View attachment 113573 October 26th marks the 152nd anniversary of the death of William T. Anderson. His name is almost as famous as that of William Clarke Quantill, under whom he served until the spring of 1864. It might surprise many of you to learn that Anderson--not Quantrill--was the most hated guerrilla leader in Missouri during the recent unpleasantness. He died after having fallen for his own typical ruse: He got baited into an ambush very near present day Orrick, Missouri. Anderson charged the line (some say with reins in his teeth and a revolver in each hand). He was shot out of the saddle, taken to nearby Richmond, Missouri in Ray county, his corpse then dragged around the courthouse square, then dragged into a local photo studio for post-mortem portraits. Following that, his corpse might have been beheaded. I can't confirm that, but I have read allegations to that effect. He was finally buried in an unmarked grave in the local Mormon cemetery. It is said that, many years later, Cole Younger paid for a stone to mark Bill's grave. There is now an official Confederate military stone on his grave. Souvenir hunters have already been at work, chipping fragments off the stone.
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.