Patrick H
Lt. Colonel
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2014
Lots of opinions vary about Anderson. Quite a few still hold out for a hero status for him. I actually know a lady who refers to him as "Captain Anderson". Many more think he went crazy after his little sister died in the collapse of an improvised jail in Kansas City.
I personally believe it was Anderson and his company, rather than Quantrill, who had most of the blood on their hands for the Lawrence, Kansas raid and massacre. (But Quantrill was the raid leader, so he gets to shoulder the blame. I understand that part of it.)
Anderson went on to commit atrocities in Centralia, Missouri and in Rawlings Lane, Howard County, Missouri, and in other locales. He and his band INFAMOUSLY rode into my home town of Boonville, Missouri to meet Gen. Price during Price's invasion of October, 1864, and they had human scalps from the Centralia Massacre tied to their belts and their bridle reins. How cold-blooded is that? Anderson presented price with a boxed set of magnificent pistols (undoubtedly stolen) which temporarily dazzled Price. Then Price ordered him to attack the N. Missouri Railroad "as far East as practicable". I think Price just wanted to get Anderson out of his field of view. Price knew he was dealing with a whacko.
You have all heard of a few people who road with Anderson at one time or another: Frank James, Jesse James, Little Archie Clements, and many others whose names you could easily find with a google search.
A few years ago, I went hunting Captain Anderson's grave--not so much to honor him, but to view his grave as a curiosity and be sure that he was STILL dead.