William Clarke Quantrill is the most hunted man in America. Ask anybody and they’ll tell you how he burned Lawrence, Kansas, to the ground, brought the Yankees to their knees in Missouri, and wrote his name in blood on the pages of history. Now the war is over, and he’s leading Frank and Jesse James and the boys to Kentucky for one last campaign. They aim to raise hell, spill blood, and break some hearts before they’re done. This is his story, and he tells it his way, with no apologies. His name is Quantrill—but some just call me the devil.
The Lawrence raid of August 21, 1863, was considered one of the bloodiest events of the Civil War. The actions that brought on the raid are researched and explored in depth here for the very first time. What is discovered is a collusion in a "legacy of lies" that surrounded the stories of the raid.
In William Clarke Quantrill, Albert Castel's classic biography, the story of Quantrill and his men comes alive through facts verified from firsthand, original sources. Castel traces Quantrill's rise to power, from Kansas border ruffian and Confederate Army captain to lawless leader of “the most formidable band of revolver fighters the West ever knew.” During the Civil War Quantrill and his men descended on Lawrence, Kansas, and carried out a frightful massacre of the civilian population.
Stunned and grieving survivors stared into their burned-out town on the western frontier in the midst of the Civil War. William C. Quantrill's Missouri guerillas raided Lawrence, Kansas, on August 21, 1863, and killed 180 men and boys. Women lost husbands, children lost fathers, and fathers lost sons. Every one of the 2,500 residents lost either a loved one, a neighbor, or acquaintance. A few left town but most survivors were determined to remain and remember; not to "wink out." Newcomers brought industry and innovation. The University of Kansas, 1866, and Haskell Institute, 1884 (now Haskell Indian Nations University), grew into major institutions.
Originally published in 1959, Carl W. Breihan’s Quantrill and His Civil War Guerrillas is a concise, well-researched biography of one of the famous Civil War figures, William Clarke Quantrill (1837-1865). The action takes place mostly around the Kansas-Missouri border, dating from before the Civil War to just afterward. William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. Having had a knockabout youth resulting in becoming a school teacher, Quantrill joined a group of bandits who roamed the Missouri and Kansas countryside apprehending escaped slaves. Later on this group became Confederate soldiers, who were referred to as “Quantrill’s Raiders”. This group was a pro-Confederate partisan ranger outfit best known for their often brutal guerrilla tactics, which made use of effective Native American field skills. Quantrill’s group included the young Jesse James (1847-1882) and his older brother Frank James (1843-1915), and portraits of both infamous outlaws are included in this engaging biography.
This is a unique and comprehensive study of the entire span of Finnish architecture in the 20th century. Using comparative critical analysis, the author weaves Aalto's contribution into his overview of the evolution of modern Finnish architecture and includes the work of a range of lesser published figures. It will be of considerable interest to architects, art historians and all those interested in modern Finnish architecture.
“A densely detailed account of the 1879 Zulu defeat of the British . . . portrays a complex and interesting segment of British/African history.”—Library Journal The battle of Isandlwana—a great Zulu victory—was one of the worst defeats ever to befall a British Army. At noon on 22 January 1879, a British camp, garrisoned by over 1700 troops, was attacked and overwhelmed by 20,000 Zulu warriors. The defeat of the British, armed with the most modern weaponry of the day, caused disbelief and outrage throughout Queen Victoria's England. The obvious culprit for the blunder was Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford, the defeated commander. Appearing to respond to the outcry, he ordered a court of inquiry. But there followed a carefully conducted cover-up in which Chelmsford found a scapegoat in the dead—most notably, in Colonel Anthony Durnford. Using source material ranging from the Royal Windsor Archives to the oral history passed down to the present Zulu inhabitants of Isandlwana, this gripping history exposes the full extent of the blunders of this famous battle and the scandal that followed. It also gives full credit to the masterful tactics of the 20,000 strong Zulu force and to Ntshingwayo kaMahole, for the way in which he comprehensively out-generalled Chelmsford. This is an illuminating account of one of the most embarrassing episodes in British military history and of a spectacular Zulu victory. The authors superbly weave the excitement of the battle, the British mistakes, the brilliant Zulu tactics and the shameful cover up into an exhilarating and tragic tale. “A must for anyone interested in the Zulu War. Highly recommended.”—British Army Review
The explosive sequel to Single Combat. Ted Quantrill is a human weapon. He has been a soldier, a commando, and a hit man for the U.S. government. Tired of killing, he has turned his back on the past. But assassins can't retire . . . they have to be killed. To preserve his life in the rugged Southwest, Quantrill will have to kill again--and the target is an old friend as well-trained as he is.
*Includes pictures. *Includes accounts of Quantrill's raids by one of his Raiders. *Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading. "In all wars there have always been, and always will be a class of men designated as guerillas, but it can be said that the Missouri guerillas are more noted than those of any war in any country for ages. Their deeds of daring, their miraculous escapes, and the physical sufferings that they endured are almost beyond belief." - John McCorkle, one of Quantrill's Raiders The Civil War is best remembered for the big battles and the legendary generals who fought on both sides, like Robert E. Lee facing off against Ulysses S. Grant in 1864. In kind, the Eastern theater has always drawn more interest and attention than the West. However, while massive armies marched around the country fighting each other, there were other small guerrilla groups that engaged in irregular warfare on the margins, and among these partisan bushwhackers, none are as infamous as William Quantrill and Quantrill's Raiders. Quantrill's Raiders operated along the border between Missouri and Kansas, which had been the scene of partisan fighting over a decade earlier during the debate over whether Kansas and Nebraska would enter the Union as free states or slave states. In "Bloody Kansas", zealous pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces fought each other, most notably John Brown, and the region became a breeding ground for individuals like Quantrill who shifted right back into similar fighting once the Civil War started. Rather than target military infrastructure or enemy soldiers, the bushwhackers rode in smaller numbers and targeted civilians on the other side of the conflict, making legends out of men like Bloody Bill Anderson and John Mosby. However, none are remembered like Quantrill and his men, not only because of their deeds during the Civil War but because of the actions of some of the former Raiders after it. Quantrill is best known for raiding Lawrence, Kansas in August 1863 and slaughtering nearly 200 boys and men between the ages of 14-90, under the pretext that they were capable of holding a gun and thus helping the Union cause. After that massacre, Union forces in the area retaliated in similar fashion, forcing Southern sympathizers out of several counties in the area and burning the property. Union forces also detained those accused of assisting Quantrill's Raiders, including their relatives. After raiding Lawrence, Quantrill's Raiders headed south, and they eventually split off into several groups. Quantrill himself was killed while fighting in June 1865, nearly two months after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, but his name was kept alive by the notorious deeds of his Raiders during the war and the criminal exploits of former Raiders like Jesse James and his brother, as well as the Younger brothers. These men, who had fought with Quantrill, became some of America's most famous outlaws, and they used guerrilla tactics to rob banks and trains while eluding capture. William Quantrill and Quantrill's Raiders: The Confederacy's Most Notorious Bushwhackers chronicles the life of Quantrill, the Raiders' Civil War record, and their legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Quantrill and his Raiders like never before, in no time at all.
