" Up at Lawrence on the Kaw"

 

Whilst (I love this word and I use it when I can. It's archaic and it's the perfect word to draw attention to some equally archaic fact, I can't wait to divulge) driving by the city of Lawrence, Kansas, I mentioned the infamous raid of William Quantrill. Well, the person to which I was addressing my comments, in spite of being a Kansas Native, knew nothing of Quantrill's Raid, or so he said. Frankly, as soon as I opened my mouth, I realized that he didn't care to hear any of the historical knowledge that I was about to impart. But, I proceeded anyway.

Back in the Civil War Era, William Quantrill, was a pro-Confederate sympathizer from Missouri. In the early morning hours of August 21st, 1863, he and 400-450, of his mounted Missouri "Bushwackers" raided and ransacked the border town of Lawrence, Kansas. Included in his group, were the future outlaws Frank (age 14) and Jesse (16) James. Lawrence was their target, because it had been settled in the pre-war years by pro-abolitionist folk from the Northern U.S. They were "Free Staters", settling in Kansas to make it a Slave-Free State. Their attack was in retaliation for raids into Missouri, by Union-sympathizer "Jayhawkers", and a jail collapse in Kansas City.

Anyway, the raiders succeeded in killing around 180-200 men and boys, burning their bodies and most of the town. Dozens of women were left widows and their children, fatherless. The raid caused around $2,000,000 in damage. Two of the preachers in town survived, and one of them the Rev. Richard Cordley, wrote two books about the event. If you are interested, check out his book, Pioneer Days in Kansas, it's a good read, and a rare first-person account of the event.

Now, I hope you've enjoyed this history lesson. At least, you will be knowledgeable about the term "Border War" (usually used in reference to those Odious Missouri Tigers, playing the Glorious Kansas Jayhawks, in sports). You'll know from whence the rivalry started.......and continues.

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Lord, You are All-Knowing. We are not. Life is Ever-changing and we should be Ever-growing in  Knowledge and Understanding. Teach us to be kind. Help us to understand the needs of others.

 

 

Quantrill's Raid