sisters and Cole Younger’s cousin. On August 21, 1863, Quantrill’s Confederate guerillas attacked the town, killed about 200 men and boys, and destroyed as much as two million dollars’ worth of property. Jul 20, 2018 - Explore Bobby Lawrence's board "Quantrill's Raiders" on Pinterest. They torched the town of Lawrence, Kansas and killed more than 175 men and boys, many of them in front of their families. The Kansas City Public Library. Quantrill lost his control of the men in the winter of 1863-1864. [12], Some Confederate officers appreciated the effectiveness of these irregulars against Union forces, which rarely gained the upper hand over them, especially Quantrill. Kansas History 14 (Autumn 1991): 144–162. After four years of operation, Quantrill and remnants of his raiders were cornered in a barn in Spencer County, Kentucky by a Union Cavalry detachment. A bus tour following Quantrill's raiders' path to Lawrence in August 1863 on Saturday started at the Burnt District Monument in Harrisonville, Mo. In August 1863, Union authorities assigned to the so-called District of the Border were frustrated by the hit-and-run tactics of Quantrill's guerrillas, particularly the aid provided by Confederate sympathizers in western Missouri border counties. Some of the guerrillas continued under the leadership of Archie Clement. They failed to see Fisher in the dim light, but as they left, they set fire to the house and watched it burn, hoping to flush him out if he were hiding. In late winter 1863, Quantrill lost his hold over his men. Bloody Dawn: The Story of the Lawrence Massacre. Their leader was William Quantrill and they included Jesse James and his brother Frank. The men attached the flag to an eight foot hickory pole, attached with twelve nails. The Kansas winds did not blow; there was nothing to dissipate the tower of smoke in the perfectly clear sky, a pall that rose like a dark monument built by the horrors of war. One historical work describes the situation in the state after Wilson's Creek: Unlike other border areas in Maryland and Kentucky, local conflicts, bushwhacking, sniping, and guerrilla fighting marked this period of Missouri history. Throughout 1862 Quantrill and his band of nearly two hundred men raided around Kansas City, Independence, and Olathe. The 36th album of the American Civil War-themed, Quantrill's Raiders are a major element in. 34, No. 5:30 p.m., KU Spencer Research Library, 1405 Poplar Lane, Lawrence Among Quantrill's men was a freedman, John Noland. Co-ordinating across vast distances, small bands of partisans rode across 50 miles (80 km) of open prairie to rendezvous on Mount Oread in the early morning hours before the raid. Quantrill's Raiders killed their first victim, Reverend Snyder, while he milked a cow at a farm next to the Miller House at 1111 E. 19th Street. Quantrill’s guerrillas likely sought retribution for these attacks on Missouri. Senator, James H. Lane, commanded the infamous “Jayhawkers,” a military regiment that conducted raids into Missouri, confiscated supplies, and killed Missourians who sided with the Confederacy. "Enemy Gold" a 1993 B movie from Andy Sidaris uses the myth of Quantrill's Gold as fuel for the storyline--though the historical connections are thin at best. "When regular troops were absent, the improvised war often assumed a deadly guerrilla nature as local citizens took up arms spontaneously against their neighbors. Quantrill’s Raid On Lawrence, 1863. The raiders killed George’s father, but George, his brother Ben, and his mother Jane managed to survive. Collection by Kansas Historical Society. Quantrill was not the only Confederate guerrilla operating in Missouri, but he rapidly gained the greatest notoriety. The state governor and a leader of the Free-State movement, Charles Robinson, was lucky enough to escape with his life as well. Others lived on to hold reunions many years later, when the name Quantrill's Raiders began to be used. Steve Cochran, a Confederate spy, comes to town to help him but develops second thoughts along with affection for the girl, a boy, and the townspeople. He accurately believed that such action would flush out guerrillas and limit their ability to get supplies from friends and family living in these counties. NOTE: The numbers in brackets refer to endnotes for this text. Read was able to escape Quantrill's rage after he went into hiding but would be lynched by Quantrill's supporters in Tyler, Texas. Colt revolvers for increased firepower and their improved accuracy over the .44-cal. Terror spread throughout the town, with panicked citizens fleeing into nearby ravines, hiding in cellars or cornfields, and attempting to escape across the Kansas River. His body was dragged through the streets of Richmond, Missouri. Authorities began imprisoning the female members of the known guerrillas' families, with the intent of banishing them. He functioned as a cavalry scout. The last survivor of Quantrill's Raiders died in 1940. As the scene at their entrance was one of the wildest, the scene after their departure … (1958) A Civil War guerilla gang plans an attack on a Kansas arsenal. The deaths of the women outraged the pro-Southern guerrillas.[9]. Founded in 1854, Lawrence’s reputation for being an anti-slavery stronghold made it a target for guerrilla violence. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1997. Early in the war Missouri and Kansas were nominally under Union government control and became subject to widespread violence as groups of Confederate bushwhackers and anti-slavery Jayhawkers competed for control. 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. Richard Cordley, edited by Richard B. Sheridan, 1999. The guerrillas returned to Missouri in early 1864, and Quantrill took several of his loyal troops east, towards Kentucky. Some claim the flag was carried into many battles, such as Lawrence, Kansas and was riddled with many bullets. By 1864 Quantrill had lost control of the group, which split up into small bands. Anderson's splinter group of guerrillas was assigned to duty in 1864 north of the Missouri River, during the General Sterling Price raid. Quantrill himself also had personal experience with Lawrence, having lived there under an alias a few years prior. Further claims was that Quantrill even took it with him into Kentucky in … The Lawrence massacre, August 21 1863 (also known as Quantrill's raid) was an attack during the American Civil War by the Quantrill's Raiders, a Confederate guerrilla group of about 450 men led by William Quantrill, on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas. He was to disrupt Union operations north of the Missouri River and draw Union troops toward his cavalry command. The Lawrence Public Library will celebrate the launch of KU Professor Jonathan Earle’s book about the Civil War as experienced on the Kansas and Missouri Border. As a result, the structure collapsed, maiming and killing several women. On August 21, 1863, Quantrill led his band of about 450 men into Lawrence, Kansas. Elizabeth fought valiantly to extinguish the flames, but being unable to do so, she drug out a large rug (on the pretense of saving her possessions), and Hugh hid under it until the raiders left. The raiders left a trail of blood and destruction all the way down to Texas. The event is free and open to the public. 2), pages 143 to 149 Transcribed by Tod Roberts; digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society. Quantrill's Raiders were the best-known of the pro-Confederate partisan guerrillas (also known as "bushwhackers") who fought in the American Civil War. Charles W. Quantrill A True History of his Guerrilla Warfare on the Missouri and Kansas Border During the Civil War of 1861-1865, as told by Capt. Confederate officer Westcott is assigned to collaborate with the vigilante leader Quantrill in a raid on an ammunition depot in Lawrence, Kansas. In August 1863, Quantrill led an attack on the town, killing more than 180 civilians, supposedly in retaliation for the casualties caused when the women's jail had collapsed. Perhaps the bloodiest day in Kansas history came 156 years ago this month, when William Clarke Quantrill led more than 400 pro-slavery guerrillas in a surprise attack on the city of Lawrence, … Quantrill took his men to Cedar Mills, Texas, over winter and offered his services to the Confederacy. Excerpted from “William Clarke Quantrill and the Civil War Raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863, an Eyewitness Account,” Rev. (RH C5074) Well I went with Quantrill when I was just sixteen years of age and was captured by General Buell’s forces. Harrison Trow – one who followed Quantrill through his whole course, c. 1923. Quantrill’s Raiders burned much of the commercial district on Massachusetts Street. Guerrilla warfare erupted throughout the state and intensified in August after the Union defeat at the Battle of Wilson's Creek.[2]. His gravemarker is in the old Mormon Pioneer cemetery, in the extreme southwest corner, behind some pine trees and near the road. Quantrill's Raiders were the best-known of the pro-Confederate partisan guerrillas (also known as "bushwhackers") who fought in the American Civil War. Westcott travels onward when the ammo supply is moved, but the vengeance-driven Quantrill insists upon remaining in Lawrence to indulge in one of the bloodiest and most sadistic raids in Kansas history. The guerrillas were rowdy, undisciplined, and dangerous. The fighting in Kansas and Missouri was very bloody during the Civil War, because unlike other theatres, the conflict in these … [11] The Lawrence raid was the most deadly and infamous operation of Missouri's Confederate guerrillas. [1], In February 1861, Missouri voters elected delegates to a statewide convention, which rejected secession by a vote of 89-1. He joined Quantrill's raiders because of the abuse that his family suffered at the hands of Kansas jayhawkers. Quantrill’s raid was doubtless one of the most significant acts of violence against civilians during the Civil War, and with it came powerful repercussions. During the Civil War, Jayhawkers continued their raids into western Missouri, where slavery was concentrated in the area known as Little Dixie along the Missouri River. They attacked this pro-Union stronghold, killing over 150 men, with few of them offering resistance. The most significant event in Quantrill's guerrilla career took place on August 21, 1863. Claiming to fight for the confederacy, Quantrill organized a band in December 1861. For the film directed by Edward Bernds, see. There are many possible motivations behind the Lawrence Massacre. Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence: A Question of Complicity by Burton J. Williams. In addition to targeting African Americans, the raiders also inquired about the whereabouts of notorious Free-State leaders like James H. Lane, who was able to hide in a West Lawrence cornfield to escape detection, along with several of his neighbors. George hid in a dense thicket near the Kansas River, and after Quantrill’s men set the house afire, Jane successfully dragged Ben out of the flames and concealed him underneath a feather bed. Castel, Albert E. Civil War Kansas: Reaping the Whirlwind. Operating near the Kansas-Missouri border, the raiders began forays into Kansas, attacking towns about 15 miles from the border. The Lawrence massacre, August 21 1863 (also known as Quantrill's raid) was an attack during the American Civil War by the Quantrill's Raiders, a Confederate guerrilla group of about 450 men led by William Quantrill, on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas. This raid was the culmination of an ongoing conflict between the Free-State forces who controlled Lawrence and the proslavery partisans who lived in nearby Missouri. https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/quantrills-raid-lawr... “A Most Cruel and Unjust War:” The Guerrilla Struggle along the Missouri-Kansas Border, A Long and Bloody Conflict: Military Operations in Missouri and Kansas, Part II, Location: Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, Adversaries: William Clarke Quantrill's Raiders vs. the civilian population of Lawrence, Casualties: Between 160-190 men and teenaged boys killed; one raider, Larkin Skaggs, killed. His command was remembered as "The Undefeated.". In addition, Quantrill's Raiders burned and looted the town. The Union Commander was given the blame and this fanned the already-fearsome flames of the Raiders. Ruins of Lawrence after Quantrill’s attack. At dawn on August 21, 1863, Quantrill and his guerrillas rode into Lawrence, where they burned much of the town and killed between 160 and 190 men and boys. Under his direction, Confederate guerrillas perfected military tactics such as disguises, co-ordinated and synchronized attacks, planned dispersal after an attack that used preplanned routes and relays of horses, and technical methods such as the use of multiple .36-cal. [5] Other officers were elected by the men, and Quantrill often referred to himself as a colonel. Pro-slavery forces also operated in the area, as both sides tried to gain power to determine whether Kansas would allow slavery. This was a war of stealth and raid without a front, without formal organization, and with almost no division between the civilian and the warrior."[3]. It was originally a hotel. Approximately 20 percent of the male population had been killed, leaving 85 widows. In Kentucky, pro-Union soldiers and hired killers tracked Quantrill and his men. The most notorious guerrilla force was led by William Clarke Quantrill. Robberies, theft, arson, and murders of citizens were committed by both sides. The name of William Clarke Quantrill was already known before he led his band of guerillas in a deadly raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863. Quantrill's Raiders. The historian Albert Castel wrote: For over six years, ever since Kansas was opened up as a territory by Stephen A. Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Bill of 1854, its prairies had been the stage for an almost incessant series of political conventions, raids, massacres, pitched battles, and atrocities, all part of a fierce conflict between the Free State and pro-slavery forces that had come to Kansas to settle and to battle. Westcott travels onward when the ammo supply is moved, but the vengeance-driven Quantrill insists upon remaining in Lawrence to indulge in one of the bloodiest and most sadistic raids in Kansas history. Some, including Quantrill, were killed in various engagements. Online shopping from a great selection at Home & Kitchen Store. The James brothers formed their own gang and conducted robberies for years as a continuing insurgency in the region. Among them was General Joseph O. Shelby, who rode south into Mexico with his troops, rather than surrender at the end of the war. A Negro who Quantrill used to spy on Lawrence, KS before the raid. In 1863 Quantrill undertook the raids that made his name feared in the region. A short description of William Quantrill's Raid of Lawrence, Kansas in September of 1863. The Missouri-Kansas border area was fertile ground for the outbreak of guerrilla warfare when the Civil War erupted in 1861. Cheatham, Gary. The Confederate government, which had granted Quantrill a field commission under the Partisan Ranger Act, was outraged and withdrew support for such irregular forces.

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