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Posted by Captain Marquis on 2008/11/14 20:13:23 (1380 reads)

Welcome to quantrillsguerrillas.com! The most comprehensive on-line resource for all things related to William Clarke Quantrill and the men who followed him, as well as those who vigorously opposed him.

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ALL THINGS QUANTRILL : THE MEMORIAL STONE DEDICATION THAT TOOK 143 YEARS

Posted by Admin on 2008/11/14 20:13:08 (37 reads)

MEMORIAL STONE DEDICATION

The service occured at the original gravesite of Col. William Clarke Quantrill on October 25, 2008, at St. John's Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. We will be publishing numerous articles and various photos of this gala event.

Our first presentation is an Eulogy written and presented by Paul R. Petersen.

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A Eulogy for Col. William Clarke Quantrill by Paul R. Petersen

There are those gathered here today, to pay tribute to a Confederate soldier. Many of us here have acquainted ourselves with the terrible times, that transpired along the Missouri-Kansas border, during the darkest hours of our nation’s history. It was a time when sons fought against their fathers, and brothers fought against brothers. It was a time when family lines were lost forever, in a brief moment from a wanton raid of murder and rapine. A time where prosperous towns, were completely wiped off the map, never to regain their prominence.

It was a time when a government, sworn to uphold the laws, and protect its citizens, waged a scorched earth policy of total war, against old men, women and children. It was a time when the rights and guarantees of the Constitution, were trampled upon and ignored. In those terrible times, men banded together to protect their property, their lives, and the lives of their loved ones.

In Missouri, which had seen its land devastated, and its property plundered for two years preceding the Civil War, rose up men that chose to fight, rather than submit to tyranny. One man was chosen leader of a small band of determined men. His name was William Clarke Quantrill. He made his reputation from the hills of western Missouri, to the plains of Kansas, to the rolling prairies of Texas, and to the waving blue grasses of Kentucky. His men were never defeated in battle, nor did they lose the spirit that bound them together in a just cause. And for their gallantry in battle, for their development of modern guerrilla tactics, which are still being used today in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, and their devotion to each other, which bound them closer than brothers, they were branded as outlaws and executed when captured.

And for their efficiency in battle, and for their strength of arms and courage in the face of the enemy, they were feared from the highest echelons of every Federal command which they came in contact. And from that fear, arose a hatred that has exhibited itself so callously to this day. The stories about Quantrill that proved most spurious, were by those that never knew him. His enemies controlled the press. and with it came stories so filled with untruths, so sensationalized as to beggar belief, that after so many tellings they became accepted as truth.

We honor today the memory of a man, maligned and misunderstood. A man who instructed the sexton of this very cemetery to hide the whereabouts of his grave, knowing his body would be desecrated by his enemies. When his body was disinterred from this very spot, he was not allowed to be buried for over 100 years, because of the hatred still exhibited by those who continued to fear him. And what they feared most about Quantrill, is that if the truth about him became known, history would reveal their own misdeeds and criminal actions.

With the passage of time, we have come to discover the truth about Quantrill, and because of this, we are here today to pay homage to what Quantrill’s adjutant said was the highest honor that Quantrill could achieve, by simply saying: “He was a Confederate soldier.”

© Paul R. Petersen quantrillsguerrillas.com 2008

"Permission should be requested and agreed to before using this copyrighted essay."

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Below is an image of the ribbons made to help immortalize this historic occasion. They were designed to closely resemble the ribbons given to the unit's veterans at the Quantrill reunions.

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Next is the keynote address by Patrick R. Marquis:

Comrades, Confederates, Kentuckians:

We have gathered here today to honor and give homage to a great Missourian, eminent Southerner, and preeminent soldier, William Clarke Quantrill. One hundred and forty-three years ago, Colonel Quantrill died at 4:00 P.M., June 6, 1865 and his body was laid to rest in this spot. One of his men, Lieutenant William Gregg, later to become a deputy sheriff of Jackson County, Missouri, said of him: "I will ever hold his memory sacred." We, too, revere Colonel Quantrill, and that is why we are here to celebrate his life today and to honor him by formally rededicating his grave with its first headstone to demonstrate our love and affection for him.

Yankee histories have never told the honest truth about Quantrill. From the time of his death, Pro-Northern historians falsely branded him an evil man and demonized him beyond belief, calling him a devil, even, and the "Bloodiest man in the annals of America." What poppycock! It reminds one of Hitler's "Great Lies," of which the dictator's propaganda minister Joseph Gobbles said, "if you repeated them often enough, people would believe them."

In reality, Quantrill was a handsome and robust man who married a beautiful lady, Sarah Catherine King, he called her Kate. Yankee historians have also maligned her in their attempts to blacken her husband's name. Quantrill was born on July 31, 1837, in Canal Dover, Ohio, to Thomas Henry Quantrill and his wife Caroline. Quantrill's father was principal of the Canal Dover Union School. Before the Civil War began, Quantrill was a schoolteacher, and all his students agree that he was a very good one. Even before the Civil War, Quantrill learned to dislike the lawless abolitionists in Kansas, who obeyed no laws but the ones they called their "higher law," a twisted concept that allowed them to commit murder, rape, arson, and robbery in the state of Missouri from 1858 onward in good conscience.

But the REAL test of Quantrill is his men, who all loved him and followed him, many of them faithfully to their deaths. In the later part of the Civil War, Quantrill traveled to Kentucky where he continued the war, and where he believed he and his men could surrender in safety if the war went against the South. In Missouri, guerrillas were exterminated upon capture, in almost every single instance, according to a brutal, Union Army practice.

Today, some 143 years after Quantrill's death, we are assembled here, not to recount his numerous military victories nor to acknowledge his legendary bravery, but to simply honor him, to right a wrong. Recently, a number of historians, and we are among them, have begun a campaign to place the memory of Quantrill in a more respected position, to honor his courage, to gain regard for his astonishing tactical prowess in battle, and to remember, with appreciation, his dedication to the Southern cause. We are here to honor his name and to ensure that those who love him have a respectable grave to visit to show their appreciation for his ultimate sacrifice.

I regret that it has taken this long for Missourians and Southerners to honor the remains of William Clarke Quantrill and to place a handsome stone on his grave. Sometimes justice takes a long time to accomplish, but justice WILL prevail. In the future, we must swear to defend the honor and memory of Colonel William Clarke Quantrill and the members of his command against the wild charges of historians more interested in perpetuating myths about this great man than telling the truth about him, who have been more concerned with Pro-Union interpretations of the Civil War than simple honesty.

Working on behalf of justice and truth in regard to Civil War history is not easy, and this re-dedication of Quantrill's grave site has been the work of a number of selfless individuals who have pledged, as we all should, to defend the honor and memory of Colonel William Clarke Quantrill and his gallant command.

I applaud the joint efforts of the various groups and individuals who have helped to make this memorial possible. Some people insisted that we could not make this happen, could not erect this fine stone in memory of Quantrill. But through our joint efforts, we most certainly have accomplished that goal. In the future, I implore everyone here with Southern ideals to put aside their differences and to work together to accomplish other worthy causes similar to this one. Thank you all for coming and participating in this historic event.

© Patrick R. Marquis quantrillsguerrillas.com 2008

"Permission should be requested and agreed to before using this copyrighted essay."

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ALL THINGS QUANTRILL : BLOOD WASHED DIXIE

Posted by Admin on 2008/11/14 20:09:56 (6 reads)

Kentuckians, including some of my own ancestors, turned Missouri into a bloodied, killing-field during our War for Southern Independence. During the 1820s and 1830s many folks from Kentucky trekked into Missouri and settled in places like Lexington, Independence and Westport. The battle of Lexington also known as the “Battle of the Hemp Bales” took place upon the grounds of the home of a prominent Kentuckian, Oliver Anderson.

Due to the brutal incursions made into Missouri by the freebooters from Kansas before and during the war, hundreds of young men joined forces with Confederate partisan units to fight those abolitionist brutes. One of my distant Yager cousins served under William Clarke Quantrill and George Todd. We are both descendants of Nicholas Yager of Germany. He was a 1717 immigrant into Virginia who served as an indentured servant to Governor Spotswood in the area around Culpepper.

Judge James BarnesYager was raised and married in Washington County, Kentucky. Richard Francis “Dick” Yager/Yeager was his only son. After moving to Missouri, Judge Yager and Richard became freighters on the Santa Fe Trail only to be raided by Jennison’s gang. Thousands of dollars of supplies were stolen from the Yager home by these cut throats.

Here is a rare war dated image of "Dick" Yager/ Yeager. Thanks to Emory Cantey for allowing us to pusblish his rare iamge.

This robbery was the catalyst that drove Richard Yager to join forces with Quantrill. He captained small bands deep into Kansas to raid places that he was familiar with due to his former experience traveling upon the Santa Fe Trail. On July 19, 1864, George Todd and Yager with a company of partisans attacked the Yanks at Arrowrock, Missouri.

Yager was shot in the head and left in a cornfield north of Arrowrock and cared for by Jennie Flannery/Flanery on Gilliam’s land. Two weeks later, the Yanks found Yager and murdered him. Jennie turned herself in to the Federal authorities in order to protect Gilliam. She was placed in jail, and Gilliam was saved from a possible execution.

Yager’s wife, Martha J. “Mattie” Muir, descended from the Kentucky Muirs. Mattie and her daughter Mollie along with some of her Muir relatives were jailed in Leavenworth, Kansas, before Yager was killed. Here is more evidence of the abuse our enemies meted out to the gentler sex of Missouri.

According to the Margaret Watts Hays letters at website www.wattshaysletters.com: “They say if they get Dick they will torture him four days and then burn him.” These violent threats kept the southern men fighting with determination. Margaret was the wife of Confederate Upton Hays who was a descendant of Daniel Boone. She and her five children witnessed their home being burned by Yankee villains! Margaret was a first cousin to Yager as her mother and Richard’s mother were Berry sisters from Kentucky.

Next is a rare image of a Upton Hays reunion ribbon. Thanks to Rick Mack for allowing us to publish an image of this very rare item.

In 2007, no one had been successful on locating the gravesite for Richard Yager, but with good fortune I was led to his final gravesite, likely his third. We do not know for sure where he was originally buried, but in 1871 his body was removed to the Confederate/Self Cemetery in Kansas City at 71st and Troost Street.

By 1893, all the soldiers buried at the Confederate Cemetery were moved just across the street into Forest Hills Cemetery at 72nd/Gregory Street and Troost Street. This move included the 75 unknown Confederates who had died defending Westport, Missouri.

This data was detailed within an old D.A.R. book which contained a list of cemeteries. The book is entitled “Vital Historical Records of Jackson County, Missouri 1826-1876” by the Kansas City Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. It only lists four actual names of soldiers buried in 1871 at the Confederate Soldiers’ Cemetery. These four names were: Upton Hays who had a marker at Forest Hills, Richard Yeager, William McGuire and Officer Jones from Arkansas. After this discovery, I placed an order for two V.A. markers, one for Yeager and one for McGuire. It is documented that Hays, Yeager and McGuire all rode with Quantrill, more research is needed to determine more about Officer Jones so in the future a V.A. marker can be placed at Forest Hills in his memory.

On Sunday, October 12, 2008 at 2 p.m. a memorial was held for the two newly marked graves under the beautiful U.D.C. monument and in honor of all Confederates buried at Forest Hills Cemetery. The names of many of the soldiers were called out and a gong struck in their honor. A well-known Kentuckian, General Jo Shelby’s name was announced. He also rests with several members of his family near to the base of the Confederate monument.

I read this eulogy by General Alpheus Baker, the “eagle orator of Alabama” as I believe it to be one of the most sublime every written about our southern soldiers:

“Pondering the past, I have sometimes looked up into the skies of a cloudless night, at the lights of glory with which God has chandeliered that dome. And I would see scattered here and there stars of the first magnitude: Sirius and Arcturus and Aldebaran, and others whose names I knew. And to me they represented the leaders in the war. But beyond and back of them, and without which the heavens would have been bereft of their splendor, glittered an innumerable host of other stars which no astronomer has named. And there, streaming far across the skies was the milky way; a wide river of glory whose every wavelet is a nameless star. And to me they represented the private soldiers, the unknown men, the nameless heroes; who, faithful to a soldier’s duty, for which they expected no pensions or honors or reward but the sublime consciousness of its discharge, fighting for the right as God gave them to see the right, bore up the stars and bars of blood-washed Dixie to disaster or to victory upon a thousand fields.

Is it not right that such men should never be forgotten?”

Here is an image of both headstones. Thanks to Nancy Hitt for allowing publication of her photo.

© Nancy Hitt quantrillsguerrillas.com 2008

"Permission should be requested and agreed to before using this copyrighted essay."

Thanks to Nancy Hitt for fighting the good fight, and for sharing this wonderful essay.

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ALL THINGS QUANTRILL : GONE BUT NOT FORGIVEN, THOSE VILE REBEL BONES PART 2, IS THE THIRD TIME A CHARM?

Posted by Admin on 2008/10/30 13:38:23 (141 reads)

Here is an image of Quantrill's third headstone, published for the first time.

Although I am appalled at the heinous treatment the remains of various Missouri Confederate guerrillas have suffered over the years, I cannot say that I'm surprised when I discover such instances. Its what we have come to expect from those who wish to falsely interpret the history of our state and resort to illegal acts sometimes to enforce their prejudices.

There are numerous examples where the mortal remains of Missouri Confederate guerrillas have been subjected to profane and inhuman treatment for more than 140 years, and there is no indication this criminal trend will end--unless the public demands it. There is no better example of the degrading treatment of our heroic Missouri guerrillas than the treatment of William Clarke Quantrill's remains.

During the late stages of the Civil War, Quantrill realized that he would never be allowed to surrender under favorable terms (perhaps even to save their lives) in Missouri. So in mid-December 1864, he led a band of thirty-three followers out of western Missouri southeastward in the direction of Kentucky and Tennessee. A member of the group Sylvester Akers later wrote:

"It was not the original intention of Quantrill to go to Kentucky. He started from Missouri to Virginia to (join) the army of Lee [where they might surrender safely] and intended to go through Tennessee. At [the] Mississippi [River] he was told he would not be able to pass through the Federal lines in east Tennessee. He then turned aside to go through Kentucky." (1) Six guerrillas left Quantrill at this point bound for Texas.

By mid-January Quantrill and his band entered Kentucky. They were soon in embroiled in battles and once again they were on the run. The next four months were perilous. The Missourians were operating now in hostile, unknown territory where their enemies hounded them. These encounters resulted in casualties and captured guerrillas, which drained their effectiveness.

On the rainy morning of May 10, 1865, Quantrill and his men were resting inside a barn on the James H. Wakefield farm, 30 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky, where they were ambushed by Union guerrillas under the command of Captain Edwin Terrell, a Union hireling.

While attempting to mount a new horse and escape, William Clarke Quantrill was shot in the back, the bullet penetrating his left shoulder blade and lodging in his spine, paralyzing him below his shoulders.

Quantrill was taken to the infirmary of the military prison at Louisville, Kentucky, where he died on June 6, 1865. The guerrilla's earthly remains were buried in an unmarked earth-level grave located in the cottage yard of St. Joseph's (now St. John's) Catholic Cemetery. If it were not for a strange twist of fate, the location of his remains may have been lost to the annuals of time.

Meanwhile, the mother of the rebel warrior, Caroline Clarke Quantrill, remained unaware of the fate of her eldest son William. Nor did she know he would soon be reviled as the devil incarnate by much of the population of the recently reunified country, thanks to Yankee authors and a Northern press that supported a twisted, Northern-biased history of the Civil War in the West.

Mrs. Quantrill had endured a hard and often tragic existence. Caroline was left destitute after her husband died in 1854 and used her skills as a seamstress to support herself. But she was hard pressed to sustain herself, and "eventually, the family was compelled to take in boarders" (2)

Four of her children had died in infancy, three others (including William) died before their time, and her last surviving son proved irresponsible and unable or unwilling to support her. Quantrill's grave, in the meantime, remained unmarked and unvisited, its exact location known only to a few people.

No one dared to imagine the barbaric and profane treatment Quantrill's remains would soon endure. No one, that is, except Union Army veteran and Dover, Ohio newspaper editor William Walter Scott, a former friend of Quantrills and a deceitful acquaintance of Caroline C. Quantrill, William's mother.

In his book The Devil Knows How to Ride, Edward E. Leslie describes William Walter Scott as "a boyhood friend of Quantrill and benefactor of his Mother, who spent twenty- five years researching and collecting information about his life." (3)

W. W. Scott planned to use his research to write a biography about his "infamous" childhood companion to earn some kind of "reputation." He befriended Caroline Quantrill in order to achieve this goal. For reasons unknown, Scott felt compelled to deceive Mrs. Quantrill by stealing her son's skull and at least five other bones from his grave in Louisville. Scott later attempted to sell the bones for profit.

In 1884, Scott visited Louisville, Kentucky, in search of Quantrill's remains. Although the cemetery where he had been buried had been renamed, he finally located it and persuaded the sexton's wife, Bridget, to show him the unmarked grave.

In December 1887, Scott returned to Louisville with Mrs. Quantrill in tow, only to learn that the sexton, Patrick Shelly, had died. Fortunately for the pair, Shelly's wife had been appointed his successor. "Mrs. Quantrill convinced Bridget to allow the grave to be opened so that the bones could be placed in a zinc-lined box and re-buried." (4).

At 3:00 P.M. on December 8, 1887, after Scott paid the required inducements, the digging began and the bones were quickly unearthed. Scott wrote in his notes that "Every vestige of the coffin had disappeared except a rotten piece of (board) the size of a man's hand." "His hair has slipped off in a half circle around the skull and was of a bleached yellow color" (5) . . . "Scott wrapped the skull in newspaper. The ribs and part of the backbone crumbled when touched, however everything else went temporarily into a small box, which was not zinc-lined. The grave was filled in, and the box was buried near the surface." (6)

Apparently, William Scott was not one to waste time. A mere nine days later, he wrote a note to the secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, Major Franklin G. Adams. He enclosed a lock of Quantrill's hair, and inquired; "What would his (Quantrill's) skull be worth to your Society?" (7).

The KSHS secretary offered to raise funds to acquire the illicit relics. But ever the wily newspaperman, Scott--concerned about the negative publicity that might occur--refused to follow up on Adam's offer, at least for the moment. He told Adams, "The mother is now old, and I would not for any money have her feelings hurt. In a short time she will pass away, and then publicity would not matter" (8)

Consequently, Scott decided to delay his long-planned biography of the Confederate guerrilla chieftain until Mrs. Quantrill passed away. Ironically, on November 6, 1902, W. W. Scott, himself, died of a heart attack, more than a year before Mrs. Caroline Clarke Quantrill passed away.

After his death, Scott's widow wrote a letter to the secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society and pleaded with him to keep her husband's attempts to sell Quantrill's skull and bones a secret. She then sold her husband's files along with Quantrill's bones to Kansas State Historical Society member, William E. Connelley, who later became the secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society.

Connelley soon attempted to trade Quantrill's bones, along with a lock of his hair, for weapons once owned by Jesse James and Wild Bill Hickok. Unable to complete the deal, he finally donated the bones to the historical society.

On November 23, 1903, eighty-three-year-old Caroline Clarke Quantrill left this earth. A mere three days later, the Kansas State Historical Society announced they would be displaying her son's bones and hair.

The response was swift and decisive. Many people were quick to criticize this morbid display of human body parts of the rebel guerrilla. Others saw it as glorifying the guerrilla chief. Despite opposition led by numerous Methodist ministers and the Kansas Division of the Grand Army of the Republic, the KSHS refused to be swayed.

Later that year, "Quantrill's shinbones went on display in a glass case, along with three arm bones that had been donated by Connelley and some relics of the Lawrence raid." (9)

The furor eventually died down until 1907, when a man named John Sharp, who claimed to be Quantrill, raised a cry calling for the disposal of the "fraudulent" bones. In 1910, the bones were finally consigned to a vault, and eventually they ended up in the archeology laboratory.

Meanwhile, in 1905, several Dover boys formed the D. J. S. Club (the meaning of the abbreviations has been lost). In 1910, the club became the Zeta Chapter of the Alpha Pi fraternity. Someone obtained Quantrill's skull from W.W. Scott's son Walter, and it was used in Zeta's initiation ritual. Covered with shellac with red lights wired into the skull's eye sockets, the skull was nicknamed "Jake." Scott shared with close friends the secret that it was actually Quantrill's skull.

Zeta was disbanded in 1942, and a fraternity trustee named Nelson McMillan bought the skull. He kept it in a box in his cellar until 1972, when he gave it to the Dover Historical society. The trustees had a wax head fashioned from the skull, which was stored in an antique refrigerator, while the skull was displayed in the Reeves Museum for the next twenty years.

Although it seemed that Quantrill's mortal remains were destined to be desecrated until they disintegrated into dust, fate intervened. Sometime in 1987, Robert L Hawkins III, attorney and commander-in-chief of the Missouri Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans learned of the deplorable treatment of Quantrill's remains.

In an interview with author Leslie, Hawkins said: "It would be inappropriate to leave the remains of any American soldier in a box in a museum. That would be true no matter which side he fought on in this or any other war." (10)

Determined to right this wrong, Hawkins immediately began to explore ways to ensure the bones were properly buried. When he wrote a letter to the Kansas State Historical Society, Commander Hawkins was advised that law prohibited deaccession and/or release of the relics to outside parties.

Undaunted by this set back, Hawkins vowed to continue his quest. In 1989, the Kansas legislature passed the Unmarked Burial Sites Preservation Act, which prohibited disturbance of unmarked burial sites and specified procedures for the care of burial sites as well as all human skeletal remains located within the state.

Originally intended to protect Indian burial sites, the Kansas State Historical Society took advantage of this opportunity to rid its collection of the remains of more than hundred human beings.

Quantrill's bones were placed in a small pine box and relocated to a "secured" place at a different location along with the remains of at least one hundred other humans. After four score and five years of being displayed and handled like a prized ham in a butcher's case, access to the guerrilla chieftain's remains were tightly restricted.

Meanwhile Hawkins and his fellow SVC members decided the proper resting place for Quantrill's bones would be the Confederate Cemetery at Higginsville, Missouri. Despite concerns that it might be more politically correct to bury the bones in Dover, Ohio, Hawkins won approval from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for the Higginsville burial.

The wheels of government turned slowly, but by the summer of 1992, it appeared that years of hard work were ready to pay off. However a dispute with the legislature led to an expected change in management at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. So in many ways, the effort to bury Quantrill's bones was set back to square one, again. Moreover, while Hawkins was away on a short vacation, opposition forces made yet other attempt to disrupt his plans.

A fax was sent to a judge in Ohio inquiring if there was any interest in burying the remains in Dover. The Dover Historical Society swiftly agreed to bury the bones along with the skull in a Dover plot. However, they required that the ceremony "be conducted with no publicity and a minimum of fanfare." (11)

Hawkins and the SCV, however, refused to allow Quantrill's "remains to be buried at midnight." Yet they soon discovered that in addition to convincing the new acting director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to enforce the original plan, they also needed to win over a second group of bureaucrats. Nonetheless, against all odds, Hawkins and his supporters won unanimous approval for the Missouri interment.

On October 24, 1992 over six hundred people attended a half-hour ceremony celebrating the interment of five bones belonging to Col. William Clarke Quantrill, into Missouri soil. During his eulogy, Commander Robert Hawkins gave his reply to those who criticized the decision to bury what was left of Quantrill's mortal remains in the Missouri soil he fought so hard to defend:

"We do not wish him buried where people are ashamed of him, where no one remembers or cares to recall the brutality of a partisan warfare that created men like Captain Quantrill and those who rode with him, where he would be laid to rest with a sense of relief that a difficult task had finally been done, with no military honors and no remembrance of the suffering and sacrifice of days gone by. He belongs here--here, with those who were truly his people." (12)

In the early afternoon of October 30, 1992, less than two dozen people gathered at the Fourth Street Cemetery in Dover, Ohio. They attended a Catholic funeral and watched as a child's coffin was lowered into a hole where some of Quantrill's other remains were laid in 1889.

So, finally, all of Quantrill's known remains were at long last laid to rest, although in three different graves located thousands of miles apart. Not to disparage the heroic effort it took to accomplish this feat, there was one glaring detail everyone had overlooked. Everyone that is, excepting for one dedicated defender of Southern rights. If it weren't for her dedication and persistence, the complete story of Quantrill's remains might have been left unfinished.

Ms. Nancy Hitt is that one in a million, a true flower of the South, who has dedicated much of her time, effort, and resources in locating and marking the grave of numerous confederate veterans. It didn't matter if the graves were located in Albany, New York or even in foreign soil, once Nancy discovered an unmarked Confederate's grave, she endeavored to find a way to provide a military marker for them.

Although Nancy Hitt deserves praise and recognition for all of her accomplishments, that will happen in the near future. It should come as no surprise to anyone to learn that Nancy Hitt was the driving force behind the effort to have Quantrill's original grave marked.

At this point she does not recall when she began the search for Quantrill's grave in Kentucky, a long and tedious process. Originally, she had applied for three different markers commemorating important events that occurred during Quantrill's last days in Kentucky.

But on March 26, 2002, Nancy received permission from the Frankfort branch of the Kentucky Historical Society to place a highway marker outside the cemetery where Quantrill was originally buried. On March 24, 2004, Nancy paid $1,200 out of her own pocket, along with $500.00 donated by the William Clarke Quantrill Society, and the marker was designed and built.

Things seemed to be progressing smoothly, and a memorial service was scheduled to commemorate the event. Soon the press was notified of the upcoming event. Once the story was made public, the forces that have dedicated themselves to defiling the heritage and legacy of our Confederate heroes sprang into action. These reprehensible people, whose names will not soil this announcement, accosted the Catholic bishop in Kentucky in an attempt to persuade him to revoke his permission to place the marker.

So by September 2004, the project had been canceled, and the funds were returned to Nancy Hitt. That marker was dumped in a corner of a warehouse in Shelbyville, Kentucky, where it sits today, gathering dust and rust. Needless to say the two other markers were never manufactured.

Much like the men she unselfishly honors, Nancy Hitt does not give up easily. Over the next four years, she made numerous attempts to have the marker placed, each and every time she was unsuccessful. But she did not abandon her quest, but it had to be held on hold.

While discussing the issue in the fall of 2007 with Emory Cantey, Don Gilmore, Rick Mack, and Patrick Marquis, Nancy Hit decided to try a different tact to achieve her goal of placing a monument on our hero's grave.

Based upon a previous incident where the publication of events before they occurred led to their ultimate ruin, a decision was made to keep the project confidential until it was completed.

Soon, we determined that the plot was still owned by the Quantrill family. Additionally, there was no record that any of Quantrill's remains were ever unearthed and relocated. And clearly many of the original remains were not, but lie moldering in the present grave. All interested parties were contacted and permission was granted to place a memorial marker on Quantrill's original grave.

Because the government had paid for the headstone on Quantrill's grave in Higginsville, Missouri, they refused to provide a second stone. Although we would have enjoyed sharing the chance to correct this 140-year-old miscarriage of justice with others, we could ill-afford the chance of notifying those who would oppose us in our plans. Additionally, it made the decision-making process quick and painless.

Therefore, the five of us gladly shared the cost incurred. We felt it was the least we could do to honor the legacy of Colonel William Clarke Quantrill, and it was an honor for us. It gives us all great pleasure to publish these photos of the marker on William Clarke Quantrill's original grave.

So now that the marker is set in the ground, it is time to share this chapter of Quantrill's story with the rest of the world. We are planning a memorial service sometime in the fall, details of which will be published as they become available. Although it appears that we finally have won this battle, the war is far from over.

In coming stories on this website, you will learn how the Confederate marker of Alexander Franklin James sits in a museum instead of on his grave, where it belongs. You will also learn about the plight of the Smith Cemetery, where the remains of numerous guerrillas have cynically been plowed under and paved over. You will also learn how, as a member of quantrillsguerrilas.com, you will be able to participate in future efforts to right other wrongs perpetrated against our Confederate heritage.

So if you are ready to participate in making history as well as reading about it, hook your reins to our saddle and hold on to your hats!

© Patrick R. Marquis quantrillsguerrillas.com 2008

"Permission should be requested and agreed to before using this copyrighted essay."

(1) Sylvester Akers Manuscript 1909. Reprint, 1910, New York Pageant, 1956.

(2) Paul R. Petersen, Quantrill of Missouri. (Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 2003).

(3). Edward Leslie, The Devil Knows How To Ride (New York: Random House Books, 1996.

(4). Ibid.

(5). Ibid.

(6). Ibid.

(7). Ibid.

(8). Ibid.

(9.) Ibid.

(10). Ibid.

(11). Ibid.

(12). Ibid.

We trust you'll enjoy this image of Quantrill's third headstone, also published for the first time.

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ALL THINGS QUANTRILL : THE FIRST BATTLE OF INDEPENDENCE MISSOURI

Posted by Admin on 2008/10/30 12:42:08 (13 reads)

Within 18 months of organizing his partisan ranger company, William Clarke Quantrill had quickly gained a reputation known throughout the South. Though completely surrounded on numerous occasions by vastly outnumbered enemy forces Quantrill courageously fought his way out and turned what surely seemed like defeat into a remarkable victory that won him laurels. By the summer of 1862 Quantrill’s command only comprised 60 men but such was their bravery and reputation that they were feared by every Federal command in which they came in contact.

Such was the setting in August of 1863 when Confederate officers on recruiting duty in northern Missouri found themselves aligned with each other. Col. John T. Hughes arrived from Arkansas with about seventy-five men. Lt. Col. Gideon W. Thompson was second in command. Col. Upton Hays had a handful of new recruits. These men found themselves in Jackson County, Missouri seeking protection and intelligence information from Quantrill. Col. Hughes intended to cross the Missouri River to recruit around his hometown of Clinton County, Missouri There were recruits eager to join but found it unsafe and near impossible to cross the river due to the large Federal presence in Independence, Missouri.

Lt. Col. James T. Buel was in charge of Federal soldiers stationed in Independence. His command consisted of two companies of the 7th Missouri Cavalry, 3 companies of the 2nd Battalion Missouri Provisional Militia and 1 company from the 6th Regiment of the Missouri Enrolled Militia. Any significant body of soldiers caught trying to cross the river to try to join forces with General Sterling Price’s Southern army would be cut off and destroyed.

Quantrill’s information had shown that Buel’s command structure located in the city of Independence was decentralized and fractured and would result in having ineffective command and control over his forces if attacked by a determined number of men.

Such was the daring of Quantrill’s guerrillas that Quantrill unhesitatedly divided his small force, one half leading the assault on the three companies of Captain Breckinridge’s command two blocks west of the city square while Quantrill’s remaining men would attack Buel’s headquarters and the remaining soldiers in town.

The cities provost guard was stationed at the city jail just off the northeast corner of the square. Captain George Todd with ten men was assigned by Quantrill to silence this area of resistance. Ironically Todd is buried less than a half mile away in the Woodlawn Cemetery struck down during the second Battle of Independence. When the attack commenced Buel took refuge in the Mechanics Bank building on the southwest corner of the city square. The Mechanics Bank Building, the city jail building and the grave of Captain George Todd can be seen in the photos below.

Part of Buel’s forces took up defensive positions in the brick courthouse. Fighting defiantly but discovering that they were up against Quantrill’s men Buel finally surrendered. When the Federal authorities discovered that Buel surrendered his entire command to only a handful of Quantrill’s men both he and Captain Breckinridge were court-martialed and the soldiers who had been captured were mustered out of service. Since the two officers had been dismissed with their men, nothing ultimately came of the court martial proceedings. The Union suffered 344 casualties while the Confederate forces had twenty-three killed and nine wounded. The Independence Court House building can be seen in the photo below.

Within a week following the Battle of Independence Quantrill helped win two more significant Southern victories; the Battle of Lone Jack and the Battle of White Oak Creek. Other exciting stories about Quantrill, his men and the Missouri Border Wars can be found in Quantrill of Missouri and Quantrill in Texas, Cumberland House Publishing.

Ref: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/mo014.htm Retrieved on 12 Oct 2008

© Paul R. Petersen quantrillsguerrillas.com 2008

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ALL THINGS QUANTRILL : JAMES LANE GETS HIS DUE

Posted by Admin on 2008/10/15 23:48:45 (15 reads)

Editors Note: We recently found this obituary for James Lane. Although the author's name has been lost over time, to me his work seems very similar to renowned John Newman Edwards.

James Lane Gets His Due!

James Henry Lane the scourge of Kansas met his Maker on July 11, 1866. He was undoubtedly turned away at the gate. His was a quixotic and chaotic career. To the scores of women he had deflowered and dishonored he remained unrepentant. On his arrival in Kansas he rebuffed his own Democratic Party because of their refusal to grant him a divorce. Embracing the new radical Republican Party Lane soon acquired his goal but not before sending his wife packing back to her parents, penniless and ridiculed. He had promised that her passage had been paid but when she tried to board the steamboat at the wharf in Kansas City she discovered he had lied and in her distress had to appeal to the charity of strangers to pay her way back to her home in Indiana. After gaining election as Kansas’ first U. S. Senator Lane traveled to Washington D. C. where he continued to ply his licentious behavior. On one occasion a young woman horsewhipped him on a Washington street because he had openly propositioned her. The loot that Lane’s Brigade plundered from their attack on Osceola, Missouri on September 23, 1861, supplied him with several stolen silk dresses that he gleefully took back to his many mistresses in Lawrence. Besides his uncontrolled wantonness Lane was described as a consummate liar, coward, thief and murderer. It was despicable that the people of Kansas elected him not once but twice as their choice for Congress. William Clarke Quantrill appeared to be the only leader along the Missouri-Kansas border that recognized Lane’s true character. Quantrill told his wife that Lane was “The worst man that was ever born into the world.” When Lane could no longer bribe his friends with false promises nor cajole his acquaintances to do his bidding he lost the constituency that kept him in power. The results of his greed and criminal career soon caught up with him. Realizing that he would eventually be indicted for fraud and embezzlement Lane left the Senate and admitted himself into an insane asylum near Lawrence. Insane, despondent and guilt ridden Lane took his life dying by his own hand. There are those that will be truly sorry to see him gone. Those are the ones who will no longer receive the scraps of graft that fell from his political table. Kansan Samuel Smith said it most aptly, “Lane closed his career properly for a life like his.”

Thanks to member Paul R. Petersen for this submittal.

Below is a rare image of James Lane. Notice that "far-away" look in his eyes. Thanks to member Rick Mack for sharing this rare image with us.

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ALL THINGS QUANTRILL : A POLE IN POLAND!!

Posted by Admin on 2008/10/10 20:22:26 (48 reads)

Editors note:

On behalf of website management I want to congratulate website member Nancy Hitt, for yet another victory in her own personal battle to ensure no Confederate veteran grave remains unmarked. It doesn't matter if the noble Confederate veteran is buried in New York State, or in Gizyn Poland, once Nancy finds an unmarked grave, she will do everything possible to correct the injustice. I'm proud to call her friend and honored to count her among our ranks. I trust you will enjoy this story written by one of the most active and ardent defenders of the Southern cause.

Patrick Marquis

Below is an image of Major Heros von Borcke

On the morning of Wednesday, September 3, 2008, a bus loaded with folks from Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the States arrived in the small village of Gizyn, Poland. They were greeted with many unusual sights. There were girls adorned with flowers in their hair, uniformed Polish fire department members and German reenactors in Confederate uniforms gathered around their tents.

A pot of stew was being cooked over an unusual green metal stove by one of the local Polish volunteers. A dirt road had been cleared by village people past the tents and it led to a large brick chapel. Much of this effort had been arranged by the German Pastor Moeller in coordination with the Mayor of the town of Gizyn and another Polish man.

This day was historic for several reasons. It was a joyful day full of songs and dancing in a poor drab little village. It was a day in which barriers of long-standing were broken down, if only for a few short hours. This is a land which has seen hundreds of years of blood shed. This village is now in the hands of resettled Polish people, but it had been recognized for hundreds of years as Prussia, an important part of Germany.

It is hoped that this exciting day helped to salve somewhat the bitterness caused by the loss of German homesteads to its current occupants who were forcefully removed from their homes east of Prussia and deposited upon German land. This area still remains replete with distressed homes, fallow farmland and poor inhabitants, but for one day in 2008, hospitality and understanding prevailed in Gizyn.

How could I foresee the consequences of the research which I began in 2003 to locate the gravesite of CSA Col. Heros von Borcke? Little did I even understand the terrible situation that had befallen the von Borcke families who had resided in Prussia for generations. The von Borckes were descendants of a proud and noble ancestry. As World War II came to an end, they were driven like cattle out of their homes.

They have never been able to safely return to live upon their hereditary homeland. In fact, many of their manors have been totally destroyed. Their lives were damaged in various ways, often they had lost family members during the War. They had to confront a cruel bigotry that had been nursed against all German nationals.

These strong-willed Germans have not allowed Russian prison camps, loss of parents and loss of homes to conquer them. Many members of the von Borcke families left their Fatherland and faced these hardships with courage. These descendants managed through hard work to overcome the many hurdles that had been placed in front of them.

A memorial was held in the morning at the chapel which had once held the grave stones and remains of CSA Col. Heros von Borcke and his parents. Heros had volunteered to fight to help us obtain our Southern Independence. He became a staff officer under the leadership of General Jeb Stuart. They became very close friends. Heros was present at the deathbed of General Stuart on May 11, 1864, although suffering himself from a serious throat wound received at the Battle of Middleburg on June 19, 1863.

Here is the classic image of General J.E.B. Stuart. Thanks to member Patrick Marquis for this submission.

On December 21, 1864, Heros von Borcke was promoted to Lt. Colonel and sent by Confederate President Jefferson Davis upon a mission to Europe. The War for Southern Independence ended while he was in London. Heros authored several books. He wrote about our War, the Brandy Station cavalry battle and his own autobiography.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Madgalene Honig and they had three sons. His wife died in 1883. He visited Richmond, Virginia, in 1884, twenty years after he had left the States. He was received with much affection and a banquet was given in his honor. Heros presented his famous Damascus sword to the state of Virginia where it was later placed in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond.

Heros returned to Germany and married his wife’s younger sister, Tony Honig. They had a daughter they named Virginia and the Confederate flag flew from the manor at Giesenbruegge, renamed Gizyn. Heros died in Berlin on May 10, 1895, from blood poisoning probably due to the after-affects of his injury received at Middleburg.

Heros von Borcke has been mentioned in various military articles and Mary Chestnut wrote about him in her Diary of Dixie. Students of history knew about him, but he became a lost legend and it was not known where he was buried.

Even the descendants of the von Borcke family were not sure where Heros was buried. These questions existed because of the destruction caused during several wars and the subsequent occupation of Prussia by Polish refugees. The name of the town had been changed and nothing obvious could be seen from the roadside of the village. Language was also a barrier to research.

Actually, the chapel of the von Borcke family was hidden in the forest which had grown up between the road through Gizyn and the chapel. Much damage had occurred to the original three large gravestones and the chapel even had trees growing out of its antique roof. The graves had been looted and the forest had taken over naturally.

Pastor Moeller, the Mayor of Gizyn, and author Stefan Slivka were able to locate and document the site of the Heros von Borcke chapel which served as a mausoleum. This find and the subsequent 2005 article in the Gray and Blue magazine by Stefan Slivka were the leads I needed to begin the paperwork necessary to place a V.A. marker and Southern Cross of Honor at this embattled location.

The memorial ceremony served as part of the yearly reunion of von Borcke families who are members of the von Borcke Family Association. In 2007, they began to organize this 2008 tour of their former estates and included the memorial service in their program.

The highlight of the ceremony was the presence of the two great-grandsons of these famous Confederate soldiers. Eckhard von Borcke and Jeb Stuart IV both met for the first time in Berlin just days before the ceremony. They each presented a speech in front of the von Borcke chapel. Colorful children sang Polish songs, a firefighter played the accordion and villagers held up our battle flag.

My talk described how I was able to locate and order the stone which was received in Germany by Pastor Moeller. Eckhard von Borcke and Jeb Stuart IV uncovered the stone and cross of honor. There was a Texas color guard behind the speakers and Hamptons Legion of South Carolina fired three volleys. This was all preformed by Germans with three American volunteers.

Pastor Moeller concluded our ceremony with a prepared talk to the audience. Every speech was translated into Polish for the benefit of the Polish audience. A tasty stew and Polish beer was served on the grounds for visitors and reenactors.

The day ended with the local folks singing and dancing for us in their town hall. We sat at tables listening and watching the entertainment while drinking coffee and eating Polish home make deserts. The weather was lovely and the event was perfect!

If we really hope to save out Southern heritage, I firmly believe we must keep in contact with our European friends. We must keep strong the bond with those Confederates who live outside the States. These folks in foreign lands love our Southland because of the honor and courage shown by Confederates in battle. They believe in our Cause of Liberty just as much as we do.

In order to understand the thinking of the European Confederates, one only has to read their astute letters to our critics. It was through my contact by e-mail to Raphael Waldburg of Madrid who is actually German that I was able to get in contact with the von Borcke family. This was an important turning point in my search.

Many Europeans know much more about our military history than we know about our own history. Even though many of these Europeans do not claim Confederate ancestors, they are “manning the barricades” today and are ready to give the bayonet to our enemies.

We must stand beside our European friends now more than ever for we must rally all of our troops to do battle with those who seek to destroy our way of life and our wonderful Southern heritage. Let us not forget that we received our glorious heritage because of the blood of more than 300,000 dead Southern men, women and children.

Once upon a time in 2008, Polish people waved Confederate battle flags and from a tall wooden pole in Poland our beloved flag waved in the breeze.

© Nancy Hitt quantrillsguerrillas.com 2008/hunleyhitt@earthlink.net