Members B-Bottom Posted February 7, 2006 Members Posted February 7, 2006 William T. Anderson William T. Anderson a.k.a "Bloody Bill" (1839-October 26, 1864) was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla leader of the American Civil War. Early yearsAnderson was raised in Missouri in a family which included three brothers and three sisters. His father, Bill was a hat maker and a charter member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1850, his father moved to California. William Anderson, at the age of 11, was thrust into being the family provider, along with his brothers Ellis and Jim. After Bill Anderson Sr. returned from California unsuccessful, the Anderson family moved to Agnes City Township, Kansas, in 1857. Anderson worked for a time on a wagon train and was suspected of horse theft. He conducted several forays into Missouri, primarily for the purposes of theft. Bill Anderson Sr. was killed in 1862 by a neighbor over an ongoing dispute. William Anderson and his brother, Jim, later confronted the neighbor, killing him and another man. Anderson as a guerillaIn the spring of 1863, Anderson and his brother became bushwhackers and later joined the famed Quantrill's Partisan Rangers to fight against the Union troops. That same year, Union authorities decided to arrest all individuals who were involved with Quantrill's guerillas, their friends and family members. Two of Anderson's sisters, Mary and Josephine, were arrested and imprisoned with nine other women, all being accused of assisting Confederate partisans. They were housed in a Kansas City, Missouri building. The building was made structurally unsound by Union soldiers who, in an effort to make more space in a lower room, removed partitions and posts that supported the second floor. On August 13 of the same year, the building collapsed, killing four of the women, including Josephine, while Mary was severly crippled for the rest of her life. Anderson became enraged, believing the Union soldiers had deliberately weakened the building in an attempt to harm the prisoners. Anderson increased his guerilla activities and killed an undetermined number of Union soldiers and male civilians. He dictated or personally wrote letters to newspapers in Lexington, Missouri, promising further violence against pro-Union civilians and threatening to take women of Union families as hostages. The raids on Lawrence, Kansas and Centralia, MissouriAnderson participated in Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863. Around 200 civilian men and boys were reported to have been killed and many homes and buildings were burned to the ground. Quarrels with Quantrill over tactics caused Anderson and others to leave his group around March 1864. On September 27, 1864, Anderson led fellow bushwhackers in a raid on Centralia, Missouri, looting and burning buildings and terrifying the local populace. The train tracks on which the Northern Missouri Railroad Line ran were barricaded, and a train was forced to stop. In searching the train the bushwhackers found 24 unarmed Union soldiers who were on furlough headed to their homes in Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa. The civilian passengers were robbed of their belongings. The soldiers were taken from the train, and ordered to disrobe. Taking one Union sergeant for a possible 'prisoner exchange', the remaining soldiers were shot and killed immediately on Anderson's orders. The same day, Union Major A.V.E. Johnston of the 39th Missouri Infantry Volunteers set off with his men to pursue Anderson's band. They were charged by a joint force of Anderson and fellow guerilla George Todd. When the Federal troops single shot rifles became empty, they retreated in a panic as the guerillas cut them down. Some of Anderson's men told the Union soldiers to surrender; those that did were later lined up and executed. Around 123 infantry men were killed, along with the 24 Union soldiers and several civilians at Centralia. Bodies of the soldiers were decapitated and mutilated by some of the guerillas. Anderson became infamous for his violent actions and those of his followers; people started calling him "Bloody Bill" during this period of his life. He and his men continued their attacks on Union soldiers and civilians in various parts of Missouri. Anderson's deathOn October 27, 1864, Anderson was killed during a battle with Union troops at Albany, Missouri. Anderson was shot twice in the head and fell from his horse. His body was put on public display and photographed. He is buried in Pioneer Cemetery, in Richmond, Missouri. Assorted facts, rumors and mythsIt is believed that Anderson belonged to the Missouri State Guard at some time of his life, but no records have proven that to be a fact. Allegedly found on Anderson's body after his death was a silken cord with fifty-three knots. It is alleged that this was his way of keeping a record of his killings. Human scalps were also found on the bridle. Anderson's birth year 1839 was incorrectly put as 1840 on his tombstone. William Anderson married a woman, Bush Smith, of Sherman, Texas, in 1863. Frank James (of the James Gang) was a member of William Quantrill's raiders and later joined Anderson's band in 1863. He participated in the raid on Centralia, although later in life he would deny being there. Jesse James joined his brother in Anderson's gang during the summer of 1863. A member of Anderson's gang, Archie "Little Archie" Clements, was notorious for scalping some of the men he had killed. Anderson and some of his men are alleged to have hung scalps from their horse bridles.
Members bassesofalessergod Posted February 7, 2006 Members Posted February 7, 2006 why am i the only one who posts in these threads?
Members B-Bottom Posted February 7, 2006 Author Members Posted February 7, 2006 Originally posted by bassesofalessergod why am i the only one who posts in these threads? because you rawk!!!!
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.