Background info
Kansas, like Missouri, was considered a part of the Union; however, this didn't do much to prevent Confederate guerrillas and pro-slavery groups that may not have aligned themselves with the Confederacy from entering and inciting warfare. Kansas, for the longest time, was a center of warfare between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups, even before the Civil War; Bleeding Kansas was a preview for what was to come. Lawrence, Kansas was always a target for pro-slavery groups as it was seen as a stronghold for anti-slavery groups and staging zones for Union troops and Jayhawkers. During the beginning of the Civil War, members of the town were on constant alert and reacted strongly to any rumors of enemies possibly advancing towards the town. Especially after the Second Battle of Springfield and the capture of Lexington by rebel forces. But by 1863, since no threats were ever followed through, defense preparations were lowered.
Even though threats directed at the town never materialized, and there were a sufficient amount of vigilant Unionist forces to keep any gangs at bay, the citizens never felt completely safe. Mayor Collamore, early in the summer, suggested there be a squad of soldiers stationed in Lawrence. The squad was led by Lieutenant Hadley. He also had a brother who wrote to him around the first of August that his spies were in Quantrill's camp and talked freely to Quantrill's troops. One of the spies learned from Quantrill's clerk that they proposed raiding Lawrence at the full of the moon, about three weeks before the actual date of the raid. Hadley's brother told him to do everything he could to prepare for the raid, to fight to the last man, and to not be taken prisoner. Hadley showed the letter to Collamore, who immediately began working on building up defenses for the town. The town was on full alert, the militia was called out, and cannons were at the ready. If Quantrill decided to attack the town that night, Quantrill's Raiders would have been utterly destroyed.
Unfortunately, the citizens and the troops eventually let their guard down once more. But why? The biggest mistake made by the city and military authorities was not telling the citizens why the town was being fortified, it was kept a secret. Rumors circulated throughout the town but no one knew the exact cause and, as a result, the town believed this was yet another false alarm. Eventually troops guarding the town were either sent to Fort Leavenworth or ordered away. And the citizens were assured that Quantrill would not make it past the military line on the border without being detected. The citizens were more relaxed than ever the day before the actual raid.
Even though threats directed at the town never materialized, and there were a sufficient amount of vigilant Unionist forces to keep any gangs at bay, the citizens never felt completely safe. Mayor Collamore, early in the summer, suggested there be a squad of soldiers stationed in Lawrence. The squad was led by Lieutenant Hadley. He also had a brother who wrote to him around the first of August that his spies were in Quantrill's camp and talked freely to Quantrill's troops. One of the spies learned from Quantrill's clerk that they proposed raiding Lawrence at the full of the moon, about three weeks before the actual date of the raid. Hadley's brother told him to do everything he could to prepare for the raid, to fight to the last man, and to not be taken prisoner. Hadley showed the letter to Collamore, who immediately began working on building up defenses for the town. The town was on full alert, the militia was called out, and cannons were at the ready. If Quantrill decided to attack the town that night, Quantrill's Raiders would have been utterly destroyed.
Unfortunately, the citizens and the troops eventually let their guard down once more. But why? The biggest mistake made by the city and military authorities was not telling the citizens why the town was being fortified, it was kept a secret. Rumors circulated throughout the town but no one knew the exact cause and, as a result, the town believed this was yet another false alarm. Eventually troops guarding the town were either sent to Fort Leavenworth or ordered away. And the citizens were assured that Quantrill would not make it past the military line on the border without being detected. The citizens were more relaxed than ever the day before the actual raid.
The approach, the attack, and the aftermath
Quantrill assembled his raiders around noon the day before the raid, and began moving towards Kansas at two o'clock. They crossed the border between 5 and 6 and went directly through the prairie that led straight to Lawrence. By eleven o'clock they had passed through Gardner in which they burned a few houses and killed one or two civilians. Between two and three o'clock in the morning they had been through Hesper, which was about ten miles away from Lawrence. They took a young boy from a house while they were passing by and encouraged him to guide them to Lawrence (this boy would stay with them for the duration of the raid, and would be let go afterwards with a horse and a full set of clothes). In the wee hours of the morning, they had made it to Franklin (a few miles east of Lawrence, about 2-4). They quietly made their way through, lying on their horses to attract as little attention as possible. But the command from Quantrill was heard loud and clear, "Rush on, boys, it will be daylight before we are there! We ought to have been their an hour ago." From this point they began to travel much faster.
When they had finally reached the town, some were apprehensive and wanted to keep out. They had said, "They would be cut to pieces and it was madness to go on." Quantrill replied that he was going in regardless, and anyone who wanted to follow could. He sent ahead two horsemen to scout the town and to make sure all was quiet. The horsemen went through the town without attracting attention. At one point, they had went through Main street but their appearance at that time of day was not unusual. They were making quick but cautious progress. Some people in the outskirts of the town, but with the far distance and the lack of lighting in the morning, they were mistaken as Union troops. They continued to move around until they had reached a high point overlooking Main street, when Quantrill screamed out, "Rush on to the town!
Immediately the gang rushed forward screaming like mad. The attack was surprisingly well executed and detachments were sent to different sections of the town. They did so with such quickness and speed that by the time the residents figured out what was happening, the raiders had already occupied the entire town. The raiders were flowing into every street. Eleven went to Mount Oread, where they could see every road leading to Lawrence for a few miles out, this was to keep on the lookout for any troops or other kinds of support. Another squad went for the west part of the town, and a few more attacked the main body going for the hotel. They first encountered members of the Kansas Fourteenth and fired on them, killing seventeen out of twenty-two. A few turned back to kill the stragglers but most continued forward under the command, "To the hotel!" The raiders rode their horses perfectly; they sat with their arms and legs free and their guns fully cocked, shooting at every house and man they drove by. On both sides of the street, men were dropping dead, and women and children were running wildly and screaming. The raiders proceeded to raid every house they came across, killing any men that were inside and looting the place. Many buildings were set afire and destroyed.
The raid eventually turned into extreme brutality. Survivors reported that a man was shot while he was being cradled by his screaming, crying wife, another man was killed while he was holding a toddler, and a group of men that surrendered and assured safety were shot down. A woman of the town bravely attempted to stop some of the raiders to simply talk with them. Despite her best efforts, she failed to bring out any humanity that might have been left in them. The raiders that rode alongside "Bloody Bill" Anderson were the ones mostly responsible for all the deaths. The raiders had stolen from most of the banks and stores and had killed between 185 and 200 men and boys. They were finally on their way out of the town by 9 o'clock in the morning while evading the few Union troops that were in pursuit. In retrospect, this massacre was one of the bloodiest events to have taken place in Kansas, worse than many of the atrocities committed during Bleeding Kansas.
When they had finally reached the town, some were apprehensive and wanted to keep out. They had said, "They would be cut to pieces and it was madness to go on." Quantrill replied that he was going in regardless, and anyone who wanted to follow could. He sent ahead two horsemen to scout the town and to make sure all was quiet. The horsemen went through the town without attracting attention. At one point, they had went through Main street but their appearance at that time of day was not unusual. They were making quick but cautious progress. Some people in the outskirts of the town, but with the far distance and the lack of lighting in the morning, they were mistaken as Union troops. They continued to move around until they had reached a high point overlooking Main street, when Quantrill screamed out, "Rush on to the town!
Immediately the gang rushed forward screaming like mad. The attack was surprisingly well executed and detachments were sent to different sections of the town. They did so with such quickness and speed that by the time the residents figured out what was happening, the raiders had already occupied the entire town. The raiders were flowing into every street. Eleven went to Mount Oread, where they could see every road leading to Lawrence for a few miles out, this was to keep on the lookout for any troops or other kinds of support. Another squad went for the west part of the town, and a few more attacked the main body going for the hotel. They first encountered members of the Kansas Fourteenth and fired on them, killing seventeen out of twenty-two. A few turned back to kill the stragglers but most continued forward under the command, "To the hotel!" The raiders rode their horses perfectly; they sat with their arms and legs free and their guns fully cocked, shooting at every house and man they drove by. On both sides of the street, men were dropping dead, and women and children were running wildly and screaming. The raiders proceeded to raid every house they came across, killing any men that were inside and looting the place. Many buildings were set afire and destroyed.
The raid eventually turned into extreme brutality. Survivors reported that a man was shot while he was being cradled by his screaming, crying wife, another man was killed while he was holding a toddler, and a group of men that surrendered and assured safety were shot down. A woman of the town bravely attempted to stop some of the raiders to simply talk with them. Despite her best efforts, she failed to bring out any humanity that might have been left in them. The raiders that rode alongside "Bloody Bill" Anderson were the ones mostly responsible for all the deaths. The raiders had stolen from most of the banks and stores and had killed between 185 and 200 men and boys. They were finally on their way out of the town by 9 o'clock in the morning while evading the few Union troops that were in pursuit. In retrospect, this massacre was one of the bloodiest events to have taken place in Kansas, worse than many of the atrocities committed during Bleeding Kansas.
Reasons for the massacre
Quantrill is quoted as saying that his reason for the massacre was, "To plunder, and destroy the town in retaliation for Osceola." This quote was in regards to the Union attack on Osceola, Missouri in September 1861. There were many other towns and countrysides in Missouri that had also been looted and burned by Unionist forces from Kansas. Lawrence was also the headquarters for a group of redlegs which had begun a jayhawking campaign in March 1863. Their main objective was to eliminate civilian support for the guerrillas of the Confederacy; however, they were very indiscriminate in who they killed. A letter from the Lexington area stated that the redlegs, “killed at least fifty men, who were unarmed and heretofore lived in peace and quiet".
In April 1863, General Thomas Ewing Jr. issued "General Order No. 10." This order entailed the arrest of any person giving aid to Confederate guerrillas. Many of the resulting prisoners were women and girls who were relatives of the guerrilla members, including Bloody Bill. At first, the women were put in a series of makeshift prisons but were deemed too small or too dirty. Eventually they were rounded into an empty property. The structure was large enough to house all the women, but it was not very structurally sound; it collapsed on August 13, 1863, injuring and killing four of the women: Charity McCorkle Kerr, Susan Crawford Vandever, Armenia Crawford Selvey, and Josephine Anderson. Josephine Anderson being the sibling of Bloody Bill. Another one of his sisters was severely injured, suffering two broken legs. Rumors began to spread that the building was deliberately weakened to cause its collapse.
Quantrill's Raiders were already upset about the women being rounded up and sent to jail, but the collapse of that building was the final straw. And many were convinced that the building was, in fact, deliberately weakened in hopes of killing most of the women (even though this is now considered the most ridiculous of the theories, most believe the added weight of a third room that was installed into the top of the building caused its collapse); however, the raiders had already planned to raid the town, even before the building's collapse.
In April 1863, General Thomas Ewing Jr. issued "General Order No. 10." This order entailed the arrest of any person giving aid to Confederate guerrillas. Many of the resulting prisoners were women and girls who were relatives of the guerrilla members, including Bloody Bill. At first, the women were put in a series of makeshift prisons but were deemed too small or too dirty. Eventually they were rounded into an empty property. The structure was large enough to house all the women, but it was not very structurally sound; it collapsed on August 13, 1863, injuring and killing four of the women: Charity McCorkle Kerr, Susan Crawford Vandever, Armenia Crawford Selvey, and Josephine Anderson. Josephine Anderson being the sibling of Bloody Bill. Another one of his sisters was severely injured, suffering two broken legs. Rumors began to spread that the building was deliberately weakened to cause its collapse.
Quantrill's Raiders were already upset about the women being rounded up and sent to jail, but the collapse of that building was the final straw. And many were convinced that the building was, in fact, deliberately weakened in hopes of killing most of the women (even though this is now considered the most ridiculous of the theories, most believe the added weight of a third room that was installed into the top of the building caused its collapse); however, the raiders had already planned to raid the town, even before the building's collapse.