Quantrill Burns Lawrence: Civil War's Worst Raid
William Quantrill led roughly 450 Confederate guerrillas into Lawrence, Kansas, at dawn on August 21, 1863, acting on a hit list of Union sympathizers. The raiders systematically murdered approximately 150 unarmed men and boys, dragging some from their homes in front of their families, and burned the town to the ground. Lawrence had been a center of anti-slavery activism, and Quantrill targeted it as revenge for Union raids on Missouri border communities. Among the raiders was a teenage Frank James; his younger brother Jesse would join Quantrill's band the following year. The massacre provoked Union General Thomas Ewing to issue General Order No. 11, forcibly depopulating four Missouri counties to eliminate guerrilla support.
August 21, 1863
163 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Confederate States of America
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Quantrill's Raiders
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Lawrence, Kansas
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Lawrence Massacre
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Lawrence, Kansas
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Lawrence Massacre
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Confederate
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Quantrill's Raiders
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Kansas
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William Quantrill
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American Civil War
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