Battle of Lawrence

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Battle of Lawrence

The destruction of the city of Lawrence, Kansas, and the massacre of its inhabitants by the Rebel guerrillas, August 21, 1863

Date	August 21, 1863
Location	Douglas County, Kansas
Result	Confederate victory

Combatants

United States of America

Confederate States of America

Commanders

No Union commander

William C. Quantrill

Strength

Lawrence Union Militia, Unknown number Redlegs, 21 U.S. soldiers 14th Kansas Infantry Regt, 20 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry Regt

Quantrill’s Raiders and other guerrillas

Casualties

164

6 (at most)

Quantrill's Raid into Kansas
Lawrence

The Battle of Lawrence, also known as the Lawrence Massacre or Quantrill's Raid, was an attack by Quantrill's Raiders, led by William Clark Quantrill, on the anti-slavery town of Lawrence, Kansas.

1 Background
2 Events leading up to the attack
3 Attack
4 Aftermath
5 In popular media
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Background

By 1863, Kansas had long been the home of strife and warfare, from both sides of the slavery versus Free State issue. In the summer of 1856, the first sacking of Lawrence sparked a guerrilla war in Kansas that was conducted for months. John Brown might be the best known, but numerous groups fought for each side in Bleeding Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas had, by the beginning of the American Civil War, already become the target for pro-slavery ire, having been seen as the anti-slavery stronghold in the state.

[edit] Events leading up to the attack

In a bid to put down the Confederate raiders operating in Kansas, General Thomas Ewing, Jr. issued General Order № 10, which ordered the arrest of anyone giving aid or comfort to Quantrill's raiders. This meant chiefly women and children. Ewing confined those arrested in a make-shift prison in Kansas City. On August 13, 1863, this building collapsed, killing five women, including 14 year old Josephine Anderson, sister of William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson. There was debate as to the nature of this collapse, with some claiming that is was known that the structure was very unsound (and thus a deliberate attack on women and children), and others claiming it was merely a tragic accident ^{[citation needed]}. Animus for the attack on Lawrence may have also stemmed from lingering fury over the Union's attack on Osceola, Missouri in September of 1861, lead by James H. Lane. In this raid, nine Osceola men were executed after a farcial trial and the town was looted and burned.

[edit] Attack

From the summit of Mount Oread, leading between three and four hundred raiders, Quantrill descended on Lawrence in a fury. A four-hour session of pillaging, "executions," arson, and other mayhem ensued. By the time Quantrill's men rode out of town, one in four buildings in Lawrence had been burnt to the ground, including all but two businesses. As well, most of the banks and stores had been looted. Left behind were between 185 and 200 dead men and boys. By 9 a.m., they were on their way out of town, evading the few units that came in pursuit.

Senator James H. Lane managed to escape death by racing through a cornfield in his nightshirt.

[edit] Aftermath

While the Battle of Lawrence was one of the bloodiest events in the whole history of Kansas, it was not alone. A day after the attack, the surviving citizens of Lawrence lynched a member of Quantrill's Raiders caught in the town. On August 25, General Ewing authorized General Order № 11 (not to be confused with Grant's less famous General Order of the same name) evicting thousands of Missourians in four counties from their homes near the Kansas border. Virtually everything in these counties was then systematically burned to the ground.

The city seal of Lawrence commemorates Quantrill's attack with its depiction of a Phoenix rising from the ashes of the burnt city.

[edit] In popular media

In the USA Network dramedy Psych, the fictional "Battle of Piper's Cove" reenacted in the 2006 episode "Weekend Warriors" seems to be based on the Lawrence Massacre.

The battle is also depicted in Into the West and Ang Lee's Ride With The Devil.