William Quantrill – Renegade Leader of the Missouri Border War
"Without any ties to the South or to slavery, he chose the Confederacy apparently because, in Missouri, this allowed him to attack all symbols of authority. He attracted to his gang some of the most psychopathic killers in American history." – James McPherson on Quantrill
The name William Quantrill evokes a chilling image, a figure synonymous with the brutal and unforgiving Missouri Border War. As the leader of one of the most savage fighting bands of the era, William Quantrill cemented his place in history as a ruthless bushwhacker, leaving a trail of destruction and bloodshed that continues to haunt the annals of American history. His actions, driven by a complex and arguably twisted ideology, propelled him to the forefront of the conflict, making him a figure of both notoriety and terror.
Born on July 31, 1837, William Quantrill entered the world to parents Thomas Henry and Caroline Cornelia (Clarke) Quantrill. Early accounts paint a disturbing picture of a child exhibiting cruel tendencies. Stories abound of young Quantrill torturing animals, seemingly deriving pleasure from their suffering. This alleged cruelty foreshadowed the man he would become, a man capable of immense violence and seemingly devoid of empathy for his victims.
His early adulthood offered a veneer of normalcy. He briefly worked as a schoolteacher in Ohio and Illinois. However, this peaceful existence was short-lived. In 1857, he fled to Kansas, allegedly to evade charges of horse theft, marking the beginning of his descent into a life of lawlessness and violence. His time in Kansas was initially brief, as he joined an army provision train heading to Utah in 1858. This journey proved to be a pivotal moment in his ideological transformation.
Along the trail to Utah, the young William Quantrill, who had been raised in a Unionist household, encountered numerous pro-slavery Southerners. These encounters profoundly influenced his beliefs, swaying him toward the Confederate cause. Once in Utah, adopting the alias "Charles Hart," he embraced a life of gambling and quickly became associated with several murders and thefts around Fort Bridger, Wyoming, and other locations in the territory. With warrants for his arrest mounting, he once again fled, returning to Kansas a changed man.
In December 1860, William Quantrill engaged in a deceptive act that revealed his emerging ruthlessness. He joined a group of Free-State men from Kansas with the stated intention of freeing the slaves of a Missouri man named Morgan Walker. However, Quantrill’s participation was a calculated ruse. He volunteered to scout the area, feigning loyalty to the Jayhawkers while secretly plotting their demise. He returned with Walker, ambushing the four Kansas men, killing three of them in cold blood, betraying the men he pretended to support.
The outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861 provided William Quantrill with an opportunity to fully embrace his newfound Confederate sympathies. He joined Confederate forces and fought at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Oak Hills, Missouri, in August 1861. This battle marked the beginning of the Civil War in Missouri, a state that would become a battleground characterized by savage and relentless guerrilla warfare.
By late 1861, Quantrill grew dissatisfied with what he perceived as the Confederate’s lack of aggression in prosecuting the war against Union troops. Fueled by this discontent, he took it upon himself to adopt a more confrontational approach, forming his own guerrilla band, known as Quantrill’s Raiders. Initially a small force of no more than a dozen men, this pro-slavery band began to launch independent attacks on Union camps, patrols, and settlements.
By 1862, Quantrill’s band of marauders had swelled to over one hundred men, attracting both ardent pro-slavery citizens and Confederate soldiers. This growth solidified his position as the most powerful leader among the numerous bands of Border Ruffians who were pillaging the region. Among those drawn to his banner were future outlaws like Frank and Jesse James and the Younger Brothers. Quantrill justified his actions as retribution for perceived wrongs committed by Kansas Jayhawkers and Federal authorities. Throughout the year, his band engaged in acts of robbery, ambushed Union mail, attacked Federal patrols, and raided boats on the Missouri River. His inherent nature as an outlaw, murderer, and thief made him a perfect fit for the brutal tactics of guerrilla warfare, which he exploited for his own gain through profitable hit-and-run attacks on pro-Union sympathizers and Federal troops.
On August 11, 1862, Confederate forces under the command of Colonel J.T. Hughes, including William Quantrill and his men, launched a dawn attack on Independence, Missouri. They stormed through the town, targeting the Union Army camp and capturing, killing, and scattering the Union soldiers stationed there. Although Colonel Hughes was killed during the fighting, the Confederates successfully seized Independence, gaining temporary control of the Kansas City area. Quantrill’s role in the capture of Independence led to his commission as a captain in the Confederate Army, a recognition of his growing influence and military prowess.
On the evening of September 6, 1862, William Quantrill led his Confederate guerrillas, numbering between 125 and 150 men, in a raid against Olathe, Kansas. The raid resulted in the deaths of half a dozen people and the destruction of much of the town. Quantrill captured the military outpost and attempted to force the men to swear an oath to the Confederacy. However, the oath was later deemed invalid in November 1862, as the guerrillas were not recognized as legitimate enemy military units. Despite this, the Kansas militia continued to occupy the Olathe military post for the remainder of the Civil War.
On October 17, 1862, William Quantrill and his band set their sights on Shawnee, Kansas. As they approached their destination, they encountered a Federal supply train and captured 12 unarmed men. These 12 drivers and Union escorts were later found dead, with all but one shot in the head. Quantrill and his band then attacked the town, killing two men and burning the settlement to the ground.
Shortly thereafter, William Quantrill traveled to Richmond, Virginia, seeking a regular command under the Confederate Partisan Ranger Act. However, his reputation for brutality had preceded him, and his request was denied, signaling a growing unease within the Confederate ranks regarding his methods.
Around the same time, Major General Henry W. Halleck, Commander of the Department of Missouri, issued an order stating that guerrillas like William Quantrill and his men would be treated as robbers and murderers, rather than ordinary prisoners of war. This proclamation further escalated the conflict, as Quantrill’s tactics became even more aggressive, and he abandoned any pretense of adhering to the principles of accepting enemy surrender.
In May 1863, William Quantrill and his band moved closer to the Missouri-Kansas border. Brigadier General Thomas Ewing, Jr., who commanded the district border, was unhappy with their presence and issued General Order Number 11. This order stated that any person, regardless of age or gender, who was directly involved in aiding a band of guerrillas would be jailed.
The intention behind General Order Number 11 was to deprive the Border Ruffians of food and shelter, forcing them to leave the area. Consequently, women and children were rounded up and placed in a dilapidated three-story building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Federal troops paid particular attention to the known relatives of the Border Ruffians, including family members of "Bloody Bill" Anderson and the Younger Brothers.
Despite clear signs of the building’s instability, such as large cracks in the walls and ceilings and significant amounts of mortar dust on the floor, these warnings were ignored. On August 13, 1863, the building collapsed, killing five women and injuring dozens of others.
Among those killed and injured in the collapse were close relatives of prominent Confederate guerrillas, including Josephine Anderson, sister of "Bloody Bill" Anderson; Susan Crawford Vandever and Armenia Crawford Selvey, cousins of Cole Younger; Charity McCorkle Kerr, wife of Quantrill’s member Nathan Kerr; and a woman named Mrs. Wilson. Many others suffered injuries and lasting scars. Caroline Younger, sister to Cole and James Younger, died two years later due to her injuries. Another Anderson sister was left crippled for life after her legs were broken in the incident.
News of the collapse spread quickly, reaching the families of the dead and injured, sparking outrage and grief. Crowds gathered around the ruins as the dead and wounded were carried away, shouting accusations of "Murder!" at the Union forces. William Quantrill and his men later claimed that the building had been deliberately weakened, using the tragedy as justification for their infamous attack on Lawrence, Kansas, which was soon to follow.
Early on the morning of August 21, 1863, William Quantrill, along with his murderous force of approximately 400 men, descended upon the unsuspecting town of Lawrence, Kansas. Fueled by a burning desire for revenge against the free-state headquarters town, Quantrill launched his assault on the Jayhawker community.
In this carefully orchestrated early morning raid, which lasted for four horrific hours, William Quantrill and his band transformed the town into a bloody and blazing inferno, unparalleled in its brutality.
The bushwhackers began their reign of terror at 5:00 a.m., looting and burning as they advanced, intent on the complete destruction of the town, which had a population of less than 3,000 residents at the time. By the time the raid was over, they had murdered approximately 180 men and boys, leaving Lawrence a smoldering ruin.
The Lawrence Massacre triggered swift retribution, as Union troops forced the residents of four Missouri border counties onto the open prairie by issuing General Order #11 on August 25, 1863. The order mandated that all persons living in Cass, Jackson, Bates, and part of Vernon counties immediately evacuate their homes, effectively turning the area into a "No-Man’s Land." Federal troops and Kansas Jayhawkers promptly burned and looted everything left behind.
Having been pushed back, William Quantrill moved his men to Texas. On their way south, Quantrill’s well-mounted and armed force of 400 men encountered the 100-man headquarters escort of Union General James G. Blunt. Quantrill’s band attacked on October 6, 1863, killing more than eighty men in what became known as the Baxter Springs Massacre.
Upon arriving in Texas, William Quantrill reported to General Henry E. McCulloch in Bonham on October 26, 1863. Quantrill and his men were tasked with rounding up the growing number of deserters and conscription dodgers in North Texas. However, the band captured only a few but killed even more, prompting McCulloch to relieve them of this duty. The General then sent them to track down retreating Comanches from a recent raid on the northwest frontier, but they were unsuccessful.
During their winter in Texas, Quantrill’s lieutenant, William "Bloody Bill" Anderson, took some men to form his own group. With two such groups operating in the area, Texas residents became targets for raids and acts of violence, forcing regular Confederate forces to protect residents from the activities of the irregular Confederate forces.
Determined to rid North Texas of William Quantrill‘s influence, General McCulloch arrested him on March 28, 1864, on charges 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 (Oklahoma), where they re-supplied from Confederate stores and began the long journey back to Missouri.
Soon, his guerrilla band began to splinter into smaller units, and his vicious lieutenant, "Bloody Bill" Anderson, known for wearing a necklace of Yankee scalps into battle, continued to terrorize the state of Missouri. As William Quantrill‘s authority over his followers diminished, they elected George Todd, a former lieutenant to Quantrill, as their new leader.
Anderson’s notoriety peaked during a massacre and battle with Union soldiers at Centralia, Missouri, on September 27, 1864. He led a band of about 70 men into the town, some of whom wore Union uniforms. The guerrillas showed no mercy to the Centralia residents as they systematically raided homes and stores. They stopped a train approaching Centralia, and Anderson’s men discovered 23 unarmed Union soldiers on leave. The soldiers were taken from the train and ordered to disrobe. After isolating one soldier, Sergeant Tom Goodman, 22 soldiers were shot and killed as horrified Centralia residents and train passengers looked on.
Sergeant Goodman, whom the Anderson guerrillas took hostage, survived to write about the entire affair after the Civil War.
In their final act of destruction, the guerrillas set fire to the Centralia Depot, sacked and set fire to the train, and then sent it westward without a crew, causing it to crash and be destroyed. A month later, Anderson was killed in battle near Orrick, Missouri.
Meanwhile, William Quantrill decided to lead a company of men to Washington, D.C., to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in an attempt to regain prestige. He gathered a group of raiders in Lafayette County, Missouri, in November and December 1864 to carry out this task. However, the strength of Union troops east of the Mississippi River convinced him that his plan was doomed to fail. Quantrill turned back and resumed his pattern of raiding.
With a group of 33 men, he entered Kentucky early in 1865. In May, a Unionist irregular force surprised his group near Taylorsville, Kentucky. During the ensuing battle, William Quantrill was shot through the spine. He died at the military prison in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 6, 1865. He is buried at the Missouri Confederate Soldier’s Memorial in Higginsville, Missouri.