Bloody Bill Anderson | Brushy Bill - Billy The Kid Message Board 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. (, Although Wood states that Baker's group sought to join the Confederate army, Castel and Goodrich write that the group planned to conduct ", In his 2003 history of Civil War Missouri, Bruce Nichols stated that Reed led the gang until mid-July 1863. Anderson, William | Community and Conflict Photo Archive - Ozarks Civil War If they were caught, Federals considered them criminals not prisoners of war. They attacked the fort on October 6, but the 90 Union troops there quickly took refuge inside, suffering minimal losses. Bloody Bill - True West Magazine From the town, they saw a group of about 120 guerrillas and pursued them. Anderson planned to destroy railroad infrastructure in Centralia, Missouri. A significant historical year for this entry is 1913. Assuming, of course, that you're brave enough to get within handgun range of those animals. [155] As the Confederacy collapsed, most of Anderson's men joined Quantrill's forces or traveled to Texas. As a general rule, bushwhackers would attack quickly and withdraw if. [19] Baker and his brother-in-law brought the man to a store, where they were ambushed by the Anderson brothers. Marker is on the Ray County Courthouse grounds. and also on the Agnes City Census of Kansas in 1850. In response, Union militias developed hand signals to verify that approaching men in Union uniforms were not guerrillas. eHistory website entry (Submitted on October 1, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.) This would effectively put Bloody Bill on the list of about 450 confederate guerrillas who rode into Lawrence on that fateful day. And that is the terrible truth of the story of Bloody Bill Anderson. [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 True Account of William "Bloody Bill" Anderson It was Anderson's greatest victory, surpassing Lawrence and Baxter Springs in brutality and the number of casualties. Biographer Larry Wood wrote that Anderson's motivation shifted after the death of his sister, arguing that killing then became his focus, and an enjoyable act. Most Savage Killer in the Old West - by James Jay Carafano [6] Kansas was at the time embroiled in an ideological conflict regarding its admission to the Union as slave or free, and both pro-slavery activists and abolitionists had moved there in attempts to influence its ultimate status. 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. The Wild West Extravaganza is a history podcast that delves into the fascinating and often tumultuous world of the American Old West. In June and July, Anderson took part in several raids that killed Union soldiers, in Westport, Kansas City and Lafayette County, Missouri. As soon as the company attains the strength required by law it will proceed to elect the other officers to which it is entitled. Raised by a family of Southerners in Kansas, Anderson began to support himself by stealing and selling horses in 1862. They buried him in an unmarked grave in Richmond's Pioneer Cemetery. ; and Confederate Memorial State Historic Site in Higginsville, Mo. Marker is on Thornton Street north of Main Street (State Highway 10), on the left when traveling north. By the time the war started, Missouri's pro-rebel guerrillas were known as . [50], They departed earlier in the year than they had planned, owing to increased Union pressure. [115] The attack led to a near-complete halt in rail traffic in the area and a dramatic increase in Union rail security. 100, in April 1863, set a national policy, outlining guerrillas and their treatment. ; Battle of Lexington State Historic Site in Lexington, Mo. [109], Anderson arrived at the guerrilla camp and described the day's events, the brutality of which unsettled Todd. Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill - Wikipedia Anderson subsequently returned to Missouri as the leader of his own group of raiders and became the most feared guerrilla in the state, robbing and killing a large number of Union soldiers and civilian sympathizers. . [62][g] Quantrill was taken into custody but soon escaped. 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. Anderson was told to recapture him and gave chase, but he was unable to locate his former commander and stopped at a creek. En route, they entered Baxter Springs, Kansas, the site of Fort Blair. TII Armory's James Tow says it's powerful enough to ethically take any game animal on the planet, including all the African Big 5. William "Bloody Bill" Anderson, The Brutal Confederate Guerrilla Leader Historic Huntsville Missouri - "Bloody Bill" Anderson - Google [97], On the morning of September 27, 1864, Anderson left his camp with about 75 men to scout for Union forces. Date Posted: 8/12/2009 1:51:23 PM. Colt's 'Old Model Navy' Revolvers Found a Ready Market in the West Details on John (b. One of the leading authorities on the Civil War in the western theater, Albert Edward Castel earned his B.A. Bloody Bill Anderson - Etsy They will receive pay and allowance for subsistence and forage for the time actually in the field, as established by the affadavits of their captains. [70] On July 15, Anderson and his men entered Huntsville, Missouri and occupied the town's business district. [9][d] On June 28, 1860, William's mother, Martha Anderson, died after being struck by lightning. 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. En route, some guerrillas robbed a Union supporter, but Anderson knew the man and reimbursed him. They acquired arms where they could, including taking what was left behind on the battlefield. Etsy Search for items or shops Close search Skip to Content Sign in 0 Cart Gifts for Every Valentine Jewelry & Accessories After a brief gunfight, Baker and his brother-in-law fled into the store's basement. Anderson led a band that targeted Union loyalists and Federal soldiers in Missouri and Kansas. Bloody Bill Anderson - Lies and Sensationalism. [82] In late July, the Union military sent a force of 100 well-equipped soldiers and 650 other men after Anderson. (. While on public display, a local photographer documented his death. Depending on which side you asked, these bushwhackers were either heroes or criminals. Death 27 Oct 1864 (aged 24-25) Albany, Ray County, Missouri, USA. Your choice of white or . Often group sizes fluctuated as they came together for larger raids and then broke apart after the raid. Gen. John McNeil, the "Butcher of Palmyra." [10], In the late 1850s, Ellis Anderson fled to Iowa after killing a native American. USA. 100, in April 1863, set a national policy, outlining guerrillas and their treatment. The next day, the elder Anderson traveled to the Council Grove courthouse with a gun, intending to force Baker to withdraw the warrant. [40] On August 19, the group, which proved to be the most guerrillas under one commander in the war, began the trip to Lawrence. [52] Not satisfied with the number killed, Anderson and Todd wished to attack the fort again, but Quantrill considered another attack too risky. [133] The group then traveled west, disregarding the mission assigned by General Price[134] in favor of looting. [150][h] Flowers were placed at his grave, to the chagrin of Union soldiers. The Confederate guerilla died in battle on October 26, 1864. James Jay Carafano. 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. This action angered his men, who saw themselves as the protectors of women, but Anderson dismissed their concerns, saying such things were inevitable. Confederate leaders were unsure about guerrillas. 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." An unusual event made a guerrilla out of William Anderson. [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. 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. [Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read] 150 Years Ago: 'Bloody Bill' Anderson tortures Glasgow businessman [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. [20], William and Jim Anderson soon formed a gang with a man named Bill Reed; in February 1863, the Lexington Weekly Union recorded that Reed was the leader of the gang. The notorious Bloody Bill was killed in a Union ambush in Missouri. Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. Henry Fuller's interview articles appeared in newspapers and magazines all across the United States. [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. Bloody Bill Anderson. Residents. [139], Union military leaders assigned Lieutenant Colonel Samuel P. Cox to kill Anderson, providing him with a group of experienced soldiers. [3] His schoolmates recalled him as a well-behaved, reserved child. Please note that we are about 6-7 months in backorder and the wait is worth it. Anderson led a band of volunteer partisan raiders who targeted Union loyalists and federal soldiers in the states of Missouri and Kansas. Anderson's horse, saddle & 2 pistols were presented later to a general. The younger Anderson buried his father[17] and was subsequently arrested for assisting Griffith. Bloody Bill Anderson got little respect in death. 3916.725N, 9358.603W. Marker is in Richmond, Missouri, in Ray County. They relied on knowledge of the local terrain for survival. John Nichols, a bushwacker who operated in Johnson and Pettis Counties in 1862-1863, prior to his execution in Jefferson City, Missouri, October 30, 1863 At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. so there couldn't have been that many to obtain from citizens. Some local citizens suspected the Anderson family was assisting Griffith and traveled to their house to confront the elder William Anderson. . Forces of Change and the Enduring Ozark Frontier: The Civil War. Its frame and grip initially matched the Navy in size, but Colt later lengthened the grip to absorb. [13] Anderson had told a neighbor that he sought to fight for financial reasons rather than out of loyalty to the Confederacy. [159] Three biographies of Anderson were written after 1975. General Orders No. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers War, US Civil. [140][139] He left the area with 150 men. More lies and sensationalized stories have been told of William T. Anderson than any other Civil War Border War guerrilla except those of William Clarke Quantrill himself. On the other hand, the use of tactics like arson, robbery and murder seemed beyond the bounds of honorable combat. Anderson's men mutilated the bodies, earning the guerrillas the description of "incarnate fiends" from the Columbia Missouri Statesman. On October 26, 1864, the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William "Bloody Bill" Anderson is killed in Missouri in a Union ambush. [146] The corpse was photographed and displayed at a local courthouse for public viewing, along with Anderson's possessions. (, 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. [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. Born in Randolph County, Missouri in 1839, William T. Anderson would, by his death on October 26, 1864, be known and feared throughout the Unionas "Bloody Bill" Anderson, a barbaric, pro-Confederateguerilla leader in the American Civil War. Bloody Bill Anderson & the Missouri Bushwhackers - YouTube 0:00 / 1:05:58 Bloody Bill Anderson & the Missouri Bushwhackers Wild West Extravaganza 14.8K subscribers 132K views 1 year ago. Union troops set his body up for public viewing and photos at the Richmond, Missouri courthouse. The rapid rate of fire made the revolver perfect for the quick attacks executed by these men. [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. Anderson was outraged and went to Missouri with his siblings. 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. While they were confined, the building collapsed, killing one of Anderson's sisters. [117][118] Sutherland saw the massacre as the last battle in the worst phase of the war in Missouri,[119] and Castel and Goodrich described the slaughter as the Civil War's "epitome of savagery". On July 30, Anderson and his men kidnapped the elderly father of the local Union militia's commanding officer. He thought the cashier was an informant. William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson (circa 1838 - October 26, 1864) was a pro-Confederate guerrilla leader in the American Civil War. 27 Strange And Interesting Facts About William Quantrill Bloody Bill Anderson t-shirt | Tightrope Records [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. [94], On September 26, Anderson and his men reached Monroe County, Missouri,[95] and traveled towards Paris, but learned of other nearby guerrillas and rendezvoused with them near Audrain County. Relatives of William T. Ander - Genealogy.com [85], In early August, Anderson and his men traveled to Clay County. The life of a guerrilla was difficult and violent. Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers. A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri. [93] However, a guerrilla fired his weapon before they reached the town, and the cavalry garrisoned in the town quickly withdrew into their fort while civilians hid. While they rested at the house, a group of local men attacked. [68] The letters were given to Union generals and were not published for 20 years. [138] Local residents gathered $5,000, which they gave to Anderson; he then released the man, who died of his injuries in 1866. The film follows a group of people trying to survive while stranded in Sunset Valley, a desert ghost town inhabited by the murderous spirit of Confederate war criminal, William T. Anderson and his horde of zombies. Anderson's bushwhacking marked him as a dangerous man and eventually led the Union to imprison his sisters. The U.S. Government provided a veteran's tombstone for Anderson's grave in 1967. . Fueling this conflict was a dispute over whether Kansas should be a slave-holding state or not. 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. The Texas Gun Collector article suggested the family had indicated John Shanton owned a farm in Missouri where Frank and Jesse James would hide out. So . Topics and series. This is his story. [102] This was the first capture of a Union passenger train in the war. The order was intended to undermine the guerrillas' support network in Missouri. Anderson suggested that they attack Fayette, Missouri, targeting the 9th Missouri Cavalry, which was based at the town. One one hand, they were useful, serving to tie down Union forces. Bloody Bill was played by John Russell who played Marshall Stockburn in Pale Rider. Anderson, William William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson was born in Kentucky in 1839; he migrated with his family from Missouri to the Council Grove, Kansas area before the war. While on public display, a local photographer documented his death. On August 30, Anderson and his men attacked a steamboat on the Missouri River, killing the captain and gaining control of the boat. III. There are other examples as well, such as . Bloody Bill pulled his revolver, shot and killed both. [127] Although many of them wished to execute this Union hostage, Anderson refused to allow it. There were those that came & went and the largest number had to have been the raid on Lawrence. On August 10, while traveling through Clay County, Anderson and his men engaged 25 militia members, killing five of them and forcing the rest to flee. Born in Kentucky in 1839 before moving to Missouri and eventually living in Kansas when the Civil War started, Bill Anderson soon earned the non de plume "Bloody Bill.". William T. Anderson (1840 - October 26, 1864), better known as Bloody Bill, was one of the deadliest and most brutal pro- Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. The muzzle-loaders required no special ammunition or training and were effective out to about seventy-five or one hundred yards. 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. Gen. Henry Halleck's General Orders No. 1840-1864. [105] Anderson gave the civilian hostages permission to leave but warned them not to put out fires or move bodies. [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. [28] Castel and Goodrich speculated that this raid may have given Quantrill the idea of launching an attack deep in Kansas, as it demonstrated that the state's border was poorly defended and that guerrillas could travel deep into the state's interior before Union forces were alerted. [38], Although Quantrill had considered the idea of a raid on the pro-Union stronghold that was the town of Lawrence, Kansas before the building collapsed in Kansas City, the deaths convinced the guerrillas to make a bold strike. Bloody Bill Anderson - Everything2.com The True Story of Bush Smith, The Sweetheart of Bloody Bill Anderson. The Tactical Genius of Bloody Bill Anderson - HistoryNet Some bands of guerrillas, like William Quantrill's, had 400 or more members, but most were much smaller. They later fought under "Bloody Bill" Anderson . [125], Anderson visited Confederate sympathizers as he traveled, some of whom viewed him as a hero for fighting the Union, whom they deeply hated. "An unusual event made a guerrilla out of William Anderson. He favored swift execution of captured guerrillas. 3. Missouri's southern sympathizers hated Union Brig. [18], On July 2, 1862, William and Jim Anderson returned to Council Grove and sent an accomplice to Baker's house claiming to be a traveler seeking supplies. 11. The tortures included jumping on him, shooting at his legs and firing guns from his knee to burn his legs with powder. arms army asked attack August Baker band began better Bill Anderson Bloody Bill body brother bushwhackers called camp Castel Centralia City Clark close commander Company Confederate. When as many as 10 men come together for this purpose they may organize by electing a captain, 1 sergeant, 1 corporal, and will at once commence operation against the enemy without waiting for special instructions. Handsome, rugged American leading man John Russell (whose credits are often confused with those of child actor Johnny Russell) attended the University of California, where he was a student athlete. Bloody Bill dead. 10 of the Most Heinous Forgotten War Crimes of the American Civil War They soon arrived at the small town of Centralia and proceeded to loot it, robbing people and searching the town for valuables. The guerrillas were only able to shoot the Union horses before reinforcements arrived; three of Anderson's men were killed in the confrontation. [49], Four days after the Lawrence Massacre, on August 25, 1863, General Ewing retaliated against the Confederate guerrillas by issuing General Order No. From famous outlaws like Billy the Kid and Jesse James to lawmen like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok to trailblazing pioneers and frontiersmen, this podcast tells the true stories of the real-life characters who shaped this iconic period in American history. Bloody Bill Anderson Missouri Civil War Frank Jesse James The two were prominent Unionists and hid their identities from the guerrillas. . [139][140] Anderson killed several other Union loyalists and some of his men returned to the wealthy resident's house to rape more of his female servants. 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. This Day In History: Bloody Bill Anderson Is Killed In Missouri (1864) Usually a wife, sister, mother or sweetheart used ribbons, shells and needlework to create the ellaborately [sic] decorated shirts. Willaim "Bloody Bill" Anderson's Grave - Richmond, MO - Roadside Anyway, as Baker had achieved his mission & as Anderson & his troops entered the ambush. . [143] The victory made a hero of Cox and led to his promotion. The Brownwood Bloody Bill Myth. The Myth that Bloody Bill Anderson had [60][61][62] They told General Cooper that Quantrill was responsible for the death of a Confederate officer; the general had Quantrill arrested. While on public display, a local photographer documented his death. Two Confederate soldiers carrying double-barreled shotguns, a favorite weapon early in the Civil War. After selecting a sergeant for a potential prisoner swap, Anderson's men shot the rest. Quantrill attained near-unanimous consent to travel 40 miles (64km) into Union territory to strike Lawrence. William "Bloody Bill" Anderson | American Experience | PBS Quantrill's Guerillas and William Anderson "Bloody Bill" and M.A. The .500 Bushwhacker: Do You Feel Lucky? - The Mag Life Although he learned that Union General Egbert B. Browning James A. [160] Asa Earl Carter's novel The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales (1972) features Anderson as a main character.