display
William Clark Quantrill (1837–1865) has impressively demonstrated that violence in war does not need any rational or ideological justification.
Because the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader was apparently guided exclusively by his instincts in the American Civil War, which made him the "bloodiest man in American history".
When he ran into a Union patrol in Kentucky on May 10, 1865, it wasn't just the residents of the northern states who breathed a sigh of relief.
Because Quantrill was one of the worst psychopaths and killers in the history of the Frontier, which was not exactly poor. What is certain is that he was born in Ohio, a heartland in the north, and enjoyed an upbringing that opened up the career path of a teacher for him. But that wasn't his thing. Not even his foray into the army, for which he served in Utah. Orderly work and discipline were not to Quantrill's taste. He preferred to get by as a gambler, which, due to a lack of talent, did not yield the income he had hoped for.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Quantrill was in Missouri.
He quickly realized that the state offered him an ideal field of activity.
Because that was deeply divided between the one third of its residents who defended slavery, and the majority who supported the Union.
In this situation, gangs formed everywhere that sought to terrorize the political opponent.
The "Jayhawkers" hunted down anyone they thought was a sympathizer of the South.
Quantrill was committed to the opposing side, as this gave him the opportunity to “attack all symbols of state violence,” as historian James M. McPherson put it.
display
Quantrill's raiders marched through the country and ensured with their massacres that the hatred of the civil war clouded people for years after its end.
In order to bring the partisans to their senses, the US general in charge arrested some members of the raiders who had meanwhile been appointed as official Confederate auxiliaries.
When some prisoners were killed in a house collapse in August 1863, Quantrill went nuts.
For three hours, Quantrill and his people raged in Lawrence, Kansas
Source: picture-alliance / newscom / Pic
He moved to Kansas with 450 men (including the brothers Frank and Jesse James).
Farmers were forced to show him the way to Lawrence and then shot.
Then he gave the order: “Kill every man!
Burn every house! ”182 men and boys died, 185 houses went up in flames.
Stirling Price, Confederate Commander in the west of the Mississippi, paid Quantrill "the highest appreciation for the hardships and hardships that you and your valiant command have endured so heroically."
Union General Thomas Ewing saw it differently, however, and ordered the evacuation of four counties in southern Missouri that were deserted for years.
display
In the fall of 1864, when he joined Price's offensive against Missouri, Quantrill realized that disciplined fighting was not his thing.
The collapsed in the fire of superior Union troops, which also decimated the partisan groups of the south.
"Bloody Bill" Anderson, rival and temporary partner of Quantrills, was also killed.
With the rest of his men, Quantrill came up with a fantastic scheme to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
But Union soldiers put an end to his move east in Kentucky.
Long after the main Confederate armies had surrendered, he was badly wounded and died a few weeks later in the Louisville prison hospital.
As a "gallant and brave-hearded boy" he lived on in the folklore of the south.
Do you want to hear history too? "Assassin" is the first season of the WELT History Podcast.
You can also find “World History” on Facebook.
We look forward to a like.