Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs Martin Kelly. In May 1863 the brothers discovered their family home was nothing more than charred ruins, courtesy of the Kansas Jayhawkers. The rest of his body was dragged through the streets. 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.. Some of the outlaws were relaxing, shedding tension with a sham battle of hurled corncobs and taking naps in a hayloft. Various experiments in counter-insurgency strategies failed to drive the guerrillas from the field by the end of the war. 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. William Clarke Quantrill (July 31, 1837 June 6, 1865) was a Confederate guerrilla leader and mass murderer[1] during the American Civil War. He mounted his horse and got partway down the street before falling prey to sharpshooters who lined the rooftops to prevent his escape. The guerrillas responded with a policy of no quarter, and black flags began to appear in the rebel ranks. In winter, when concealment was difficult, the guerrillas would head south to Texas until the foliage returned in Missouri, though they did not leave drunkenness, mayhem, and murder behind in their Texas sojourns. Quantrill was questioned as he lay motionless in the field, but still with a lot of contempt in him he gave his name as Captain William Clarke of the 4th Missouri Confederate Calvary and asked permission to be allowed to die where he lay. This left the field open to independent guerrilla commanders who took little if any direction from Confederate authorities. [15], On November 5, 1862, Quantrill joined Colonel Warner Lewis to stage an attack on Lamar, Missouri, where a company of the 8th Regiment Missouri Volunteer Cavalry protected a Union outpost. Castel Albert: Quantrills Bushwackers: A Case Study in Guerrilla Warfare, Winning and Losing in the Civil War: Essays and Stories (Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 1996), pp. 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. For the mostly teenage gunmen of Missouri, the war was more a matter of personal rebellion than political rebellion. Quantrill was born in Ohio on July 31, 1837. 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. Why, he sent me money all the time he was away from home, even when he was a Confederate soldier. [27] The historian Matthew Christopher Hulbert argues that Quantrill "ruled the bushwhacker pantheon" established by ex-Confederate officer and propagandist John Newman Edwards in the 1870s to provide Missouri with its own "irregular Lost Cause". He then moved to Oregon, acting as a cowpuncher and drover, before he reached British Columbia in the 1890s, where he worked in logging, trapping and finally as a mine caretaker at Coal Harbour at Quatsino. By the time the war started, Missouris pro-rebel guerrillas were known as Bushwackers, while their pro-Federal counterparts in Kansas were known as Jayhawkers or Redlegs from their preference for red pants as a type of uniform. Most of the Union prisoners begged for their lives. Even as the smoke cleared from the attack on Lawrence, Southern support for Quantrills Raiders was beginning to fade. Hand-in-hand with this was the terrorization of the civilian population by murder, torture, and property destruction. Quantrill continued his career as a teacher, moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in February 1856. Never having the nerve to face him in life they destroyed what they could with their horses and finished by urinating on what was left. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). 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. 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. He received medical attention in towns along the way when available. Explorers Most of the bands now consisted of reckless and ruthless teenagers with lots of violent energy but little judgment. The aims and reputation of the Confederacy would henceforth play little if any role in determining his strategy and tactics. For instance, he wrote to his good friend W.W. Scott in January 1858 that the Lecompton Constitution was a "swindle" and that James H. Lane, a Northern sympathizer, was "as good a man as we have here". He taught school briefly in Ohio and Illinois; in 1857 he moved to Kansas, and in . Despite their gain in notoriety and expansion in numbers, accompanied by increasing expertise in the American Indian style of guerrilla fighting, the group was considered undisciplined and dangerous. Frank James later claimed his brother Jesse was the one to kill Major Johnston, but this is questionable Jesse may not have even been there. 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. While his boyhood friends were busy kicking soccer balls and hitting baseballs, David was in the woods of Salem with paper and pencil, capturing the details of a perched barn swallow or a purple martin. [18] When Quantrill's men rode out at 9 a.m., most of Lawrence's buildings were burning, including all but two businesses. The local dentist, who doubled as the town photographer, was summoned to take two shots of Andersons corpse propped up in a chair. [12], On March 11, 1862, Quantrill joined Confederate forces under Colonel John T. Hughes and took part in attack on Independence, Missouri. There they burned down the entire town of Osceola and executed nine male civilians. Missouri was known for the quality of its horses and the bushwackers always had better mounts than the indifferent nags and worn-out plow-horses sent to Union troops in a Civil War backwater like Missouri. Some, like Lil Archie Clements, were unable to obtain favorable conditions and thus remained underarms. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. After Union troops removed the supports for the buildings central girder on the main floor, leading to the buildings collapse and the death of four women, including one of Andersons sisters. I lived in Kansas when this war commenced. Many witnesses described the guerrillas charging with reins between their teeth to enable revolver fire with both hands, but Frank James dismissed this in 1897 as dime novel stuff It was as important to hold the horse as it was to hold the pistol., The bushwackers never missed a chance to enrich themselves through the war, robbing stagecoaches, trains, shops, storehouses, and riverboats alike. Quantrills outraged band blamed the federal troops. William Clarke Quantrill was a leader of Confederate guerrilla forces during the American Civil War. A further order forcing the conscription of all able-bodied men into Union militias convinced many young men in Missouri to join the guerrillas instead. When asked why he joined Quantrill, Anderson replied by saying, "I have chosen guerrilla warfare to revenge myself for wrongs that I could not honorable revenge otherwise. 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. Fueling this conflict was a dispute over whether Kansas should be a slave-holding state or not. Terrells band consisted of about twenty men, and was organized for the express purpose of driving Quantrill from Kentucky. His letter also confirms Terrells reputation. Related Topics. 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. Price sought to incorporate most of them into his column rather than dispersing them throughout the state to draw off Union troops. Pre-loaded six-shot cylinders were carried in the pockets of their guerrilla shirts, allowing the guerrillas to quickly reload their weapons by swapping out the empty cylinders for full ones. Clements was only 21-years-old when he died on December 13, 1866. Beginning with a small group of men fighting the pre-war Kansas Jayhawkers, Quantrill eventually came to lead hundreds of guerrillas. The Union responded to the Lawrence massacre by driving away from the population of three Missouri counties and allowing Jennisons Redlegs to torch everything left. Lailah Gifty Akita These aren't accidents. With Anderson and Quantrill parting company before leaving Texas, Todd took command of the larger remaining splinter group. Although they mistrusted the 19-year-old William, his mother's pleadings persuaded them to let her son accompany them in an effort to get him to turn his life around. Showing search results for "William Quantrill" sorted by relevance. Unknown to Johnston, many more guerrillas lay in wait in the woods. Noland was one of five known Black Americans who rode with the Missouri bushwhackers. Viewed as outlaws, Quantrills men faced certain death if captured in Missouri. Terrell provided wagon transportation to a military hospital and prison in Louisville. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Dave Poole was one of Quantrills lieutenants and seems to have thought of himself as quite witty. The area was so thoroughly devastated that it became known thereafter as the "Burnt District". 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. For brave men there's never a bolt to his door. The Jayhawkers typically had access to Union arms and supplies while the guerrillas depended on foraging and the support of pro-secession families. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. As with any larger-than-life historical figure, Quantrills story proves difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine where fact ends and legend begins. I suggest you fortify yours if you hope to be of any use to us. 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. 11 (not to be confused with General Ulysses S. Grant's order of the same name). Quantrills last battle occurred in a pasture and wooded draw and barn lot near Taylorville in Spencer County, Kentucky, on May 10, 1865. 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". Others, like the James brothers, the Younger brothers, and the Shepherd brothers, found the transition into peacetime difficult, both because they enjoyed the bushwacking life, but also because they were forced to live in constant fear of arrest or lynching by vigilantes. Bills grey mare was found adorned with Union scalps. Andersons command rode into General Prices camp on October 11. "[8], In 1861, Quantrill went to Texas with the slaveholder Marcus Gill. Bill Anderson arrived in Kansas as a child in 1857 along with his Southern parents, two brothers, and three sisters. In the spring of 1865, now leading only a few dozen pro-confederates, Quantrill staged a series of raids in western Kentucky. A boyhood friend of Quantrill, the newspaper reporter William W. Scott, claimed to have dug up the Louisville grave in 1887 and to have brought Quantrill's remains back to Dover at the request of Quantrill's mother. 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. In the late 1890s, Langford settled in northwest Missouri, south of Albany. Another of Anderson's sisters, Mary, was permanently crippled in the collapse. According to Connelley in Quantrill and the Border Wars, The men of Captain Terrell went briskly up the lane, and, rising the swell, charged down upon the barn, unslinging carbines and getting pistols in hand. A squad of militiamen was sent to arrest him, but Clements burst out of the saloon firing furiously. By 1864 most of the older guerrillas who fought for the Confederacy had died, gone home, or joined the regular Confederate army. A dispute arose over the claim, and he went to court with Torrey and Beeson. Quantrill captured the military outpost and tried forcing the men to swear an oath to the Confederacy. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Clements, however, returned to town to have a drink with a friend. Many guerrilla leaders, like Quantrill, Anderson, and Todd, did not survive the war to give their own views and recorded nothing of consequence when alive (other than Andersons three letters to newspapers). He always divided his pay with me. . Scott was a personal friend of Quantrells [sic]. The letters Scott wrote to Langford were dated in the 1890s, as Scott collected facts for a book on Quantrill. A great memorable quote from the Kansas Raiders movie on Quotes.net - William Clarke Quantrill: [to Jesse] Napoleon made the profound observation that an army travels on its stomach. Accused of having lost his sand, Quantrill took a small nucleus of about forty loyal bushwhackers and headed east toward Kentucky. Anderson simply replied: Oh, string him up. 500 matching entries found. 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. The bodies lay so thick that Dave Poole amused himself counting them by jumping from body to body. The answer is yes to all. The Union officials, Palmer and Governor Thomas E. Bramlette, did not wish to see Quantrill staging a repeat of his performance in Missouri in 18621863. In reply to one of Scotts letters, Langford wrote, Col. Most of the early settlers who established homes, farms, and businesses in the northwest Missouri frontier were of Southern origin, hailing from states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. One small group of raiders headed across the cow pasture for the timber. With perhaps a bit of trepidation still in his heart, he delayed releasing much information locally except to family and close friends. God damn his little soul, hes a Dutchman anyway., Bill offered some simple advice to the citizens of Missouri: If you proclaim to be against the guerrillas I will kill you. (including. His father was Thomas Henry Quantrill, formerly of Hagerstown, Maryland, and his mother, Caroline Cornelia Clark, was a native of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Others, like William Anderson, had already entered a dark abyss from which there was no return and no escape except death. As passions faded over the post-war decades, the Missouri guerrillas began to hold reunions in 1898 like other Confederate units. Upon reaching adulthood, Quantrill briefly taught school in Ohio. The brave marshals do their best but they are few in number. Privacy Policies, Heritage Post Before they could load again, Andersons men were among them with pistols blazing as scores of guerrillas poured out of the woods. John Langford appeared to be a cautious man. Quantrill's men believed that the collapse was deliberate, which fanned them into a fury. These men went on to epitomize the lawlessness of the Wild West and their post-war violence has been both glorified and villainized in popular culture ever since.

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