Although some men begged him to spare them, he persisted, only relenting when a woman pleaded with him not to torch her house. [138] Local residents gathered $5,000, which they gave to Anderson; he then released the man, who died of his injuries in 1866. [147] Union soldiers claimed that Anderson was found with a string that had 53 knots, symbolizing each person he had killed. Anderson and Todd launched an unsuccessful attack against the fort, leading charge after futile charge without injury. The Guerrilla Lifestyle , The life of a guerrilla was difficult and violent. Desperate to put a stop to Anderson's bloodshed, the Union Army eventually raised a small militia to hunt him down. [68] The letters were given to Union generals and were not published for 20 years. 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. William T. Anderson was born around 1840 in Hopkins County, Kentucky, to William C. and Martha Anderson. [113] One Union officer reached Centralia and gave word of the ambush, allowing a few Union soldiers who had remained there to escape. Born about 1839 in Kentucky, the family early moved to Missouri, where William grew up near the town of Huntsville in Randolph County. They murdered my family when I was a schoolboy and I was launched into a life of shooting, reprisals and rough-riding." A low-level conflict had already been raging in the Missouri-Kansas borderlands in the years preceding the outbreak of the Civil War. Anderson reached a Confederate Army camp; although he hoped to kill some injured Union prisoners there, he was prevented from doing so by camp doctors. Fueling this conflict was a dispute over whether Kansas should be a slave-holding state or not. [23], Missouri had a large Union presence throughout the Civil War, but was also inhabited by many civilians whose sympathies lay with the Confederacy. Unexpectedly, his men were able to capture a passenger train, the first time Confederate guerrillas had done so. The Wild West Extravaganza is a history podcast that delves into the fascinating and often tumultuous world of the American Old West. By the time he turned 21 he was accompanying wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail, selling stolen horses. The guerrillas gathered at the Blackwater River in Johnson County, Missouri. [26] In early 1863, William and Jim Anderson traveled to Jackson County, Missouri, to join him. Anderson ordered them outside the car and lined up in two files. [115] The attack led to a near-complete halt in rail traffic in the area and a dramatic increase in Union rail security. Also see . Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. [63], Anderson and his men rested in Texas for several months before returning to Missouri. William "Bloody Bill" Anderson A sociopath who lived for spilling blood, William Anderson was one of the most fearsome leaders of Confederate guerrillas in Civil War Missouri. Your choice of white or . 1. Union troops used horses to drag Anderson's body through the streets around the Ray County Courthouse. [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. After Frank and Jesse James joined the Anderson band, they robbed a train of $3,000 and executed 25 Union soldiers on board. 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 Myth that Bloody Bill Anderson had survived the war and was living in Brownwood Texas originated in 1924, after a young Brownwood reporter named Henry Clay Fuller spent several hours talking . Concluding that eliminating the bushw[h]acker's support network would help end guerilla fighting, Brig. [127] Although many of them wished to execute this Union hostage, Anderson refused to allow it. Local citizens demanded possession of the corpse. Confederate leaders were unsure about guerrillas. [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. It was Anderson's greatest victory, surpassing Lawrence and Baxter Springs in brutality and the number of casualties. 0:02. . ), Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., September 17, 2020. Their familiarity with the landscape enabled them to appear and disappear into the woods like ghosts. Biographer Larry Wood claimed that Anderson's sisters aided the guerrillas by gathering information inside Union-controlled territory. 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. ; Battle of Lexington State Historic Site in Lexington, Mo. They buried him in an unmarked grave in Richmond's Pioneer Cemetery. There were those that came & went and the largest number had to have been the raid on Lawrence. Smaller bands avoided fights with larger detachments of Union soldiers, preferring to ambush stragglers or loot Union supporters and their property. Others, like William Anderson, had already entered a dark abyss from which there was no return and no escape except death. My 1888 Luscomb #b. There he met Baker, who temporarily placated him by providing a lawyer. Erected by Missouri State Parks. Bloody Bill was born in either 1838 or 1839 and moved to Kansas in the late 1850s. [54] During the winter, Anderson married Bush Smith, a woman from Sherman, Texas. Their families and other local Confederate sympathizers supplied them with shelter, food, medical care and tactical information about Union activities. In 1908, the ex-guerrillas and former outlaws Jim Cummins and Cole Younger arranged for a funeral service at Anderson's gravesite. 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. After selecting a sergeant for a potential prisoner swap, Anderson's men shot the rest. Location: Missouri, United States. The cashier pulled a gun on him and James killed him in self-defence. It is in Richmond in Ray County Missouri, "The war brought on hate and strife and killing around here. Similarly, Jesse James' brother Frank became . John Russell. The rapid rate of fire made the revolver perfect for the quick attacks executed by these men. Bloody Bill Anderson was a character played by John Russell in the 1976 film 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' directed by Clint Eastwood. 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. [8] After settling there, the Anderson family became friends with A.I. If they were Bill's, he would have had 7 pistols on his person which to me is a little hard to believe. The attacks prompted the Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce to declare that rebels had taken over the area. Confederate States Army. Marker is on the Ray County Courthouse grounds. ; Battle of Albany Civil War Marker near Orrick, Mo. Some local citizens suspected the Anderson family was assisting Griffith and traveled to their house to confront the elder William Anderson. [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. [153], Archie Clement led the guerrillas after Anderson's death, but the group splintered by mid-November. 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. On the other hand, the use of tactics like arson, robbery and murder seemed beyond the bounds of honorable combat. 6 guns of ouTlaWs Residue of WaRThe RaideRs 7 Bushwhackers were involved in Price's 1864 Raid, the last official Confederate campaign in Missouri. Serving in the US Marine Corps in WW II, he earned a battlefield commission and decorations for valor at Guadalcanal. Bloody Bill Anderson - Etsy Check out our bloody bill anderson selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Then I noticed Bloody Bill Anderson and he has a very small existence in Josey Wales. The Bushwhacker in Missouri. He commanded 3040 men, one of whom was Archie Clement, an 18-year-old with a predilection for torture and mutilation who was loyal only to Anderson. 100, in April 1863, set a national policy, outlining guerrillas and their treatment. [99][100] As the guerrillas robbed the stagecoach passengers, a train arrived. Anderson's horse, saddle & 2 pistols were presented later to a general. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [85], In early August, Anderson and his men traveled to Clay County. [163], Historians have been mixed in their appraisal of Anderson. Other nearby markers. [45] The guerrillas under Anderson's command, notably including Archie Clement and Frank James, killed more than any of the other group. The Missouri act was an offshoot of the Confederate Partisan Ranger Act instituted by Confederate President Jefferson Davis in April 1862. The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board - Archive is maintained by Webmaster In October of 1864, Anderson's unit was trapped and outnumbered in Missouri, and 'Bloody Bill' was killed when he charged the Union troops. ; and Confederate Memorial State Historic Site in Higginsville, Mo. "Bring Lieutenant Coleman to me." [Map inset] Nearby Civil War attractions include Pioneer Cemetery and Ray County Museum in Richmond, Mo. The younger Anderson buried his father[17] and was subsequently arrested for assisting Griffith. Not long after her driver left to find help, three rambunctious New Jersey cavalrymen, all white, approached Brooks, demanding her money. Gen. John McNeil, the "Butcher of Palmyra." [131] Price instructed Anderson to travel to the Missouri railroad and disrupt rail traffic,[129] making Anderson a de facto Confederate captain. William T. Anderson was one of the most notorious Confederate guerrillas of the Civil War. [2] During his childhood, Anderson's family moved to Huntsville, Missouri, where his father found employment on a farm and the family became well-respected. In 1976, the book was adapted into a film, The Outlaw Josey Wales, which portrays a man who joins Anderson's gang after his wife is killed by Union-backed raiders. Pioneer Cemetery. You certainly wouldn't do that aboard a horse. [151] In 1908, Cole Younger, a former guerrilla who served under Quantrill, reburied Anderson's body in the Old Pioneer Cemetery in Richmond, Missouri. "An unusual event made a guerrilla out of William Anderson. In late 1863, while Quantrill's Raiders spent the winter in Sherman, Texas, animosity developed between Anderson and Quantrill. The Man Who Killed Quantrill. If they were caught, Federals considered them criminals not prisoners of war. There is no evidence to support that assumption. [157], After the war, information about Anderson initially spread through memoirs of Civil War combatants and works by amateur historians. 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. [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. Cox's bugler gathered up 6 pistols around the body. Stories about Anderson's brutality during the War were legion. The .500 Bushwhacker is the biggest, baddest handgun cartridge in the world right now. While they rested at the house, a group of local men attacked. He was quite fast with a pair of Colt Dragoons, but he killed Wilson Anderson with a shotgun loaded with birdshot. 11, but guerrilla activity continued throughout the war in other regions of the state. This action angered his men, who saw themselves as the protectors of women, but Anderson dismissed their concerns, saying such things were inevitable. Anderson was known for his brutality towards Union soldiers, and pro Union partisans, who were called Jayhawkers. They attacked the fort on October 6, but the 90 Union troops there quickly took refuge inside, suffering minimal losses. 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. However, he was quickly released owing to a problem with the warrant, and fled to Agnes City, fearing he would be lynched. Anderson led a band that targeted Union loyalists and Federal soldiers in Missouri and Kansas. [13] Anderson had told a neighbor that he sought to fight for financial reasons rather than out of loyalty to the Confederacy. Anderson suggested that they attack Fayette, Missouri, targeting the 9th Missouri Cavalry, which was based at the town. In response, Union militias developed hand signals to verify that approaching men in Union uniforms were not guerrillas. A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri. Notorious Confederate bushwhacker Bloody Bill Anderson Three bushwackers; Arch Clements, Dave Pool, and Bill Hendricks. The muzzle-loaders required no special ammunition or training and were effective out to about seventy-five or one hundred yards. [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. [60][61][62] They told General Cooper that Quantrill was responsible for the death of a Confederate officer; the general had Quantrill arrested. Anderson was fatally shot twice in the back of the head. After camping near New Hope Church in Fort Henry about. Eventually, the six-shot revolver became the weapon of choice for the bushwhacker because it was considered better for firing from horseback. [64] The next day, in southeast Jackson County, Anderson's group ambushed a wagon train carrying members of the Union 1st Northeast Missouri Cavalry, killing nine. but before they can they are all attacked by a horde of flesh eating zombies lead by evil Confederate soldier William Anderson AKA Bloody Bill (Jeremy Bouvet) who has placed a curse on the town & it's residents for his & his sister's executions centuries ago. He was the son of a hatter who an enthusiastic pro-slavery man would often abandon his family for long periods to go gold prospecting. By August 1864, they were regularly scalping the men they killed. [70] On July 15, Anderson and his men entered Huntsville, Missouri and occupied the town's business district. Nov 26, 2015 - PLEASE READ THE HOME PAGE PRIOR TO ORDERING TO UNDERSTAND PROCEDURES, HOW TO MEASURE, WAYS OF PAYMENT, BACK ORDERS, ETC. Quantrill and other guerrillas nonetheless sought and sometimes received formal Confederate commissions as partisan rangers. Soon after Anderson left Glasgow, a local woman saw him and told Cox of his presence. . [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. [142] Anderson and his men charged the Union forces, killing five or six of them, but turned back under heavy fire. [41], Arriving in Lawrence on August 21, the guerrillas immediately killed a number of Union Army recruits and one of Anderson's men took their flag. They tortured him until he was near death and sent word to the man's son in an unsuccessful attempt to lure him into an ambush, before releasing the father with instructions to spread word of his mistreatment. They also targeted strategically important infrastructure like bridges, telegraph lines and railroads. 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. General Orders No. [87] Although they forced the Union soldiers to flee, Anderson and Jesse James were injured in the encounter and the guerrillas retired to Boone County to rest. 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. [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. After a building collapse in the makeshift jail in Kansas City, Missouri, left one of them dead in custody and the other permanently maimed, Anderson devoted himself to revenge. By the time the war started, Missouri's pro-rebel guerrillas were known as . Their duty will be to cut off Federal pickets, scouts, foraging parties and trains and to kill pilots and others on gunboats and transports, attacking them day and night and using the greatest vigor in their movements. [139], Union military leaders assigned Lieutenant Colonel Samuel P. Cox to kill Anderson, providing him with a group of experienced soldiers. They also burnt Baker's home and stole two of his horses before returning to Missouri on the Santa Fe Trail. On July 15, 1864 "Bloody Bill" Anderson returned home. [102] This was the first capture of a Union passenger train in the war. Reid draws a parallel between the bashi-bazouks of the Ottoman Army and Anderson's guerrillas, arguing that they behaved similarly.[168]. Etsy Search for items or shops Close search Skip to Content Sign in 0 Cart Gifts for Every Valentine Jewelry & Accessories At least 40 members of the 17th Illinois Cavalry and the Missouri State Militia were in town and took shelter in a fort. Raised by a family of Southerners in Kansas, Anderson began to support himself by stealing and selling horses in 1862. However, his gun of choice was said to be the Dance .44 caliber cap and ball revolver. The Fate of the Bushwhackers , Confederate leaders were unsure about guerrillas. They acquired arms where they could, including taking what was left behind on the battlefield.

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