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Again, were those 2 pistols found on the horse or were there more as Cox's statement was in the plural. And that is the terrible truth of the story of Bloody Bill Anderson. Operating against Unionists in the midst of the guerrilla war in Missouri and Kansas, he was a leading figure in the infamous Lawrence Massacre and the Centralia Massacre, gaining the nickname "Bloody Bill" for the perceived savagery of his exploits. [68] The letters were given to Union generals and were not published for 20 years. [80] In 1863, most Union troops left Missouri and only four regiments remained there. From July 1861 until the end of the war, the state suffered up to 25,000 deaths from guerrilla warfare, more than any other state. After hearing of the engagement, General Fisk commanded a colonel to lead a party with the sole aim of killing Anderson. William T. Anderson (1840 - Oct. 26, 1864) known as "Bloody Bill" Anderson was one of the deadliest and most brutal pro-Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. If you're a fan of games like Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption or Gameloft's Six-Guns: Gang Showdown, The Wild West is definitely worth checking out. Topics and series. [163], Historians have been mixed in their appraisal of Anderson. Anderson's prodigious talents for bloodshed were such that, by the end of his life in 1864, he'd left a trail of destruction across three states which took just two years to blaze. Anderson and his men were in the rear of the charge, but gathered a large amount of plunder from the dead soldiers, irritating some guerrillas from the front line of the charge. A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri. Answer: Coffeyville. They murdered my family when I was a schoolboy and I was launched into a life of shooting, reprisals and rough-riding." Only advantage would have been if you were behind a barrier, in a gun battle. Anyway, as Baker had achieved his mission & as Anderson & his troops entered the ambush. [21][f] William Quantrill, a Confederate guerrilla leader, later claimed to have encountered Reed's company in July and rebuked them for robbing Confederate sympathizers;[22] in their biography of Anderson, Albert Castel and Tom Goodrich speculate that this rebuke may have resulted in a deep resentment of Quantrill by Anderson. and M.A. As you said, they could have obtained pistols from the local population but remember, the average farmer probably wouldn't have shelled out the $15.00 to buy a sidearm as he was more dependent on a long arm & $15.00 was a fortune. The Missouri Partisan Ranger Act , On July 17, 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas Hindman issued the Missouri Partisan Ranger Act. William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson (circa 1838 - October 26, 1864) was a pro-Confederate guerrilla leader in the American Civil War. . [37] Castel and Goodrich maintain that by then killing had become more than a means to an end for Anderson: it became an end in itself. Below is one of the articles written by Brownwood Banner - Bulletin staff writer Henry C. Fuller after Interviewing William C. "Bloody Bill" Anderson of Quantrill's Guerrillas of the Civil War at his home at Salt Creek, Brown County, Texas in 1924. Bloody Bill Anderson - Lies and Sensationalism. A Note on Sources [117] However, Frank James, who participated in the attack, later defended the guerrillas' actions, arguing that the federal troops were marching under a black flag, indicating that they intended to show no mercy. An unusual event made a guerrilla out of William Anderson. During the American Civil War, the James family sided with the Confederates, and Frank and Jesse James joined a group of guerrillas, or . Born in the late 1830s, His family had been living in Council Grove, Territory of Kansas, at the start of the war. [99][100] As the guerrillas robbed the stagecoach passengers, a train arrived. [72] Anderson's men robbed the town's depository, gaining about $40,000 (equivalent to $693,000 in 2021) in the robbery, although Anderson returned some money to the friend he had met at the hotel. The muzzle-loaders required no special ammunition or training and were effective out to about seventy-five or one hundred yards. He visited the house of a well-known Union sympathizer, the wealthiest resident of the town, brutally beat him, and raped his 12- or 13-year-old black servant. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 West Main Street, Richmond MO 64085, United States of America. Even before Union forces finally shot him down in his final gunfight, the man called Bloody Bill had become equal parts legend and infamous nightmare. Missouri's southern sympathizers hated Union Brig. [29] In the resulting skirmish, several raiders were captured or killed and the rest of the guerrillas, including Anderson, split into small groups to return to Missouri. [35] In the aftermath, rumors that the building had been intentionally sabotaged by Union soldiers spread quickly;[36] Anderson was convinced it had been a deliberate act. 2, in March 1862, allowed Union troops in Missouri to hang guerillas as robbers and murder[er]s. Future orders followed the same tone. [143] The victory made a hero of Cox and led to his promotion. [88] On August 27, Union soldiers killed at least three of Anderson's men in an engagement near Rocheport. [148] Union soldiers buried Anderson's body in a field near Richmond in a fairly well-built coffin. , Cole Younger, 1913. They also burnt Baker's home and stole two of his horses before returning to Missouri on the Santa Fe Trail. [15] The Anderson brothers escaped, but Baker was captured and spent four months in prison before returning to Kansas, professing loyalty to the Union. [10], After the Civil War began in 1861, the demand for horses increased and Anderson transitioned from trading horses to stealing them, reselling them as far away as New Mexico. Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers. The most infamous order came in response to a brutal guerilla attack on Lawrence, Kan. It is possible that Jim Anderson might have married Bloody Bill's widow IF the 22 August 1866 marriage of J. M. Anderson and Malinda Anderson was the marriage of James Madison Anderson and Malinda Bush Smith. . The Gun manufacturers did not provide extra cylinders for each firearm sold. [24] Confederate General Sterling Price failed to gain control of Missouri in his 1861 offensive and retreated into Arkansas, leaving only partisan rangers and local guerrillas known as "bushwhackers" to challenge Union dominance. [79] General Clinton B. Fisk ordered his men to find and kill Anderson, but they were thwarted by Anderson's support network and his forces' superior training and arms. Residents resented seizure of supplies and the increasingly harsh measures to control them. [65], On July 6, a Confederate sympathizer brought Anderson newspapers containing articles about him. One of the leading authorities on the Civil War in the western theater, Albert Edward Castel earned his B.A. This historical marker was erected by Missouri State Parks. By August 1864, they were regularly scalping the men they killed. Anderson was known for his brutality towards Union soldiers, and pro Union partisans, who were called Jayhawkers. The next day, the elder Anderson traveled to the Council Grove courthouse with a gun, intending to force Baker to withdraw the warrant. Erected by Missouri State Parks. [48] After a dead raider was scalped by a Union-allied Lenape Indian during the pursuit, one guerrilla leader pledged to adopt the practice of scalping. [149] Some of them cut off one of his fingers to steal a ring. He thought the cashier was an informant. Bloody Bill dead. After the attack, one of Anderson's guerrillas scalped a dead militiaman. Longley's Bloody Bill Anderson Mystery Group on July 13, 2009: " Francis M Richardson was a carpenter as shown in the 1860 Grayson County Texas Census. It is in Richmond in Ray County Missouri, "The war brought on hate and strife and killing around here. 100, in April 1863, set a national policy, outlining guerrillas and their treatment. Bloody Bill's Guns Bill Langley had used a number of different guns during his career as a killer. After the war, several guerrillas, such as Frank and Jesse James, continued their violent behaviors, becoming infamous outlaws. Anderson, perhaps falsely, implicated Quantrill in a murder, leading to the latter's arrest by Confederate authorities. [73], In June 1864, George M. Todd usurped Quantrill's leadership of their group and forced him to leave the area. [47] The raiding party was pursued by Union forces but eventually managed to break contact with the soldiers and scatter into the Missouri woods. Barbed Wire Press. They attacked the fort on October 6, but the 90 Union troops there quickly took refuge inside, suffering minimal losses. Some bands of guerrillas, like William Quantrill's, had 400 or more members, but most were much smaller. 3916.725N, 9358.603W. Marker is in Richmond, Missouri, in Ray County. [Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read] However, most were hunted down and killed. Cole Younger, 1913, The Federal command in St. Louis, Mo. In October of 1864, Anderson's unit was trapped and outnumbered in Missouri, and 'Bloody Bill' was killed when he charged the Union troops. They found the guerrillas' horses decorated with the scalps of Union soldiers. Bloody Bill was played by John Russell who played Marshall Stockburn in Pale Rider. Anderson himself was killed a month later in battle. General Orders No. My 1888 Luscomb #b. The decree exiled about 10,000 people in Jackson, Cass, Bates and northern Vernon counties in Missouri. They also targeted strategically important infrastructure like bridges, telegraph lines and railroads. His family had been living in Council Grove, Territory of Kansas at the . Bloody Bill Anderson Also included in the list was Cole Younger, whose father was killed by the Kansans, and his mother made homeless after watching their house burn to the ground. William Thomas Anderson was born in Randolph County, Missouri in 1837, the exact date and location of his birth, remain uncertain. Born about 1839 in Kentucky, the family early moved to Missouri, where William grew up near the town of Huntsville in Randolph County. Anderson was hit by a bullet behind an ear, likely killing him instantly. They often used unorthodox tactics to fight Union troops, such as using a small party of horsemen to lure them into an ambush. They acquired arms where they could, including taking what was left behind on the battlefield. Often bushwhackers wore stolen Union uniforms as a disguise. Actor: Rio Bravo. [Map inset] Nearby Civil War attractions include Pioneer Cemetery and Ray County Museum in Richmond, Mo. 2, in March 1862, allowed Union troops in Missouri to hang guerillas as robbers and murder[er]s. Future orders followed the same tone. In 1908, the ex-guerrillas and former outlaws Jim Cummins and Cole Younger arranged for a funeral service at Anderson's gravesite. [11] He joined the freight shipping operation for which his father worked and was given a position known as "second boss" for a wagon trip to New Mexico. Stockburn gets a good look at the Preacher and says "YOU". [14] However, the group was attacked by the Union's 6th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry in Vernon County, Missouri;[e] the cavalry likely assumed they were Confederate guerrillas. Missouri's southern sympathizers hated Union Brig. Their move to Kansas was likely for economic rather than political reasons. . Anderson reached a Confederate Army camp; although he hoped to kill some injured Union prisoners there, he was prevented from doing so by camp doctors. These "guerrilla shirts" were pullovers with a deep v-neckline and four large pockets. Bill and Jim Anderson soon after this drifted off to the Sni Hills, in Missouri, where they had relatives. Anderson was under Quantrill's command, but independently organized some attacks. Jesse James and his brother Frank were among the Missourians who joined Anderson; both of them later became notorious outlaws. Anderson's men mutilated the bodies, earning the guerrillas the description of "incarnate fiends" from the Columbia Missouri Statesman. The life of a guerrilla was difficult and violent. . [85], In early August, Anderson and his men traveled to Clay County. The defeat resulted in the deaths of five guerrillas but only two Union soldiers, further maddening Anderson. [54] During the winter, Anderson married Bush Smith, a woman from Sherman, Texas. (. "Born in Kentucky in 1839 before moving to Missouri and eventually living in Kansas when the Civil War started, Bill Anderson soon earned the nom de plume "Bloody Bill.". On the other hand, the use of tactics like arson, robbery and murder seemed beyond the bounds of honorable combat. The Man Who Killed Quantrill. William T. Anderson[a] (c. 1840 October 26, 1864), known by the nickname "Bloody Bill" Anderson, was a soldier who was one of the deadliest and most notorious Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. In 1976, the book was adapted into a film, The Outlaw Josey Wales, which portrays a man who joins Anderson's gang after his wife is killed by Union-backed raiders. They murdered my family when I was a schoolboy and I was launched into a life of shooting, reprisals and rough-riding." From the town, they saw a group of about 120 guerrillas and pursued them. [2] His siblings were Jim, Ellis, Mary Ellen, Josephine and Janie. [7][b] Animosity and violence between the two sides quickly developed in what was called Bleeding Kansas, but there was little unrest in the Council Grove area. [158] He was later discussed in biographies of Quantrill, which typically cast Anderson as an inveterate murderer. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. By 1860 the .44- caliber New Model Army revolver soon rivaled the Navy on which it was based. [52] Not satisfied with the number killed, Anderson and Todd wished to attack the fort again, but Quantrill considered another attack too risky. [55] Anderson ignored Quantrill's request to wait until after the war and a dispute erupted, which resulted in Anderson separating his men from Quantrill's band. They relied on knowledge of the local terrain for survival. Anderson and his men camped with at least 300 men, including Todd. Burial. [9][d] On June 28, 1860, William's mother, Martha Anderson, died after being struck by lightning. He favored swift execution of captured guerrillas. Operating against Unionists in the midst of the guerrilla war in Missouri and Kansas, he was a leading figure in the infamous Lawrence Massacre and the Centralia Massacre, gaining the nickname "Bloody Bill" for the perceived savagery of his exploits. Quantrill attained near-unanimous consent to travel 40 miles (64km) into Union territory to strike Lawrence. They had sworn to be revenged for the death of their father, and made their troubles an excuse for the career of bushwhacking in which they engaged with the Quantrill gang. ; Battle of Lexington State Historic Site in Lexington, Mo. Baker, a local judge who was a Confederate sympathizer. On March 12, 1864, in the midst of a bloody war which had long overflowed its thimble, Margaret Brooks was returning from her home near Memphis, Tennessee when her wagon broke down in Nonconnah Creek. Gen. Henry Halleck's General Orders No. On October 2, a group of 450 guerrillas under Quantrill's leadership met at Blackwater River in Jackson County and left for Texas. Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. USA. In late 1863, while Quantrill's Raiders spent the winter in Sherman, Texas, animosity developed between Anderson and Quantrill. 11, but guerrilla activity continued throughout the war in other regions of the state. After a former friend and secessionist turned Union loyalist judge killed his father, Anderson killed the judge and fled to Missouri. In 1908, the ex-guerrillas and former outlaws Jim Cummins and Cole Younger arranged for a funeral service at Anderson's gravesite. [39] Anderson was placed in charge of 40 men, of which he was perhaps the angriest and most motivatedhis fellow guerrillas considered him one of the deadliest fighters there. The Dalton boys grew up outside of Coffeyville and . It is said that "Bloody Bill" Anderson carried six to eight revolvers with him at any point. If they were Bill's, he would have had 7 pistols on his person which to me is a little hard to believe. [145], Union soldiers identified Anderson by a letter found in his pocket and paraded his body through the streets of Richmond, Missouri. The guerrillas gathered at the Blackwater River in Johnson County, Missouri. If they were caught, Federals considered them criminals not prisoners of war. The Death of William Anderson 17 reviews The first-ever biography of the perpetrator of the Centralia and Baxter Springs Massacres, as well as innumerable atrocities during the Civil War in the West. Residents. [127] Although many of them wished to execute this Union hostage, Anderson refused to allow it. They may be found on the 1850 Census of Randolph County,MO. For the more effectual annoyance of the enemy upon our rivers and in our mountains and woods all citizens of this district who are not conscripted are called upon to organize themselves into independent companies of mounted men or infantry, as they prefer, arming themselves and to serve in that part of the district to which they belong. . The .500 Bushwhacker is the biggest, baddest handgun cartridge in the world right now. At least 40 members of the 17th Illinois Cavalry and the Missouri State Militia were in town and took shelter in a fort. (, In his biography of Quantrill, historian Duane Schultz counters that General, Some accounts of Anderson's death relate that he was decapitated and his head impaled on a telegraph pole. "Bloody" Bill Anderson (1840-1864), the most prolific mass murderer on the American frontier. [115], By the end of the day, Anderson's men had killed 22 soldiers from the train and 125 soldiers in the ensuing battle in one of the most decisive guerrilla victories of the entire war. [144] Four other guerrillas were killed in the attack. Anderson is loosely portrayed by Jim Caviezel as Black John Ambrose in the 1999 Ang Lee film Ride With The Devil. [131] Price instructed Anderson to travel to the Missouri railroad and disrupt rail traffic,[129] making Anderson a de facto Confederate captain. . Raised by a family of Southerners in Kansas, Anderson began to support himself by stealing and selling horses in 1862. It was Anderson's greatest victory, surpassing Lawrence and Baxter Springs in brutality and the number of casualties. Note: Click on photos to get larger view. He was killed in a Union ambush near Richmond, MO. [91], Anderson met Todd and Quantrill on September 24, 1864; although they had clashed in the past, they agreed to work together again. [46] They left town at 9:00am after a company of Union soldiers approached the town. A lot of the federal troops in Missouri were Infantry & only the officer's would have pistols. 1. Union troops used horses to drag Anderson's body through the streets around the Ray County Courthouse. World War Memorial (here, next to this marker); World War II and Korean War Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Vietnam War Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Richmond (within shouting distance of this marker); Pvt. Bloody Bill pulled his revolver, shot and killed both. Around the same time, William T. Anderson fatally shot a member of the Kaw tribe outside Council Grove; he claimed that the man had tried to rob him. Fueling this conflict was a dispute over whether Kansas should be a slave-holding state or not. One way he sought to prove that loyalty was by severing his ties with Anderson's sister Mary, his former lover. Two Confederate soldiers carrying double-barreled shotguns, a favorite weapon early in the Civil War. Smaller bands avoided fights with larger detachments of Union soldiers, preferring to ambush stragglers or loot Union supporters and their property. 4. This may help as far as relatives of Bloody Bill Anderson,who was William T.Anderson born 1839,son of William Anderson and Martha Thomasson. [104] Anderson forced the captured Union soldiers to form a line and announced that he would keep one for a prisoner exchange but would execute the rest. Anderson's bushwhacking marked him as a dangerous man and eventually led the Union to imprison his sisters. He took a leading role in the Lawrence Massacre and later took part in the Battle of Baxter Springs, both in 1863. Desperate to put a stop to Anderson's bloodshed, the Union Army eventually raised a small militia to hunt him down. They buried him in an unmarked grave in Richmond's Pioneer Cemetery. [58], A short time later, one of Anderson's men was accused of stealing from one of Quantrill's men. Historians have made disparate appraisals of Anderson; some see him as a sadistic, psychopathic killer, while others put his actions into the perspective of the general desperation and lawlessness of the time and the brutalization effect of war. I do not claim to be an expert on guerrilla warfare in Missouri but am a student of the war in general. Quantrill disliked the idea because the town was fortified, but Anderson and Todd prevailed. One one hand, they were useful, serving to tie down Union forces. [135] After Confederate forces under General Joseph O. Shelby conquered Glasgow, Anderson traveled to the city to loot. [83] On August 1, while searching for militia members, Anderson and some of his men stopped at a house full of women and requested food. On August 30, Anderson and his men attacked a steamboat on the Missouri River, killing the captain and gaining control of the boat. ; Battle of Lexington State Historic Site in Lexington, Mo. II. Carrying multiple loaded guns gave them an edge against soldiers equipped with a single-shot, muzzle-loading musket. 100, in April 1863, set a national policy, outlining guerrillas and their treatment. Your choice of white or . Wood believes that these stories are inaccurate, citing a lack of documentary evidence. The attacks prompted the Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce to declare that rebels had taken over the area. Soon after Anderson left Glasgow, a local woman saw him and told Cox of his presence. Cox stated that he went out & took one of Anderson's pistols along with money & a gold watch. [1] By 1860, the young William T. Anderson was a joint owner of a 320-acre (1.3km2) property that was worth $500;[c] his family had a total net worth of around $1,000. They relied on knowledge of the local terrain for survival. Dec 28, 2022. Community & Conflict website entry (Submitted on October 1, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.) Although he learned that Union General Egbert B. Anderson was fatally shot twice in the back of the head. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers War, US Civil. They drew the Union troops to the top of a hill; a group of guerrillas led by Anderson had been stationed at the bottom and other guerrillas hid nearby. Gen. John McNeil, the "Butcher of Palmyra." View character biography, pictures and memorable quotes. [60][61][62] They told General Cooper that Quantrill was responsible for the death of a Confederate officer; the general had Quantrill arrested. [136][137] Anderson indicated that he was particularly angry that the man had freed his slaves, then trampled him with a specially trained horse. The Tactical Genius of Bloody Bill Anderson by Sean McLachlan 2/13/2018 His ruthless nature earned his moniker and obscured a flair for strategy. The Missouri Partisan Ranger Act While on public display, a local photographer documented his death. 100% heavyweight Gildan brand cotton t-shirt. Violence dropped in the area affected by Order No. [124] Anderson watched the fire from nearby bluffs. [143] Only Anderson and one other man, the son of a Confederate general, continued to charge after the others had retreated. [139], Union military leaders assigned Lieutenant Colonel Samuel P. Cox to kill Anderson, providing him with a group of experienced soldiers. "Bring Lieutenant Coleman to me." Details on John (b. By Glynda July 23, 2006 at 03:01:32. And a lot of the Cavalry didn't have sidearms early in the war. William "Bloody Bill" Anderson . [107] The guerrillas set the passenger train on fire and derailed an approaching freight train. Many bushwhackers wore a distinctive shirt, such as this one on T.F. The tension between the two groups markedly increasedsome feared open warfare would resultbut by the time of the wedding, relations had improved. The rest rushed to obey the orders. "The war brought on hate and strife and killing around here. Bloody Bill Anderson - Etsy Check out our bloody bill anderson selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Anderson planned to destroy railroad infrastructure in Centralia, Missouri. [113] One Union officer reached Centralia and gave word of the ambush, allowing a few Union soldiers who had remained there to escape. General Orders No. His family had been living in Council Grove, Territory of Kansas at the start of the war. This would effectively put Bloody Bill on the list of about 450 confederate guerrillas who rode into Lawrence on that fateful day. After Frank and Jesse James joined the Anderson band, they robbed a train of $3,000 and executed 25 Union soldiers on board. [59] It is likely that this incident angered Anderson, who then took 20 men to visit the town of Sherman. It's either the flesh eating . The Fate of the Bushwhackers [129] Anderson presented him with a gift of fine Union pistols, likely captured at Centralia. Notorious Confederate bushwhacker Bloody Bill Anderson Three bushwackers; Arch Clements, Dave Pool, and Bill Hendricks. Although some men begged him to spare them, he persisted, only relenting when a woman pleaded with him not to torch her house. [50] Shortly after the initial assault, a larger group of Union troops approached Fort Blair, unaware the fort had been attacked and that the men they saw outside the fort dressed in Union uniforms were actually disguised guerrillas. As soon as the company attains the strength required by law it will proceed to elect the other officers to which it is entitled. [56] In March 1864, at the behest of General Sterling Price, Quantrill reassembled his men, sending most of them into active duty with the regular Confederate Army. Gen. Henry Halleck. The Bushwhacker in Missouri. Again, as I posted earlier, only those that carried the Model 1861 Remington could possibly have availed themselves to this convenience as all the other sidearms took some time to change out the cylinder. William "Bloody Bill" Anderson A sociopath who lived for spilling blood, William Anderson was one of the most fearsome leaders of Confederate guerrillas in Civil War Missouri. I will have to go through my library to see what I can find. Biographer Larry Wood claimed that Anderson's sisters aided the guerrillas by gathering information inside Union-controlled territory. On Oct. 27, 1864, about 300 men of the Enrolled Missouri Militia, led by Union Lt. Col. Samuel P. Cox, ambushed Anderson and his guerrilla force in Ray County's Albany, Mo. . A lack of Confederate military presence in Missouri led Southern sympathizers to form guerrilla groups to harass Union soldiers and pro-Union citizens. Marshal, but spoke amicably with an acquaintance he found there. The Dalton gang, cousins of the Younger brothers and imitators of the James gang, met their end at a bloody dual bank robbery in this Kansas town. Eventually, the six-shot revolver became the weapon of choice for the bushwhacker because it was considered better for firing from horseback. [130] Price was disgusted that Anderson used scalps to decorate his horse, and would not speak with him until he removed them. They used it to attack other boats, bringing river traffic to a virtual halt. After a building collapse in the makeshift jail in Kansas City, Missouri, left one of them dead in custody and the other permanently maimed, Anderson devoted himself to revenge. [29], In early summer 1863, Anderson was made a lieutenant, serving in a unit led by George M. Todd.

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