Quantrill's Raiders and Guerrillas
Quantrill's Raiders were a notorious Confederate guerrilla force during the American Civil War. They were led by William C. Quantrill, who was a pro-Confederate guerrilla.1 They were a group of irregular Confederate soldiers who operated in the border regions of Missouri, Kansas, and other nearby states along with Arkansas. Guerrilla warfare tends to be a lightly armed partisans and a conventional army tends to use irregular warfare tactics, often involving small bands of fighters who engage in hit-and-run attacks, ambushes, and other unconventional methods.
In November of 1862, Quantrill brought his men into Arkansas in an effort to spend the winter in Arkansas or Texas. "Guerrilla William C. Quantrill and seventy-six members of his murderous band rode into Fort Smith and announced their intention to spend the winter in the Arkansas Valley" 2(p.84) They became known as an official troop in August 1862, with Quantrill ranked as the Captain. However, it was noted that Quantrill broke off with two other men to attempt to create another pro-confederate army of guerrillas. So while his army was involved he was not, his troop joined Confederate forces that were under the command of Thomas C. Hindman, who was assigned to a brigade under the command of Colonel Joseph O. Shelby. During His Absence, Quantrill's men would participate in the Engagement at Cane Hill and the Battle of Prarie Grove.
Quantrill's Raiders gained infamy for their brutal tactics, particularly in their attacks against pro-Union civilians and communities. 3They were known for their participation in the Lawrence Massacre of 1863, where they attacked the town of Lawrence, Kansas, in a raid where they killed nearly 200 men and boys, mostly civilians.
The Civil War in the border states, such as Missouri and Kansas, saw a significant amount of guerrilla warfare due to the complex and deeply divided loyalties of the population. Many situations came up where Unionist or Confederate guerrillas, stole all of the health animals and crops then went and burned everything else, leaving families with nothing but the land left. 4Irregular forces on both sides, like Quantrill's Raiders and their Union counterparts, engaged in brutal and often indiscriminate violence, making the conflict particularly brutal in these areas.
It's important to note that while the term "guerrilla" is commonly associated with irregular Confederate forces like Quantrill's Raiders,5 who were known as the "bushwhackers", the Union forces also employed similar tactics in various parts of the country during the Civil War. Being known as "jayhawkers" both use what is considered irregular tactics, or the extra-military. The nature of the conflict in border states, where loyalties were divided and conventional armies often struggled to maintain control, contributed to the prevalence of guerrilla warfare.
1. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, “William C. Quantrill,” Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed November 22, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-C-Quantrill.
2. William L. Shea, “Quote from p. 84,” essay, in Fields of Blood the Prairie Grove Campaign (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013).
3. Harry Searles, “Quantrill’s Raiders,” American History Central, April 26, 2023, https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/quantrills-raiders/#:~:text=Quantrill’s%20Raiders%20was%20a%20band,Kansas%20during%20the%20Civil%20War.
4. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, “William C. Quantrill,” Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed November 22, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-C-Quantrill.
5. Stanley, Matthew E. “Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865.” Quantrill, William Clarke | Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865. Accessed November 22, 2023.