I used to believe he was a bloodthirsty murderer and nothing more. However, after reading hundreds of pages about him by authors who demonize him, some who idolize him and some who attempt to be objective about him, my views have changed a bit.
It seems to me there was a very peculiar duality about him, insofar as he was capable of cold blooded deeds and of kind deeds. Even Connelly, the Kansas historian who mostly demonizes Quantrill, recognizes this.
Quantrill had a particularly chivalrous attitude toward women and would not tolerate their mistreatment. I believe it was McCorckle who said it was well known that the penalty for any of his men mistreating a woman would be summary execution by Quantrill himself.
Quantrill actually protected a number of people at Lawrence, who agreed to surrender to him if they would not be shot. These he placed under his personal protection at one hotel while other hotels were being burned. On the other hand, he kidnapped a number of people to use as guides--one at a time--on his approach to Lawrence because he was advancing on the town from an unfamiliar direction and through a series of tangled creeks and woods during the night. Seven or eight of these guides were shot, one at a time, as they got to the limits of the countryside they knew, and he would ride up to a farmhouse and kidnap another.
In another instance, George Todd recognized a farmer with whom he had a grudge. He was going to shoot the man, but Quantrill stopped him for fear the shot might be heard in Lawrence and give warning about their approach. But he had no qualms about allowing Todd to beat the man's brains out with the butt of a musket.
Another time, Quantrill had a union lieutenant as a hostage. He was hoping to trade this man for one of his own men who was in custody in a union occupied town. The lieutenant struck a deal with Quantrill. He would enter the town and personally speak to the senior officer there about the trade. If he was unsuccessful, he gave his word of honor to return to Quantrill to face his own execution. Quantrill's man was hung. True to his word, the union officer returned and surrendered to Quantrill, stating that he had tried his best. Quantrill told his men that it would not be right to execute a man as honest and brave as this, and he let the lieutenant go free.
There's no denying that Quantrill rode to Lawrence with a death list of "most wanted" people. But it was his men who did the wanton sacking and killing. And, further, it was not ALL of his men. Several were so disgusted that they refused to participate. William Gregg left him after Lawrence, as did a number of others.
I believe Quantrill's command fell apart in the winter of 1863-64 because Todd and Anderson thought he was too soft on yankees. In any event, he spent a good part of the 1864 bushwhacking season more or less "retired" in Howard County, Missouri while Anderson and Todd doubled up on their ruthlessness.
It was during that same year that one of Quantrill's former men spotted a fine horse that he wanted to steal from a Howard County widow. He told the widow's slave to bring him the horse. Instead, the slave informed the widow and she had him take the horse to town and sell it before it could be stolen. The bushwhacker later accosted and murdered the slave for "double crossing" him. Word of this got to Quantrill, who met the offending bushwhacker near Clark's Chapel and executed him on the spot.
Quantrill was capable of demonic actions, but was far too complicated a man to simply be written off as a demon. He was never very well understood in life. It is impossible to fully understand him nearly 150 years after his death.
In my view, Anderson and Clements are better candidates for demonization.
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