Gentlemen,
I'm working on a historical short film this w/e that has been commissioned by the City of Olathe, KS. It is about Quantrill's raid and sacking of Olathe in September of 1862.
In my research, I know the town was being protected by approximately 125 men armed with muskets. Some accounts refer to these men as soldiers, others refer to them as militia. I know Quantrill killed three young men on the way there for having just enlisted in the 12th Kansas Infantry, yet he paroled all the "defenders" except for one sergeant who refused to surrender his weapon. This could be because they were militia, not regular army. Or it could be because he had already filled his revenge quota of "Ten dead Kansans for Perry Hoy", a captured Quantrill guerrilla who had just been executed by firing squad in Leavenworth, and the primary motivation for the raid.
I guess I'm confused by the differences between militia, home guard, and how they visually compare to the regular infantry. Does it depend on State vs City Militia? Most reenactors around here show up as armed and organized civilians with a smattering of Federal belts, hats or frogs thrown in when called on to portray militia. Is that correct? If fully uniformed is more accurate, what would visually set militia apart from the regular army?
The big question: Does anyone here know who exactly it was that Quantrill captured (without a shot, no less)? Since this is a historical project, and I don't know how knowledgeable the director is about this, I kind of feel we should get it right.
Thanks very much in advance,
Gary
I'm working on a historical short film this w/e that has been commissioned by the City of Olathe, KS. It is about Quantrill's raid and sacking of Olathe in September of 1862.
In my research, I know the town was being protected by approximately 125 men armed with muskets. Some accounts refer to these men as soldiers, others refer to them as militia. I know Quantrill killed three young men on the way there for having just enlisted in the 12th Kansas Infantry, yet he paroled all the "defenders" except for one sergeant who refused to surrender his weapon. This could be because they were militia, not regular army. Or it could be because he had already filled his revenge quota of "Ten dead Kansans for Perry Hoy", a captured Quantrill guerrilla who had just been executed by firing squad in Leavenworth, and the primary motivation for the raid.
I guess I'm confused by the differences between militia, home guard, and how they visually compare to the regular infantry. Does it depend on State vs City Militia? Most reenactors around here show up as armed and organized civilians with a smattering of Federal belts, hats or frogs thrown in when called on to portray militia. Is that correct? If fully uniformed is more accurate, what would visually set militia apart from the regular army?
The big question: Does anyone here know who exactly it was that Quantrill captured (without a shot, no less)? Since this is a historical project, and I don't know how knowledgeable the director is about this, I kind of feel we should get it right.
Thanks very much in advance,
Gary
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