His gun changed a few times, semi, handgun, revolver . [84] The guerrillas quickly forced the attackers to flee, and Anderson shot and injured one woman as she fled the house. [119], Anderson left the Centralia area on September 27, pursued for the first time by Union forces equipped with artillery. [16] In May 1862, Judge Baker issued an arrest warrant for Griffith, whom Anderson helped hide. Gunfighters of the Old West Online Trivia | U.S. History | 10 Questions Anthony Edwards as "Goose" in Top Gun (1986) : These acts were interpreted as tyranny and compelled many Missouri men to become bushwhackers. [142] Anderson and his men charged the Union forces, killing five or six of them, but turned back under heavy fire. Anderson was outraged and went to Missouri with his siblings. The Missouri act was an offshoot of the Confederate Partisan Ranger Act instituted by Confederate President Jefferson Davis in April 1862. [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. In 1908, the ex-guerrillas and former outlaws Jim Cummins and Cole Younger arranged for a funeral service at Anderson's gravesite. [110] By mid-afternoon, the 39th Missouri Volunteer Infantry had arrived in Centralia. Bloody Bill Anderson: The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War Guerrilla They buried him in an unmarked grave in Richmond's Pioneer Cemetery. William Quantrill and William "Bloody Bill" Anderson are well-known bushwhacker leaders in Missouri. Biographer Larry Wood claimed that Anderson's sisters aided the guerrillas by gathering information inside Union-controlled territory. [Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read] [160] Asa Earl Carter's novel The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales (1972) features Anderson as a main character. From Donald Hale's book " They call him Bloody Bill" it stated that Cox had sent a Lt. Baker to act as bait to lure Bill & his troops into an ambush. 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. Violence Was No Stranger (1993). He angered Anderson by ordering his forces to withdraw. The Union troops took his body to Richmond, Mo. 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. This historical marker was erected by Missouri State Parks. The most infamous order came in response to a brutal guerilla attack on Lawrence, Kan. On July 15, 1864 "Bloody Bill" Anderson returned home. [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. Similarly, Jesse James' brother Frank became . The Tactical Genius of Bloody Bill Anderson - HistoryNet Their families and other local Confederate sympathizers supplied them with shelter, food, medical care and tactical information about Union activities. On July 17, 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas Hindman issued the Missouri Partisan Ranger Act. Anderson and his companion "took a negro girl of 12 or 13 years old into . declared martial law in August 1861, giving Union forces broad powers to suppress those who resisted Union control. As a general rule, bushwhackers would attack quickly and withdraw if. Anderson was hit by a bullet behind an ear, likely killing him instantly. [141] On October 26, 1864, he pursued Anderson's group with 150 men and engaged them in a battle called the Skirmish at Albany, Missouri. Marker is on Thornton Street north of Main Street (State Highway 10), on the left when traveling north. He was, however, impressed by the effectiveness of Anderson's attacks. In 1908, the ex-guerrillas and former outlaws Jim Cummins and Cole Younger arranged for a funeral service at Anderson's gravesite. [156] Jim Anderson moved to Sherman, Texas, with his two sisters. William Thomas Anderson was born in Randolph County, Missouri in 1837, the exact date and location of his birth, remain uncertain. Bloody Bill Anderson Missouri Civil War Frank Jesse James The guerrillas were only able to shoot the Union horses before reinforcements arrived; three of Anderson's men were killed in the confrontation. [162] He also appears as a character in several films about Jesse James. The decree exiled about 10,000 people in Jackson, Cass, Bates and northern Vernon counties in Missouri. CPT William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson - Find a Grave While on public display, a local photographer documented his death. [103], Anderson ordered his men not to harass the women on the train, but the guerrillas robbed all of the men, finding over $9,000 (equivalent to $156,000 in 2021) and taking the soldiers' uniforms. PDF Who Was William T. Anderson's Friend, F. M. R.? - WordPress.com Anderson was fatally shot twice in the back of the head. As far as the partisans carrying extra cylinders, that is possibly a misnomer unless, they cannibalize other pistols just for the cylinders & that wouldn't make sense. Reid draws a parallel between the bashi-bazouks of the Ottoman Army and Anderson's guerrillas, arguing that they behaved similarly.[168]. An unusual event made a guerrilla out of William Anderson. They often used unorthodox tactics to fight Union troops, such as using a small party of horsemen to lure them into an ambush. Cartridge belts standard with up to 18 bullet loops in your [] Cole Younger, 1913, The Federal command in St. Louis, Mo. [97], On the morning of September 27, 1864, Anderson left his camp with about 75 men to scout for Union forces. ), Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., September 17, 2020. Bill Anderson | Ray County Museum 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. He then ordered and conducted the massacre soldiers. As soon as the company attains the strength required by law it will proceed to elect the other officers to which it is entitled. 10 of the Most Heinous Forgotten War Crimes of the American Civil War William "Bloody Bill" Anderson | American Experience | PBS The .500 Bushwhacker: Do You Feel Lucky? - The Mag Life William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson was a southern sympathizing bushwhacker born in Missouri and raised in Kansas. [91], Anderson met Todd and Quantrill on September 24, 1864; although they had clashed in the past, they agreed to work together again. Bloody Bill dead. Bloody Bill was born in either 1838 or 1839 and moved to Kansas in the late 1850s. I have also read it was several Cavalry troopers, but that is another story. Maupin, pictured above. The U.S. Government provided a veteran's tombstone for Anderson's grave in 1967. . 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.". His family had been living in Council Grove, Territory of Kansas at the start of the war. [96] Although a large group of guerrillas was assembled, their leaders felt there were no promising targets to attack because all of the large towns nearby were heavily guarded. 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. [107] The guerrillas set the passenger train on fire and derailed an approaching freight train. Stories about Anderson's brutality during the War were legion. By the time the war started, Missouri's pro-rebel guerrillas were known as . A low-level conflict had already been raging in the Missouri-Kansas borderlands in the years preceding the outbreak of the Civil War. This Day In History: Bloody Bill Anderson Is Killed In Missouri (1864) Gen. John McNeil, the "Butcher of Palmyra." The Fate of the Bushwhackers , Confederate leaders were unsure about guerrillas. [159] Three biographies of Anderson were written after 1975. Anderson's horse, saddle & 2 pistols were presented later to a general. Anderson and his men dressed as Union soldiers, wearing uniforms taken from those they killed. Quantrill disliked the idea because the town was fortified, but Anderson and Todd prevailed. John Russell - IMDb [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. In 1857, the family moved to Kansas and William worked for a time . Gen. Henry Halleck. I will have to go through my library to see what I can find. [98] They found a large supply of whiskey and all began drinking. Union troops used horses to drag Anderson's body through the streets around the Ray County Courthouse. (, 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. The Union troops took his body to Richmond, Mo. In addition, it is included in the Missouri - A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri series list. Bloody Bill Anderson: Missouri's bushwhacking devil - HubPages [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. 27 Strange And Interesting Facts About William Quantrill Two hesitated coming down the steps. [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. He was quite fast with a pair of Colt Dragoons, but he killed Wilson Anderson with a shotgun loaded with birdshot. Missouri's southern sympathizers hated Union Brig. They soon arrived at the small town of Centralia and proceeded to loot it, robbing people and searching the town for valuables. Anderson and his men camped with at least 300 men, including Todd. 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. [65], On July 6, a Confederate sympathizer brought Anderson newspapers containing articles about him. Nate's Nonsense: William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson Official Records of the American Civil War, "Sideshow no longer: A historiographical review of the guerrilla war", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_T._Anderson&oldid=1137633714, People of Missouri in the American Civil War, People with sadistic personality disorder, Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Use shortened footnotes from November 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 17:50. After hearing their accusations against his sons, he was incensedhe found Baker's involvement particularly infuriating. 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. One one hand, they were useful, serving to tie down Union forces. [149] Some of them cut off one of his fingers to steal a ring. He addressed the prisoners, castigating them for the treatment of guerrillas by Union troops. [112] Although five guerrillas were killed by the first volley of Union fire, the Union soldiers were quickly overwhelmed by the well-armed guerrillas, and those who fled were pursued. I. Gen. Henry Halleck's General Orders No. He was killed in a Union ambush near Richmond, MO. Unexpectedly, his men were able to capture a passenger train, the first time Confederate guerrillas had done so. Gen. Henry Halleck's General Orders No. The defeat resulted in the deaths of five guerrillas but only two Union soldiers, further maddening Anderson. 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. He retained 84 men and reunited with Anderson. William Anderson was initially given a chilly reception from other raiders, who perceived him to be brash and overconfident. Although some men begged him to spare them, he persisted, only relenting when a woman pleaded with him not to torch her house. Relatives of William T. Ander - Genealogy.com 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. Quantrill attained near-unanimous consent to travel 40 miles (64km) into Union territory to strike Lawrence. They later fought under "Bloody Bill" Anderson . Bloody Bill was played by John Russell who played Marshall Stockburn in Pale Rider. [13] Anderson had told a neighbor that he sought to fight for financial reasons rather than out of loyalty to the Confederacy. Stockburn gets a good look at the Preacher and says "YOU". Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill (2004) - IMDb [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. There he met Baker, who temporarily placated him by providing a lawyer. Answer: He mistook the cashier for Samuel P Cox, the killer of 'Bloody Bill' Anderson. [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. Union leaders branded bushwhackers as outlaws, issuing multiple orders to suppress guerilla activities. [66][67] In the letters, Anderson took an arrogant and threatening yet playful tone, boasting of his attacks. III. Forces of Change and the Enduring Ozark Frontier: The Civil War. The Missouri Partisan Ranger Act , On July 17, 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas Hindman issued the Missouri Partisan Ranger 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. William T. Anderson was one of the most notorious Confederate guerrillas of the Civil War. Pioneer Cemetery. [154] Most Confederate guerrillas had lost heart by then, owing to a cold winter and the simultaneous failure of General Price's 1864 invasion of Missouri, which ensured the state would remain securely under Union control for the rest of the war. 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. The next day, the elder Anderson traveled to the Council Grove courthouse with a gun, intending to force Baker to withdraw the warrant. They had hoped to attack a train, but its conductor learned of their presence and turned back before reaching the town. [15] The Anderson brothers escaped, but Baker was captured and spent four months in prison before returning to Kansas, professing loyalty to the Union. The Brownwood Bloody Bill Myth. The Myth that Bloody Bill Anderson had [9][d] On June 28, 1860, William's mother, Martha Anderson, died after being struck by lightning. 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. However, he was quickly released owing to a problem with the warrant, and fled to Agnes City, fearing he would be lynched. ; and Confederate Memorial State Historic Site in Higginsville, Mo. Anderson was upset by the critical tone of the coverage and sent letters to the publications. [53], On October 12, Quantrill and his men met General Samuel Cooper at the Canadian River and proceeded to Mineral Springs, Texas, to rest for the winter. Bloody Bill Anderson - Lies and Sensationalism - QUANTRILLSGUERRILLAS.COM "The war brought on hate and strife and killing around here. Erected by Missouri State Parks. John Russell. The Guns Of "Bloody" Bill Longley - American Handgunner Concluding that eliminating the bushw[h]acker's support network would. 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 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. [157], After the war, information about Anderson initially spread through memoirs of Civil War combatants and works by amateur historians. There are other examples as well, such as . The reason for the bloody raid that left nearly two hundred men dead and caused between $1 million and $1.5 million in damage (in 1863 dollars) is still the subject of speculation. Confederate States Army. Anderson planned to destroy railroad infrastructure in Centralia, Missouri. [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. [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. And a lot of the Cavalry didn't have sidearms early in the war. 11, an evacuation order that evicted almost 20,000 people from four counties in rural western Missouri and burned many of their homes. The guerrillas blocked the railroad, forcing the train to stop. NPS Ozark Historic Research Study (Submitted on October 1, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The muzzle-loaders required no special ammunition or training and were effective out to about seventy-five or one hundred yards. Bushwhackers were involved in Price's 1864 Raid, the last official Confederate campaign in Missouri. Your choice of white or . A lack of Confederate military presence in Missouri led Southern sympathizers to form guerrilla groups to harass Union soldiers and pro-Union citizens. [124] Anderson watched the fire from nearby bluffs. [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. The Fate of the Bushwhackers The Wild West Extravaganza is a history podcast that delves into the fascinating and often tumultuous world of the American Old West. [Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read] , . William T. Anderson was one of the most notorious Confederate guerrillas of the Civil War. CPT William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson Famous memorial Birth 1839. The True Account of William "Bloody Bill" Anderson [13], Upon his return to Kansas, Anderson continued horse trafficking, but ranchers in the area soon became aware of his operations. 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. The act sanctioned guerrilla activities against the Union army while attempting to gain some measure of control over the guerrillas. Richeson, Richerson, Richardson originally from Taylor County, Kentucky. [5] The Anderson family supported slavery, though they did not own slaves. On the western Missouri border, especially, much of the hardships experienced by these families could be traced to the violence of the 1850s Kansas Missouri Border War. 11, but guerrilla activity continued throughout the war in other regions of the state. 150 YEARS AGO: Sisters of 'Bloody Bill' Anderson caught in fatal Bloody Bill Anderson - Etsy Legends of America: "Bloody Bill" Anderson - Dixie Outfitters By the time he turned 21 he was accompanying wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail, selling stolen horses. They murdered my family when I was a schoolboy and I was launched into a life of shooting, reprisals and rough-riding." Usually a wife, sister, mother or sweetheart used ribbons, shells and needlework to create the ellaborately [sic] decorated shirts. ; Battle of Lexington State Historic Site in Lexington, Mo. [60] Sutherland described Anderson's betrayal of Quantrill as a "Judas" turn. Get A Copy Kindle Unlimited $0.00 Amazon Stores . Anderson's bushwhacking marked him as a dangerous man and eventually led the Union to imprison his sisters. In December, 1861, he organized his infamous guerrilla band, which included William "Bloody Bill" Anderson, George Todd, Fletcher Taylor, Cole Younger, and Frank James, to name a few. . The Missouri act was an offshoot of the Confederate Partisan Ranger Act instituted by Confederate President Jefferson Davis in April 1862. [113] One Union officer reached Centralia and gave word of the ambush, allowing a few Union soldiers who had remained there to escape. However, most were hunted down and killed. Then I noticed Bloody Bill Anderson and he has a very small existence in Josey Wales. "Bloody" Bill Anderson (1840-1864), the most prolific mass murderer on the American frontier. Touch for map. Unraveling Myth of 'Bloody Bill' - RealClearHistory A lot of the federal troops in Missouri were Infantry & only the officer's would have pistols. Some local citizens suspected the Anderson family was assisting Griffith and traveled to their house to confront the elder William Anderson. It could be interpreted that the bugler picked up a total of 6 pistols that belonged, possibly to the other men that fell with Anderson. Confederate leaders were unsure about guerrillas. [132], Anderson traveled 70 miles (110km) east with 80 men to New Florence, Missouri. [128] On October 6, Anderson and his men began travelling to meet General Price in Boonville, Missouri;[124][129] they arrived and met the general on October 11. They often used unorthodox tactics to fight Union troops, such as using a small party of horsemen to lure them into an ambush. 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. Location. [46] They left town at 9:00am after a company of Union soldiers approached the town. 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. Missouri - A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri, Partisan Warfare in the American Civil War, Forces of Change and the Enduring Ozark Frontier: The Civil War. He worked with his brother Jim, their friend Lee Griffith and several accomplices strung along the Santa Fe Trail. Anderson suggested that they attack Fayette, Missouri, targeting the 9th Missouri Cavalry, which was based at the town. [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. Maupin, pictured above. Marshal, but spoke amicably with an acquaintance he found there. 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. The attacks prompted the Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce to declare that rebels had taken over the area. [136][137] Anderson indicated that he was particularly angry that the man had freed his slaves, then trampled him with a specially trained horse. [143] The victory made a hero of Cox and led to his promotion. Actor: Rio Bravo. [140][139] He left the area with 150 men. [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. And that is the terrible truth of the story of Bloody Bill Anderson. En route, some guerrillas robbed a Union supporter, but Anderson knew the man and reimbursed him. After hearing of the engagement, General Fisk commanded a colonel to lead a party with the sole aim of killing Anderson. 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. Note: Click on photos to get larger view. James Jay Carafano. Born about 1839 in Kentucky, the family early moved to Missouri, where William grew up near the town of Huntsville in Randolph County. Quantrill and other guerrillas nonetheless sought and sometimes received formal Confederate commissions as partisan rangers. Bloody Bill's Death Anderson's violent pillages, attacks, and murders came to an end at Albany, Missouri, on October 26th, 1864one month after he carried out a systemic massacre at Centralia, Missouri, on September 27 of 22 unarmed Union troops who had been on their way home on furlough. Willaim "Bloody Bill" Anderson's Grave - Richmond, MO - Roadside William C. Anderson (1820 - 1862) - Genealogy - geni family tree