[4] In 1857, they relocated to the Kansas Territory, traveling southwest on the Santa Fe Trail and settling 13 miles (21km) east of Council Grove. . Gen. Henry Halleck's General Orders No. [52] Not satisfied with the number killed, Anderson and Todd wished to attack the fort again, but Quantrill considered another attack too risky. In 1908, the ex-guerrillas and former outlaws Jim Cummins and Cole Younger arranged for a funeral service at Anderson's gravesite. They opposed the Union army in Missouri for a variety of reasons. [44] They proceeded to pillage and burn many buildings, killing almost every man they found, but taking care not to shoot women. 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. General Orders No. 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. [145], Union soldiers identified Anderson by a letter found in his pocket and paraded his body through the streets of Richmond, Missouri. [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. Forces of Change and the Enduring Ozark Frontier: The Civil War. They acquired arms where they could, including taking what was left behind on the battlefield. [37] Castel and Goodrich maintain that by then killing had become more than a means to an end for Anderson: it became an end in itself. [10], In the late 1850s, Ellis Anderson fled to Iowa after killing a native American. "Bloody Bill" redirects here. 100, in April 1863, set a national policy, outlining guerrillas and their treatment. Anderson and his men camped with at least 300 men, including Todd. [42] The Provost Marshal of Kansas, a Union captain who commanded military police, surrendered to the guerrillas and Anderson took his uniform[43] (guerrillas often wore uniforms stolen from Union soldiers). En route, they entered Baxter Springs, Kansas, the site of Fort Blair. [166] According to journalist T.J. Stiles, Anderson was not necessarily a "sadistic fiend",[167] but illustrated how young men became part of a "culture of atrocity" during the war. Many of Anderson's men also despised the Union, and he was adept at tapping into this emotion. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman was the head of the Confederate Army's Trans Mississippi Department in Little Rock, Ark. The life of a guerrilla was difficult and violent. Bloody Bill pulled his revolver, shot and killed both. Doing some quick math on the number of men who rode with Quantrill, numbers around 700 ( those who can be named), maybe more. William T. Anderson (1840 - Oct. 26, 1864) known as "Bloody Bill" Anderson was one of the deadliest and most brutal pro-Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. CPT William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson Famous memorial Birth 1839. [19] Baker and his brother-in-law brought the man to a store, where they were ambushed by the Anderson brothers. (. Most fought to protect or revenge their families from what they saw as injustices heaped upon them by the Union army and Union sympathizers. [143] Only Anderson and one other man, the son of a Confederate general, continued to charge after the others had retreated. Bloody Bill Anderson Name bad men in history, Caligula - Hitler - Charles Manson, more? These "guerrilla shirts" were pullovers with a deep v-neckline and four large pockets. By the time the war started, Missouri's pro-rebel guerrillas were known as . Bill and Jim Anderson soon after this drifted off to the Sni Hills, in Missouri, where they had relatives. ; Battle of Lexington State Historic Site in Lexington, Mo. (, 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. His dark good looks brought him to the attention . Some local citizens suspected the Anderson family was assisting Griffith and traveled to their house to confront the elder William Anderson. On October 26, 1864, the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William "Bloody Bill" Anderson is killed in Missouri in a Union ambush. In addition, it is included in the Missouri - A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri series list. 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. Touch for a list and map of all markers in Richmond. [68] The letters were given to Union generals and were not published for 20 years. 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. 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. [16] In May 1862, Judge Baker issued an arrest warrant for Griffith, whom Anderson helped hide. [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. Get A Copy Kindle Unlimited $0.00 Amazon Stores Anderson is loosely portrayed by Jim Caviezel as Black John Ambrose in the 1999 Ang Lee film Ride With The Devil. Anderson participated in Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863. A wide-brimmed slouch hat was the headgear of choice. Below is one of the articles written by Brownwood Banner - Bulletin staff writer Henry C. Fuller after Interviewing William C. "Bloody Bill" Anderson of Quantrill's Guerrillas of the Civil War at his home at Salt Creek, Brown County, Texas in 1924. Two hesitated coming down the steps. Anderson retreated into the lobby of the town hotel to drink and rest. [30] The first reference to Anderson in Official Records of the American Civil War concerns his activities at this time, describing him as the captain of a band of guerrillas. [1] There he robbed travelers and killed several Union soldiers. The Missouri Partisan Ranger Act , On July 17, 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas Hindman issued the Missouri Partisan Ranger Act. Bloody Bill was played by John Russell who played Marshall Stockburn in Pale Rider. [109], Anderson arrived at the guerrilla camp and described the day's events, the brutality of which unsettled Todd. This may help as far as relatives of Bloody Bill Anderson,who was William T.Anderson born 1839,son of William Anderson and Martha Thomasson. Only advantage would have been if you were behind a barrier, in a gun battle. [146] The corpse was photographed and displayed at a local courthouse for public viewing, along with Anderson's possessions. ; Battle of Albany Civil War Marker near Orrick, Mo. 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. The younger Anderson buried his father[17] and was subsequently arrested for assisting Griffith. Bloody Bill Anderson Also included in the list was Cole Younger, whose father was killed by the Kansans, and his mother made homeless after watching their house burn to the ground. These companies will be governed in all respects by the same regulations as other troops. [39] Anderson was placed in charge of 40 men, of which he was perhaps the angriest and most motivatedhis fellow guerrillas considered him one of the deadliest fighters there. [153], Archie Clement led the guerrillas after Anderson's death, but the group splintered by mid-November. On July 15, 1864 "Bloody Bill" Anderson returned home. Similarly, Jesse James' brother Frank became . 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. 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. Anderson led a band of volunteer partisan raiders who targeted Union loyalists and federal soldiers in the states of Missouri and Kansas. General Orders No. Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. Relatives of William T. Anderson , known as "Bloody Bill". This historical marker was erected by Missouri State Parks. 2, in March 1862, allowed Union troops in Missouri to hang guerillas as robbers and murder[er]s. Future orders followed the same tone. . [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. [Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read] , . The Federal command in St. Louis, Mo. William and Jim Anderson then traveled southwest of Kansas City, robbing travelers to support themselves. [155] As the Confederacy collapsed, most of Anderson's men joined Quantrill's forces or traveled to Texas. The Gun manufacturers did not provide extra cylinders for each firearm sold. 100% heavyweight Gildan brand cotton t-shirt. The trip was not successful and he returned to Missouri without the shipment, saying his horses had disappeared with the cargo. 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. [126] The Union soldier held captive at Centralia was impressed with the control Anderson exercised over his men. [70] On July 15, Anderson and his men entered Huntsville, Missouri and occupied the town's business district. The Man Who Killed Quantrill. Location. After the attack, one of Anderson's guerrillas scalped a dead militiaman. ; 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. [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. [142] Anderson and his men charged the Union forces, killing five or six of them, but turned back under heavy fire. [60] Sutherland described Anderson's betrayal of Quantrill as a "Judas" turn. During the American Civil War, the James family sided with the Confederates, and Frank and Jesse James joined a group of guerrillas, or . Now that statement is a little murky. [33] In August 1863, however, Union General Thomas Ewing, Jr. attempted to thwart the guerrillas by arresting their female relatives,[34] and Anderson's sisters were confined in a three-story building on Grand Avenue in Kansas City with a number of other girls.