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The Civil War in Missouri was nothing like the war elsewhere. There was no place scarier and torn apart more by the war than Missouri. Missouri was a savage, frightening place to be and was scarred for decades by the viciousness of the war within its borders.
Much of the situation in Missouri was caused by the activities of guerillas and bushwhackers who may have fought for the Confederacy early on, but often degenerated into men more interested in plunder and settling scores than any patriotic cause.
There is probably a special place in hell for men like Bill Anderson, a psychopathic killer who was personally responsible for the murder of some 54 people. Add up those that his followers gunned down and the number, while unknown, is certainly a stunning one.
This book by Albert Castel and Thomas Goodrich has been on my shelf for a while but I took it down this weekend to read. It is published by Stackpole and is a quick read at 144 pages of text. However, the authors have packed a lot of story into those pages.
The book reads much like a suspense novel in places, especially the chapters dealing with the Centralia Massacre where Anderson and his men murdered some helpless civilians, a member of the 23rd Iowa and 22 members of the 1st Missouri Engineers who were returning home by train for a 30 day furlough after the fall of Atlanta. One of them was a fellow by the name of Josh Comer. Another one, Tom Goodman, a sergeant in the 1st was saved by Anderson as a potential trade for one of his sergeants held prisoner by the Federals. Much of the story about Centralia is based on his memoirs of his time in captivity until he was able to escape from Anderson's band and finally make his way home to Hawleyville, Iowa just north of the Missouri border.
While Anderson finally met his death at the hands of Missouri Militia who were hunting him down, the guerilla war did not cease - indeed it lasted well into 1866 as these bushwhackers continued their outlaw activity as many of these men who had long ago given up a cause and become common criminals and murderers did what the war had given them the skills to do. The legacy continued even into the 1880's, carried on by the likes of Frank and Jesse James.
For a quick read that gives a bit of an idea of the brutality and chaos that existed in Missouri, I would recommend this book.
Much of the situation in Missouri was caused by the activities of guerillas and bushwhackers who may have fought for the Confederacy early on, but often degenerated into men more interested in plunder and settling scores than any patriotic cause.
There is probably a special place in hell for men like Bill Anderson, a psychopathic killer who was personally responsible for the murder of some 54 people. Add up those that his followers gunned down and the number, while unknown, is certainly a stunning one.
This book by Albert Castel and Thomas Goodrich has been on my shelf for a while but I took it down this weekend to read. It is published by Stackpole and is a quick read at 144 pages of text. However, the authors have packed a lot of story into those pages.
The book reads much like a suspense novel in places, especially the chapters dealing with the Centralia Massacre where Anderson and his men murdered some helpless civilians, a member of the 23rd Iowa and 22 members of the 1st Missouri Engineers who were returning home by train for a 30 day furlough after the fall of Atlanta. One of them was a fellow by the name of Josh Comer. Another one, Tom Goodman, a sergeant in the 1st was saved by Anderson as a potential trade for one of his sergeants held prisoner by the Federals. Much of the story about Centralia is based on his memoirs of his time in captivity until he was able to escape from Anderson's band and finally make his way home to Hawleyville, Iowa just north of the Missouri border.
While Anderson finally met his death at the hands of Missouri Militia who were hunting him down, the guerilla war did not cease - indeed it lasted well into 1866 as these bushwhackers continued their outlaw activity as many of these men who had long ago given up a cause and become common criminals and murderers did what the war had given them the skills to do. The legacy continued even into the 1880's, carried on by the likes of Frank and Jesse James.
For a quick read that gives a bit of an idea of the brutality and chaos that existed in Missouri, I would recommend this book.
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