Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers

For five years before and then during the Civil War itself, residents of Missouri and Kansas waged their own brutal conflict along their common border. Bushwhackers, as the pro-slavery Missourians were known, and Jayhawkers, the free-soil Kansas guerillas, raided, rustled, burned and killed each other with savage abandon. Out of the guerilla warfare taking place in Missouri and along its border with Kansas come some of the most famous outlaw names of the West, including Jesse James, the Younger Brothers, William “Bloody Bill” Anderson and William Quantrill.

The infamous outlaw and bank robber Jesse James and his gang, which included the Younger brothers, got their start during the war riding as Confederate guerillas with “Bloody Bill” Anderson. Union militiamen tortured James’ stepfather during a raid at the family farm in northwest Missouri, and Jesse and his brother joined up to avenge the family. The Jesse James Farm and Museum north of Kansas City near Kearney offers visitors a glimpse into life during those days. Displays relating to Jesse and his brother Frank detail the role the Civil War played in their lives. Nearby in St. Joseph, visit the Jesse James Home where James later settled and was killed.

Independence, sitting to the east of Kansas City, was another source of guerrilla activity. The Jackson County Historical Society Archives offers free maps of local Civil War sites. Also be sure to tour the 1859 Jail and Marshal’s Home and Museum where Frank James was held after he was arrested.

William “Bloody Bill” Anderson was born in Missouri, and during his teen years moved to Kansas. After the start of the war, Anderson and his brother returned from a trip to find their father dead, either at the hands of pro-Northern neighbors or Union soldiers. This event started “Bloody Bill” on his attempt at revenge and he became a feared guerilla fighter in Missouri. Union troops ambushed Anderson near Orrick, Mo. He is buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Richmond.

Considered a hero by Confederates, reviled by Northerners, William Quantrill made quite a name for himself. Reportedly he held more Northern views during his early years living in Kansas. However, relationships with Southern sympathizers changed his point of view. One source states that by 1860, Quantrill had begun a moneymaking scheme of helping liberate slaves from Missouri and then helping recapture them for the reward money.

Quantrill joined the Confederate Army, but later left and formed his own band, which assisted the Confederates by raiding homes and businesses of Union loyalists and ambushing Union troops. The Union Army declared him an outlaw.

In an attempt to draw out some of these “border ruffians,” Union officials arrested a group of women suspected of being sympathizers of the guerilla soldiers, including three sisters of “Bloody Bill.” The building where the women were held collapsed, killing one of Anderson’s sisters and maiming another. Three other females related to Southern guerillas also died. There is a marker at the site of Union Prison at 14th and Grand in Kansas City.

Eight days later, Quantrill retaliated against Lawrence, Kan. He and his band killed more than 150 citizens, and then escaped back into hills of Missouri, where the people sympathized with them and their cause.

Quantrill and his gang subsequently fought with the Confederate Army at the Battle of Westport, then fled to Kentucky where he was killed in 1865. Many years later, his mother traveled to Kentucky, to claim his remains and take them back to Ohio. Through the years, his remains became divided among several burial sites, historical societies and museums. Parts of Quantrill’s remains are buried at the Confederate Memorial State Historic Site in Higginsville.
After the attack on Lawrence, Brigadier General Thomas Ewing decided to clear out all sympathizers living along the border with General Order No. 11. This order forced all residents of Jackson, Cass, Bates counties and parts of Vernon County to leave their rural homes within 15 days if they could not prove their loyalty to the Union to the satisfaction of Army authorities. The State Historical Society in Columbia houses a George Caleb Bingham painting depicting this order.