Two Infamous Guerrillas

[Patrick H]

Yesterday I went scouting on the guerrilla trail in Lafayette and Ray Counties, Missouri. There were two graves I wanted to see, not for the purpose of honoring these particular men, but out of curiosity. I was in Lexington anyway, and the opportunity was too good to pass up.

The first cemetery was a little tricky to find, but after receiving directions from a local, we got there easily enough. It is the Pioneer Cemetery in Richmond, Missouri and it contains the grave of Wm. "Bloody Bill" Anderson. He was buried here after his body was drug around the courthouse square. His grave is off by itself in a corner, but well marked and easy to find in this very small cemetery. This cemetery is very remarkable for two reasons other than Anderson's grave. Those reasons are so unrelated to this, I will explain them in a separate thread.

The second cemetery is just off Highway 24, fairly near the town of Napoleon, MO. It, too, is an old community cemetery and contains the grave of one of the few guerrillas more infamous than Anderson--Little Archie Clements. A local guide told me that Archie's grave site was known, but was unmarked for decades. He, too, is buried back in a far corner--well separated from the more respectable folks buried there.

I'll confess that I went to Archie's grave with the feeling that I wanted to be sure he is still dead. While standing there, however, my feelings softened very slightly. In spite of my earlier feeling, he became nothing more than a curiosity to me once I was there.

I do note that souvenir hunters have been chipping away at Bill Anderson's stone. It's hard to imagine, but he still has some fans in the area. I know a person who still calls him "CAPTAIN Anderson".

 

[Buckeye Bill]

I am glad I not the only insane American Civil War buff which hunts for obscure sites, Pat.

Great stuff.....

 

[Nathanb1]

Hey, look! Little Archie is just like He Who Shall Not Be Named....Louis T. Wigfall. It tends to be sans grass, also, according to Andy Hall.

 

[Patrick H]

Little Archie was a very bad man and I think that statement, in itself, is a bit of an understatement. But, after actually finding his grave site, I am confident that he is being dealt his just reward in the afterlife. I will not get into my religious beliefs to explain that, but you must be confident that I believe that is so. Anderson might have been cut from a slightly different piece of cloth. I really don't know. Some have asserted that he was always an insane, murderous, sociopath. I won't go that far. He didn't have much notoriety before Lawrence. He might have been just any typical guerrilla before then.

...and then his little sister died in the K.C. jail collapse....

After that happened, I'll say this much: Without question, he raised revenge killings of Federals to a new plateau. Was he rendered insane by her loss? I have no idea. He became remorseless and effective in his killing of Federals afterwards. Of that, there can be very little doubt.

Hey, Bill, thank you! I wish you had been there with me. When you want to go, we'll do it!

 

[Littlestown]

I am glad I not the only insane American Civil War buff which hunts for obscure sites, Pat.

Great stuff.....

Speaking of infamous guerrillas and obscure, have you been to Dover, Ohio to visit the grave (one of them anyway) of one of her native sons?

 

[leftyhunter]

Yesterday I went scouting on the guerrilla trail in Lafayette and Ray Counties, Missouri. There were two graves I wanted to see, not for the purpose of honoring these particular men, but out of curiosity. I was in Lexington anyway, and the opportunity was too good to pass up.

The first cemetery was a little tricky to find, but after receiving directions from a local, we got there easily enough. It is the Pioneer Cemetery in Richmond, Missouri and it contains the grave of Wm. "Bloody Bill" Anderson. He was buried here after his body was drug around the courthouse square. His grave is off by itself in a corner, but well marked and easy to find in this very small cemetery. This cemetery is very remarkable for two reasons other than Anderson's grave. Those reasons are so unrelated to this, I will explain them in a separate thread.

The second cemetery is just off Highway 24, fairly near the town of Napoleon, MO. It, too, is an old community cemetery and contains the grave of one of the few guerrillas more infamous than Anderson--Little Archie Clements. A local guide told me that Archie's grave site was known, but was unmarked for decades. He, too, is buried back in a far corner--well separated from the more respectable folks buried there.

I'll confess that I went to Archie's grave with the feeling that I wanted to be sure he is still dead. While standing there, however, my feelings softened very slightly. In spite of my earlier feeling, he became nothing more than a curiosity to me once I was there.

I do note that souvenir hunters have been chipping away at Bill Anderson's stone. It's hard to imagine, but he still has some fans in the area. I know a person who still calls him "CAPTAIN Anderson".
I didn't know Anderson and Clements where officially commissioned has was Quantril. Where they?
Leftyhunter

View attachment 57070

View attachment 57071

 

[TerryB]

One would think guerrillas would not be entitled to VA headstones. What's up with that?

 

[Patrick H]

Speaking of infamous guerrillas and obscure, have you been to Dover, Ohio to visit the grave (one of them anyway) of one of her native sons?
View attachment 57077

I have not been to Dover. But that is only one of the three graves of Capt. Quantrill's remains. I did visit one of the three graves yesterday. It is in the Confederate Cemetery at Higginsville, MO.

I am not sure specifically which of his body parts are buried in this grave. I believe they are long bones from his legs. Perhaps a bit more of him. These bones were literally in the possession of a Kansas collector until about ten years ago.

 

[TerryB]

Champ Ferguson was hanged for war crimes, yet he gets a VA marker, too.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...GSst=45&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=5126001&df=all&

 

[Littlestown]

Champ Ferguson was hanged for war crimes, yet he gets a VA marker, too.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...GSst=45&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=5126001&df=all&

Boggles the mind, doesn't it? In searching for an answer, I came across this article -http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/07/you-wont-believe-what-the-government-spends-on-confederate-graves/277931/

 

[TerryB]

Boggles the mind, doesn't it? In searching for an answer, I came across this article -http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/07/you-wont-believe-what-the-government-spends-on-confederate-graves/277931/

I suppose if the soldier is carried on the rolls of an organized CS unit, these guerrillas qualify. But it just ain't right.

 

[Littlestown]

Must be proud of them. And they're carrying on that pride ...SCV Quantrill's Raiders Camp #2087, Mayfield Heights, Ohio

 

[Patrick H]

I don't know about Champ Ferguson at all, but will read up on him.

As for these Missouri boys, I judge them as the individuals they were. There's no doubt that some of them were very bad guys who did horrific things. I launched my thread on two of them who are almost universally considered to be very bad guys.

Depending on whom you read, you might be tempted to judge them all the same way. But, if you did so, you would be inaccurate. These Missouri boys were as individual as we are today. They had the same strengths and weaknesses of character that we have. We all know that some of them were remarkably bad. In fact, I am persuaded that Archie Clements was the living, breathing personification of evil while he was alive. Others came from very good families, had very good upbringings and showed remarkable strength of character at times--even though they could demonstrate remarkable efficiency at attacking Federals at other times. The same could be said of thousands upon thousands of soldiers in regular service on either side of the conflict.

I'm just saying that we cannot paint all of these boys with one broad stroke of the same brush. If we do, we will not paint them accurately.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Speaking of infamous guerrillas and obscure, have you been to Dover, Ohio to visit the grave (one of them anyway) of one of her native sons?
View attachment 57077

Negative.....

 

[mofederal]

I have three relatives who were guerrillas. The Shepherd boys. One was killed at Centralia, one by the vigilance committee of Lee's Summit, and the third of old age in Ky. They were who they were and men of their time. What is left of the family never talk of them or acknowledge them. To me they are people shaped by the events of the war, but what they did aftert the war is something else. The other two were part of the Liberty Bank robbery with James. They both paid for their crimes, one hanging, and the other by prison. They were Civil War veterans and Americans, did they ever regret their actions/ I don't know that answer. I hope they are at peace.

 

[mofederal]

I think Quantrill's skull may be buried at his third grave. Not sure of that. I know it is at the Confederate Cemetery at Higgensville. I know who had Anderson's grave marked, but Clements I'm not sure. A good friend is a descendent of Dave Poole.

 

[Patrick H]

I think Quantrill's skull may be buried at his third grave. Not sure of that. I know it is at the Confederate Cemetery at Higgensville. I know who had Anderson's grave marked, but Clements I'm not sure. A good friend is a descendent of Dave Poole.

Quantill's skull is now buried in his grave at Dover, Ohio. It is in a child's coffin and is buried somewhat shallowly--about three feet down. This was an attempt to avoid disturbing the remnants of his spine and dust that are still buried there. Some of his long bones (legs and arms that were previously displayed in the Kansas Historical Society) are now buried in the Confederate Home Cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri. See the picture in my post #8, above.

One story is that Cole Younger had Anderson's grave marked. Perhaps that was true once. It isn't any more. Anderson's grave is marked by a recent Confederate stone. So is little Archie's. I have posted pictures of Archie's stone, too. See above. I am a bit surprised that some contemporary people still honor these particular two guys, but I have just revealed my feelings toward them, haven't I?

I don't hold all of the Missouri guerrillas in the same judgement, but Bill Anderson and Archie Clements were uniquely vicious and I would go so far as to say evil. I am pretty sure God has dealt with them and none of the rest of us need to worry about their fate any further.

 

[mofederal]

Very true, I know people still honor them, a lot of Anderson's family still live in Mo. It is hard to hate people you or related to, and even those you respect and admire. Author Donald Hale ordered and placed Anderson's marker.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

I am pretty sure God has dealt with them and none of the rest of us need to worry about their fate any further.

William Quantrill died after converting to the Catholic faith in hospital and receiving the sacrament of Extreme Unction as far as I know. This detail came up in my thread on the Black Flag. Here is what I posted (#46):

"Upon reaching Louisville, Quantrill was placed in the military prison hospital, where he was nursed by a Catholic priest. He made a full confession, converted to Catholicism and took the sacrament of extreme unction. On June 6, following an operation, William Clarke Quantrill died at the age of 27".
http://www.historynet.com/americas-...m-clarke-quantrills-last-raid-in-kentucky.htm

I also said: Perhaps he was given 'quarter' in the next life...

Truer words were never spoken (as per your quote) @Patrick H , and perhaps Quantrill met his Maker on better terms than the rest of them...one can only wonder.

 

[diane]

Borderruffian put up a little thread on Archie:

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/andersons-head-devil.22337/

Wow, that's Quantrill all over the place! And...there's his head sitting in somebody's refrigerator. (Think that's wax.)

Tend to agree with the psychological evaluations of some of these men - bet most of them would have been plain nondescript farmers and nobody would have known what else lurked in them if certain things hadn't happened. I've wondered about Anderson and Quantrill - there was always something a little off about Anderson but Quantrill's a puzzler. Nothing puzzling about Little Archie, though!