On October 6, 1863, the site of Baxter Springs, in Kansas just a couple miles from the Indian Territory border, hosted one of the more infamous moments of the Civil War. It saw the only clash of, up to that time, two of the most successful military commanders of Trans-Mississippi theatre. About a hundred Federals, along with a fair number of civilians, marched with Major General James Blunt to Fort Baxter, en route to Arkansas. As fate would have it, a few hundred guerillas were also nearby. Their leader was none other than Colonel William Quantrill, the most feared and notorious bushwhacker from Missouri. This clash is classified as a battle, but most prefer to call it the Baxter Springs Massacre.
Quantrill Heads
to Texas
William Quantrill, the son of an Ohio schoolteacher and migrant to Missouri, began his career as a bushwhacker near the end of 1861. Starting with just ten men, he built up a fearsome reputation with an impressive series of raids. By the end of 1862 he directly commanded over 150 men. After wintering in Arkansas with General Sterling Price’s Confederate soldiers, they returned in spring 1863 to pick up where they left off.[1] This time the guerillas faced more formidable opposition. Major General Thomas Ewing Jr., a former judge, commanded the Federal District of the Border. Kansas had long been the victim of Quantrill’s raids and he was determined to stop them. He undertook harsher measures to contain and hopefully stop the scourge of the border.
First
Ewing rounded up the womenfolk of several prominent Bushwhackers and imprisoned
them in a building in Kansas City. One day the building collapsed, killing and
severely injuring most of the women. The Bushwhackers believed it was
intentional at best or a result of their imprisonment at worst. Either way they
wanted revenge. Then Ewing issued General Order No. 10, deporting the families
of known guerillas from Missouri.[2]
In retaliation for these direct assaults on their families, hundreds of
guerillas followed Quantrill on his most infamous raid. On August 21 they
descended upon Lawrence, Kansas, scattering the meager Federal garrison there
and then going on a massive looting and killing spree. By the time they left
town, 164 male citizens of Lawrence lay dead.[3]
The
raid only made Ewing more determined to crush the guerillas. Two months later
on October 25, he issued Order No. 11. This order was an extension of No. 10,
kicking thousands of civilians out of Missouri. Unionist Jayhawkers harassed
and raided the liens of evacuees, stealing what they had carried with them. In
total, Ewing’s controversial action resulted in the wide-scale loss of homes,
other property, and indirect deaths. It would take years for Missouri’ border
counties to recover.[4]
Ewing and others claimed that Order No. 11 had halted the raids. In fact it was
the onset of winter that did the deed. At the end of September messages reached
the guerilla captain calling for a gathering at the farm of Captain Perdee. The
purpose was to prepare the men for a trip to Texas for the winter. Quantrill
showed up with a document commissioning him as a colonel. This put him in
charge of the 500 or so men present.[5]
As a guerilla unit, Quantrill’s raiders followed military organization only up to a point. One of Quantrill’s subordinates, Captain Andy Blunt, refused to come south with the others. The reason was a personal beef with Captain George Todd, one of Quantrill’s first underlings back in 1861. Todd was a youthful blond-haired man with intense blue eyes, the eyes of a killer. He was considered the most cruel and murderous man to serve under Quantrill, though this did not prevent him from gaining loyal followers among the youthful guerillas. In one incident he captured a man who had arrested him. He wanted to hang him, but could not find any rope so he accepted an antique gun and bashed his enemy to death. In the fall of 1863, Todd was angry that new recruits were going to Blunt instead of him. He was further incensed when Blunt refused to hand over captured flour for his men. In short, Todd was a jealous, easily angered, and murderous man who made his own men uncomfortable.[6]
Captain Bill Anderson, famous as Bloody Bill Anderson, arrived to bolster the southward force. Anderson hailed from a family of outlaws who would waylay and rob wagons on the Santa Fe Trail. In fact it was family that had driven him to become one of the most notorious Bushwhackers. Early in the war he attempted to join the Confederate army, but gave up on the idea when the group he was traveling with was attacked by Kansas cavalrymen. Later his father tried to spring a guerilla friend of theirs from jail with a shotgun. When he got there Judge A.I. Baker killed him. Swearing revenge, Anderson formed his own guerilla band. One of his underlings described him as “a maniac in battle” who would literally froth at the mouth over the prospect of slaughtering Federals. Despite his fearsome behavior in battle, he was otherwise known as very easy to get along with provided one were not a Federal and did not harm his men.[7]
The
guerillas set out. To better get through increased Federal pressure within
Missouri, they wore captured Union uniforms and for a time even flew the
national flag in a bid to get out of the state relatively unscathed. Because of
this disguise, a squad of six Federals unwittingly pulled into their column.
Once they were in position, the guerillas shot them off their horses.[8]
On
October 2 Quantrill’s force marched from dawn into the night, stopping at the
Grand River for a three hours rest. The Bushwhackers then proceeded to the
Osage River. There they found 30 Union cavalrymen guarding a flatboat. They
charged them, killed all but 3. They next found and massacred 16 cattle-herding
Federals. The guerillas then turned southwest, they passed through Carthage,
crossed Shoal Creek. That night two men joined them claiming to be fellow
rebels and offered to guide them. John McCorkle, a guerilla who had been in the
area before, realized they were leading them right to fortified Fort Scott.
Quantrill shot down the pair and made McCorkle his scout. They soon turned west
into Indian Territory.[9]
Thus most to every day of the southwards trek Quantrill’s irregulars ambushed
and sparred with small parties of Federals, building their fearsome reputation
even further.[10]
On
October 6 (Quantrill’s report says at 2 PM, but this conflicts with the
timetable of several Federal reports) Captain Brinker and the advance guard
reported a wagon train. The scout McCorkle had sighted a dozen or so Federals
guarding wagons loaded with lumber. Brinker investigated and discovered Fort
Baxter in Kansas. In his memoir McCorkle wrote that this was a surprise, for
“None of us had ever heard that there was a fort there with a command of troops
station in it.” Since the advance guard had not been revealed to the Federals,
Quantrill and his officers decided to make a play for the installation using
surprise.[11]
Blunt Heads to
Arkansas
James Blunt was riding high. Ever since his promotion to commander of the Department of Kansas in 1862, he had increasingly gained more important postings. Thus far he had won every battle he participated in. In late 1862 he had disoriented the Confederates in Indian Territory at Old Fort Wayne and then played a large part in the major victory at Prairie Grove. The following summer he had led a strikingly successful invasion of Indian Territory, decisively giving the Federals momentum in that region. Now he was being called upon to come to Fort Smith, Arkansas to deal with remaining Confederate forces in that state.
As
a Kansan, Blunt was familiar with Missouri’s guerillas. As commander of Federal
forces in Kansas, he had to respond to various raids across the Kansas-Missouri
border. Seeing them as criminals, his response was harsh. Guerillas were to be
hanged in an attempt to dissuade any further incursions. This was demonstrated
on Jim Vaughn, one of Quantrill’s men, in May 1863. The young man had stopped
in Wyandotte, Kansas for a shave. Soldiers quickly arrested him. Upon his
prompt hanging, Vaughn delivered threatening prophecy: “We can be killed but we
cannot be conquered. Taking my life today will cost you one hundred lives, and
this debt my friends will pay in a very short time.” Blunt was soon shifted to
commanding the District of the Frontier in western Kansas, with General Thomas
Ewing taking his place against the Bushwhackers. Still, his and the Bushwhackers’
paths were to eventually cross again.[12]
Blunt’s
column included part of his staff, Company I of the 3rd Wisconsin
Cavalry (under Lieutenant Josiah G. Cavert and Company A of the 14th
Kansas (under Lieutenant Robert H. Pierce). Overall he had about 100 men with
him. The staff specifically consisted on provost-marshal Major B.S. Henning,
Lieutenant James Tappan (who over a year and a half earlier had fought at
Glorieta Pass, New Mexico), judge-advocate Lieutenant A.W. Farr (who had been a
lawyer in Geneva, Wisconsin), 13th Kansas quartermaster Cyrus
Leland, and various clerks, orderlies, and band members. The assistant
adjutant-general was Major H.Z. Curtis, who was none other than the son of
General Samuel R. Curtis, the victor of the major battle at Pea Ridge in March
1862. General Curtis had recently been relieved as commander of the Department
of Missouri. His son, who had been with him for most of the war, sought a
position under General Blunt. Likely he hoped to see more action, as the Kansan
had been in many a scrape throughout late 1862 and 1863.[13]
James
O’Neill of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated
Newspaper represented the press. He had accompanied Blunt on several
campaigns. He wrote articles on them and could draw as well. Blunt brought
along with musical band with a twelve year old boy.[14]
A few blacks attended the column. These included the barber Zack, or Rube, who
was actually an acquaintance of George Todd. The most notorious black in the
group was Jack Mann, a scout who assisted the Jayhawkers, the Federal
equivalent of the violent Bushwhackers, in harassing pro-Confederate
Missourians. [15]
Blunt’s riding partner in his buggy was Captain William S. Tough, an infamous Jayhawker. He was a proven murderer, having actually gunned down a private in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry over a month earlier. Finally there was a woman. Blunt often listed a female “field servant.” In fact it would be a temporary mistress. Blunt did not discriminate when it came to his sexual partners, having brought along whites, blacks, and Indians. His woman for the trip to Fort Smith was likely white as the Bushwhackers made not special note of her ethnicity. One earlier history mentions another female. Mrs. Chester Thomas, a beautiful woman from Topeka, was going to meet her husband at Fort Baxter. Finally the column included John Fry, the first rider of the famed Pony Express. [16]
Battle at the
Fort
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baxter_Springs#/media/File:Baxter_Springs_Battlefield_Kansas.jpg
Blunt
had established his destination during his summer campaign. Fort Baxter, two
miles north of the border with Indian Territory, was poorly situated. The road
was on a hill so that those in the encampment below could not see any
approaching foe. The walls, such as they were, stood at just four feet tall,
though they could make valuable breastworks in a fight. Sources of timber and
water were well outside the perimeter, leaving foraging parties extremely
vulnerable. These water sources consisted of a creek that branches out from
Spring River, and the Baxter Springs on the other side.[17]
James Pond
The
camp was at first occupied by just two companies. One was part of the 2nd
Kansas Colored Infantry, under Lieutenant R. Cook. The other was Company D of
the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry under Lieutenant John Crites. Crites also
commanded until October 4, when Lieutenant James Pond arrived with part of
Company C, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry. Not all men were within the camp
proper. It was not large enough to hold all of them, so Pond moved his
headquarters 200 yards west and instructed his soldiers to build the camp to
that point.[18]
Late
in the morning on October 6, Pond sent his cavalry out to scout and forage.
This left him with about 95 men: 25 of Company C 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry,
20 of Company D, and 50 (other sources say 70) of 2nd Kansas
Colored. At noon Pond’s camp was sitting down to dinner (lunchtime in those
days). They were actually outside the fort perimeter, and had left their arms
back there. With much of his men absent and the others casually eating, most
without their weapons at hand, Pond had unwittingly exposed his post to severe
danger.[19]
Quantrill
was that danger. His men had just come out of Indian Territory. He staged his
attack in the concealment of the brush. He personally took command of the right
northern wing of the force. Dave Pool led the men on his left, and Gregg’s band
stayed in support.[20]
Pool and Gregg’s men burst forth from over the hill. Pond’s men, having left
their weapons behind when they went out to eat, had to run through the enemy to
get to their weapons. At least 4 were cut down trying to do this. Those horses
that remained within the fort were set loose and stampeded.[21]
Just 200 yards to the west, Pond heard the shooting and looked to see “the camp
surrounded on all sides by mounted men two ranks deep.”[22]
Those
Federals who got their guns put up resistance. Sergeant W.L. McKenzie of the 3rd
Wisconsin later received credit for killing two guerillas. One was a mounted
man with whom he exchanged 11 shots. After slaying the man’s horse, he got him
with the next bullet. McKenzie or someday else must have thought much of the
deed, because his pistol was engraved with the boast that he “killed Frank Fry
and Bill Roder” with it.[23]
Despite
their rapid penetration of Fort Baxter, the guerillas stalled and soon feel
back. The reason for this is dispute among the sources. According to several Bushwhackers,
the presence of women and children worked of their sensibilities and caused
confusion. Early in the fight Gregg’s company fired into Fort Baxter from the
east. Gregg was particularly interested in finding a black soldier who had
peered over the four foot wall and shot at him. He did not see his opponent
again, but then noticed women and children. Pond had allowed some of his men to
bring along their families and make their posting more bearable. Quantrill’s Bushwhackers
may have been a murderous lot, but even they balked at gunning down women and
children. Gregg chivalrously withdrew his men. Seeing this, but unaware of the
cause, Pool followed suit.[24]
Pond’s
official report credited himself and his men for driving off the Bushwhackers. Pond
and a hastily assembled force cut through the enemy to get into the camp. This
drove Quantrill’s men back. Pond called for the sole howitzer to be brought
forth. Nobody could hear him (a doctor present at the battle said that nobody
had been properly trained to man the gun), so he had to load and fire it
himself. Dr. W.H. Warner, who was present recalled that “The shot fell short of
the enemy and did no harm; but the firing of the cannon gave them notice that
we had such an instrument of death in our hands. Men never fought more
willingly and courageously. For twenty
minutes there was a ceaseless rattle of musketry and revolvers and the booming
of the cannon.” Pond,
having to load and fire the howitzer alone, only got off three shots. One
veteran on the guerillas’ side recalled that one shell decapitated a Dave Woods
(he was not mentioned in the casualty report). The shells did the trick and the
guerillas withdrew.[25]
I
find that the most likely cause of the Bushwhackers’ repulse was a simple
mistake on the part of Quantrill’s northern attack wing of 150 men. Many older
sources say that while moving through the woods he got lost and had to pull
back out onto the prairie and the Fort Gibson Road. Without their full force,
the guerillas could not decisively defeat Pond’s men. Quantrill’s loss of
direction would indirectly lead to the next and much more infamous part of the
Battle of Baxter Springs. As Gregg and Pool’s
units withdrew, the Federals took stock of what had happened. Dr. Warner
recounted the casualties among the garrison, as well as a couple atrocities
that presaged what was to happen on the prairie:
All was now quiet, like
the calm after a furious storm, and we had time to make a list of the
casualties. Of the forces at the Springs, eight white soldiers and one colored
soldier were killed, and about fifteen were wounded, including one woman, shot
through the heel, and a little child shot through the lungs. Lieutenant Cook
and a man who was with him were killed, they being out in the woods practicing
with their revolvers at the time. The husband of the wounded woman and the
father of the wounded woman and the father of the wounded child, were shot, in
cold blood, the latter by a cousin and former schoolmate. About six other
married men were killed. A teamster, seeing an old acquaintance among the advancing
enemy, tossed his revolver toward him, in token of his surrender, was
immediately shot through the abdomen, by his former neighbor and friend, and
the poor man died in thirty minutes. The colored man who was killed had seen
his former master and was running to meet him, with joyous acclaim, as the
master stood on the hill across the creek. His master shot him through the
heart, and his body rolled down the hill into the clear water of the brook.[26]
Ed Ness' representative painting of the Baxter Springs Battle
Battle on the
Prairie
With
150 men under Captains Todd, Estes, and Garrett, Quantrill went onto the
prairie to regroup when he suddenly saw a wagon train of more Federals. Having
been stymied by the woods, he had failed to participate in the charge on the
fort and thus lost the initial element of surprise. But now he quickly readied
his men for another opportunity. He rode to the rest of his men, who were
firing at Fort Baxter. Putting his hat in his coat, he told them to disengage and
join him in a massed assault in the other direction.[27]
The wagon train in question was Blunt’s procession. The terrain where Blunt and
Quantrill were to meet consisted of a rolling prairie cut up by “deep ravines
and gulleys.” Willow bushes lined up along these cuts in the ground, creating
the illusion that they were not there while allowing one to view the large
fields of prairie grass.[28]
Blunt
and his escort were unaware of what was coming. The ridge by the road blocked
not only the sight of the battle at Fort Baxter, but its sounds as well. In
fact Blunt was setting up his big arrival at Fort Baxter. The 3rd
Wisconsin men had gone ahead with the band. The musicians started up “Yankee
Doodle Dandy” in anticipation of greeting the general’s buggy. Blunt placed
himself in the back of the line so that he would dramatically be the last to
arrive.[29]
Quantrill’s men were heavily garbed in captured Federal uniforms. Even more
disarmingly, they emerged from behind a hill, the same that had obscured their
approach on the fort. On seeing the guerillas, Blunt “supposed them at first to
be Lieutenant Pond’s cavalry on drill.” He then started to get suspicious, and
ordered Captain Tough to ride ahead and make sure.[30]
When
the Bushwhackers got within 60 yards, Tough rode back, excitedly proclaiming
that it was none other than Quantrill’s band.[31]
The detachment from the 14th Kansas was defeated before any shots
were fired. Cries of “It’s Quantrill!” passed down their line. Two men broke ranks and tried to flee before
Curtis stopped them. As if this was not scary enough, Tough, knowing he was
sure to be killed for his acts of terror against Missouri’s civilians, rode
away for his life. Following his example, more Kansans broke and ran. Officers
attempted to make them stand and fight, but could not do so.[32]
Company
I of the 3rd Wisconsin, arranged in a crooked battle line, was able
to get off a volley, though it was “too high to hurt any one.” John McCorkle of
the Confederates scoffed that “none of our men [heard] a bullet whistle.” They
then pulled out their revolvers and continued firing. Soon Quantrill’s warriors
swarmed them. Major Henning estimated that of the 40 Wisconsonians, “23 were
killed and 6 wounded.” Lieutenant Farr was among the first killed, and was
later found with bullets and buckshot in his body.[33]
Blunt wrote that he “turned toward my escort to give the command to fire, when
I discovered the line broken, and all of them in full gallop over the prairie,
completely panic-stricken.” Because willow bushes concealed the ravines, many
unfortunate Federals suddenly found themselves struggling to cross over,
slowing them down so that their pursuers could catch up and kill them.[34]
One
of the Bushwhackers, Andy Walker, recalled of the victims, “Many of them fell
at the first volley, and every half mile of the stampede saw new victims reel
to the earth. It was a mad, sickening race.” A trio of riders saw Blunt and his
mistress in the buggy. Blunt rushed to a horse and they chased him. The
mistress and driver of the buggy made their own break for it. In a feat born by
panic, they were able to leap horses and buggy right over a ravine, and the
guerillas said they did so effectively that it looked like the buggy was
driving smoothly on thin air. Mrs. Thomas escaped on her horse, clinging
tightly to the saddle horn. It is unlikely the guerillas would have killed Mrs.
Thomas and Blunt’s mistress as they restricted their killing to males only.[35]
Also
among the first victims were the 14 band members. In his memoir McCorkle claims
that one of the band members, Private Thomas Leach, mortally wounded William
Bledsoe. Bledsoe was indeed killed by the man driving the wagon. The intense
chase was too much for the wagon. A wheel fell off and the wagon tipped over.
The bandsmen stumbled to their feet and raised their arms in surrender. Along
the route of their attempted escape lay discarded instruments and scattered
music sheets. The Bushwhackers were not merciful and shortly shot down all the
men save O’Neill, the Leslie’s
newspaper man. Thanks to his civilian garb he lasted long enough to make a more
fleshed out appeal for his life. Seeing he would be killed anyways, he made a
futile run for it. A guerilla raised his carbine and shot him through the
heart.[36]
The
mounted Missourians shouted at the Federals to surrender. Those who complied
were killed anyways. A Sergeant Jack Splane of the 3rd Wisconsin was
among those who took the false promise of mercy. When he raised his arms, a
guerilla gunned him down. The guerilla took Splane’s weapons with the words,
“Tell old God that the last man you saw on earth was Quantrill.” Despite
receiving bullets, to his leg, arm, chest, stomach, and head, Splane survived
to tell the tale. Private Jesse Smith also survived to relay his own morbid
tale. When shot he fell face down. The man who took him out “jumped upon his
back and essayed to dance, uttering the most vile imprecations.”[37]
One
of the guerillas, George Maddox, found a black man at Blunt’s buggy. The black
raised the hands and said, “Before you shoot me, I want to ask you a question.”
Maddox growled at him to make it quick. The black asked if George Todd was
there. When Maddox confirmed this, he begged, “Please don’t shoot me until I
see him.” Maddox took the black to Todd, who exclaimed “By God, it’s Rube.” It
turned out that Rube, the barber also named Zack, was friendly with Todd’s
family. Todd declared, “Boys, the first man that hurts this nigger, I will
kill.” Rube would be one of the few survivors of Blunt’s column, and would
serve as barber to Quantrill’s men through the winter. This was the one act of true
mercy against a male in the column, and ironically it was the ferocious Todd
who committed it.[38]
Major
Henning fled in the opposite direction of his comrades. He intended to reach
Pond and organize a rescue from Fort Baxter. Two men from the 3rd
Wisconsin joined him. Of Henning a report stated “he charged straight forward
at full speed, passing through a shower of bullets, and through the enemy’s
line. Deflecting a little to the right, he was over the brow of the hill before
the enemy could recover from his astonishment at the daring feat.” Henning got
over the brow of the hill to find a quintet of guerillas, as well as 3
prisoners. Unwilling to turn around into a much larger mass of Confederates, he
charged forward, firing his pistol. He managed to hit 2 of them (killing one).
The guerillas fired a few shots at the prisoners, wounding one in the shoulder,
and ran off. Two of the prisoners ran off to Fort Baxter. One, who Henning
personally identified as Heaton, was “so bewildered” that he “had to ride up to
him and force him to start in the right direction.” Henning entered Pond’s camp
waving his hat, declaring himself a friend. Unfortunately Pond could literally
not mount a rescue force, as all his horses were being ridden on a foraging
party.[39]
Blunt,
with the assistance of Major Curtis, attempted “in vain” to stop the route of
their men and rally them for a fight. They only managed to collect about 15.
Blunt sent Lieutenant Tappan and 6 others to Fort Scott in a bid to bring in
more soldiers.[40] Curtis
did not get out alive. He was an obvious target with his “full uniform and
showy horse.” When he got his horse ready to leap a ravine, a bullet, coming
from a Peyton Long, struck him on the hip and ruined his jump. He fell over the
head of his horse, which “galloped wildly over the prairie” without him.
Quantrill’s men seized Curtis and killed him. According to one account there
was actually a verbal exchange prior to the officer’s killing. Long found an
order on the wounded Curtis expressing that Quantrill and his men were to not
be regarded as soldiers and could be shot on the spot. Long asked Curtis if his
father had written the order. The younger Curtis admitted it, and further
stated that he would have followed it. Long finished him off.[41]
The guerillas turned to looting the wagon column.
The Aftermath
With
the battle about over, Quantrill rode up to McCorkle with a keg of brandy. “In
a very gruff manner” he told his scout, “John, I thought you always knew that
whenever a pilot led me into trouble, I always shoot him.” Taking his commander
seriously, McCorkle drew his revolver with the words, “If you can shoot quicker
than I can, shoot.” Quantrill then laughed and said “Put that thing up, you
damned fool; I’m going to shoot you in the neck.” He handed McCorkle the
brandy.[42]
Many
of the guerillas became inebriated on captured whiskey. One of them, Riley
Crawford, walked up to the string of dead Federal bandsmen and began striking
them with his sword. Under the influence he might have actually thought they
were prisoners that they needed to take with them, as he growled, “Get up, you
Federal son of a bitch.” To everyone’s surprise one of the bodies leapt to its
feet. The Federal had been feigning death and thought he had been found out.
Crawford immediately gunned him down. Quantrill was drunk himself, and basked
in his defeat of one of the Union’s more successful generals. “By God, Shelby
could not whip Blunt; neither could Marmaduke, but I whipped him.”[43]
At
2 PM George Todd approached Fort Baxter with a white flag. He “demanded in the
name of Colonel Quantrill” that Pond surrender. Aware of Quantrill’s merciless
actions on the prairie and also confident in his defenses, Pond wisely refused.[44]
Quantrill had no intention of making another charge on the fort now that its
defenders were alert. This decision was largely popular among his men, but
caused an argument with Todd and Anderson. The two guerilla captains had wanted
another go at Fort Baxter, feeling that its removal would be a big boost to the
Confederate cause. One of those who supported Quantrill’s decision said he
“usually restrained the ardor of his followers and never sacrificed a man
needlessly.” At 5 PM the Bushwhackers were on the old Texas Road.[45]
They
carried with them one prisoner. It was Jack Mann, a black scout for the
infamous Unionist Red Legs (Jayhawkers). Accounts claim that he had used his
position amongst the Red Legs to harass and insult pro-Confederate families
back in Missouri. In McCorkle’s memoir the killing of Mann is credited to Will
McGuire. He shot Mann between the eyes, and McCorkle’s memoir claims that the
scout had raised his ire with insults. In truth, Mann was forced to dig a grave
for Bledsoe on a hill in the Cherokee nation. Once Bledsoe was buried in his
blanket, the victors forced Mann to dig another grave. This one was for him and
they threw him in after killing him.[46]
Tappan
reached Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Blair of the 14th Kansas Cavalry.
He relayed the disastrous news. Blair led 3 companies of the 12th
Kansas Infantry, 2 companies of the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry, and
100 of his own cavalry out of Fort Scott towards Baxter Springs. It would take
until afternoon the next day for them to arrive.[47]
Arriving later, Blair reported “It was a fearful sight; some 85 bodies, nearly
all shot through the head, most of them short from give to seven times each,
horribly mangled, charred and blackened by fire. The wounded, who numbered 6 or
7, were all shot at least six times, and it s a remarkable fact that…all who
were alive when they were brought in are in a fair way of final recovery.”[48]
Another officer reported on the grisly human debris of the
battle-turned-massacre. “On looking over the ground for the wounded, I soon
discovered that every man who had fallen, except 3, who had escaped by feigning
death, had been murdered, all shot through the head.”[49]
Major
Henning came up with a list of the dead from Blunt’s column. The dead officers
included Major Curtis, Lieutenant Farr, and Lieutenant Ralph E. Cook (of the 2nd
Kansas Colored). There was also all 14 members of the band, 6 clerks and
orderlies, 18 of the 14th Kansas, 23 of the 3rd
Wisconsin, and 10 civilians. A further 6 from Pond’s camp joined the dead.
Henning’s final tally was 80 killed. 18 were wounded, 10 of them from Pond’s
force. This made for a total of 98.[50]
John Fry, who rode the Pony
Express. He was among the
killed at Baxter Springs
Blunt
tried to soften the catastrophe in his report. He claimed that he tricked the
guerillas into believing that a larger Federal force was imminent. He then went
on to say that the arrival of his escort through off Quantrill’s plans. Without
his unintentional distraction, the guerillas would have swarmed and defeated
Pond’s camp. The leading officers also made the bold exaggeration that “the
enemy left between 20 and 30 dead on the field” with about as many wounded and
carried off.[51]
For his part Quantrill also claimed to have killed many officers who in fact survived, among them Blunt and Henning. Confederate losses were almost infinitesimal compared to the Federals, to the point that Quantrill could personally name each casualty. In the fight at Fort Baxter 2 men, Robert Ward and William Lotspeach, fell dead. Lieutenant Toothman and Private Thomas Killer were wounded. In his charge on Blunt, the suffered just 2 casualties. William Bledsoe was killed, and John Coger severely wounded. Overall Quantrill tallied his losses at 3 killed, 3 wounded. His casualty list does not mention two men mentioned in McCorkle’s memoir. McCorkle said that Dave Woods had been decapitated by a howitzer and another man, John Koger, escaped the battle with five bullet wounds. It is possible that Quantrill, an irregular commander, missed a few dead and wounded from his men. Regardless, casualties were quite low for the battle within the fort, which only ended because Quantrill failed to join in the assault.[52]
The trade-off for the few casualties was a bevy of captured goods. These included nearly a dozen wagons, two stands of colors, Blunt’s papers, various arms and equipment, and Blunt’s sword. They also captured an impressive flag. This flag had been presented to [Blunt] on the steps of the old Planters House in Leavenworth” by that town’s ladies. Quantrill’s men would carry this trophy with them until, in a later battle, they tore it to pieces when it was apparent the Federals would recapture it.[53]
 |
| What remains of Blunt's flag |
Blunt and
Quantrill Lose their Edge
Blunt
ordered units in Indian Territory to intercept Quantrill and gain revenge.
Blunt was noticeably unhinged after his narrow escape. He sent messages to
General D.H. Cooper, commander of Confederate forces in Indian Territory,
demanding that he hand over Quantrill and his men to be tried as criminals.[54]
It was telling that Baxter Springs Massacre deeply affected the tough,
pugnacious Blunt. He confessed, “I cannot throw it from my mind. It haunts me
night and day.” He wanted revenge on Quantrill. But it was not to come anytime
soon.[55]
On
the 11th the Bushwhackers came upon and captured a dozen men from
the 1st Indian Home Guards. They killed them all. Quantrill bragged
about the conduct of his force. “From this place to the Canadian River we
caught about 150 Federal Indians and negroes in the Nation gathering ponies. We
brought none of them through.” The guerillas reached General D.H. Cooper’s camp
on the 12th.[56]
The catastrophe at Baxter Springs, and the failure to avenge it, led to Blunt’s
removal from command despite his previously stellar record. When Sterling Price
invaded Missouri late in 1864, he would gain command of a division and play a
large role in defeating the Confederacy’s last major offensive in the
Trans-Mississippi.
Speaking
of General Sterling Price, who was technically Quantrill’s commanding general,
he heard of Baxter Springs as well as the Lawrence Massacre. He was distressed
at the idea that his fellow Missourians could commit such outrages. He demanded
a full report from Quantrill so that he and Missouri’s honor could be absolved.
General Henry McCulloch of northern Texas was not so willing to believe the
best of the Bushwhackers, decrying to his superiors that they should tolerate
such “savage, inhuman warfare, in which men are to be shot down like dogs,
after throwing down their arms and holding up their hands supplicating for
mercy.”[57] McCulloch was not the only Texan who eyed their visitors warily.
Quantrill
could brush off criticism from commanders he would rarely directly serve under.
However, Baxter Springs, as well as surrounding events, caused rifts within his
guerilla army. First of all, many of the men in Anderson’s band had chosen not
to participate in the battle on the prairie. Instead they took the opportunity
to loot all the goods that he routed Federals left on the field. The men of
Todd and the others disliked that they did all the hard work while Anderson’s
boys reaped a large chunk of the rewards. Anderson and Todd were unified
against Quantrill when it came to the colonel’s refusal to order another
assault on the fort. They felt that a great opportunity to strike a decisive
blow in the Kansas-Indian Territory theatre had been squandered. Finally many
men separated from Quantrill. Some had grown disgusted by the various massacres
and wanted not further part in such mayhem. In the opposite direction others
felt adrift without any Federals to fight that winter.[58]
The
break from war in Texas was hardly restful. Anderson let his men run wild,
disturbing the Texan citizenry. The authorities blamed Quantrill for their
actions. Trying to maintain his reputation, he finally had one of Anderson’s
men shot for thievery. Bloody Bill responded vehemently, and broke off.
Quantrill also feuded with George Todd, who felt he had better ideas on how to
run things. The two actually shot at each other before their subordinates
calmed them down. The final split came when Quantrill accused Todd of cheating
him at cards. Todd pulled his revolver. The infamous guerilla colonel walked
away, having now lost control over another major band of guerillas.[59]
The
Baxter Springs Massacre was the last hurrah for Quantrill. He would remain
active for the rest of the war, but would only lead a small group by its end.
On May 10, with the war practically over, Federals found and killed him at the
Wakefield Farm. Todd and Anderson would be dead by war’s end as well, both
killed in battle during Price’s Missouri offensive. Though a major victory, the
Baxter Springs Massacre helped create a rift within the Bushwhackers’ ranks and
prevented further large-scale raids from Missouri.
Sources
Allison,
Nathaniel Thompson (ed.). History of
Cherokee County, Kansas, and Representative Citizens. Chicago: Biographical
Publishing Company, 1904.
Connelley,
William Elsey. Quantrill and the Border
Wars. Cedar Rapids: Torch Press, 1910.
Jensen, Don.
“O’Neill and the Band: The Baxter Springs Massacre.” http://genealogytrails.com/kan/cherokee/oneillandtheband.html.
Kansas
Historical Society. “Blunt’s Flag.” https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/blunt-s-flag/10115.
McCorkle, John. Three Years with Quantrill: A True Story
Told by his Scout, John McCorkle. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1992.
Petersen, Paul
R. Quantrill in Texas: The Forgotten
Campaign. Nashville: Cumberland House, 2007.
Schultz, Duane. Quantrill’s War: The Life and Times of
William Clarke Quantrill. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1996.
Editors of
Time-Life Books. Spies, Scouts, and
Raiders: Irregular Operations. Time-Life Books, 1985.
United States. The War of
the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies Vol. XXII, XLI Parts 1. Washington D.C. 1888.
Wood,
Larry. Civil War Story of Bloody Bill
Anderson. Wild Horse Media Group LLC, 2021. Kindle Edition.
[1] Editors of Time-Life Books, Spies, Scouts, and Raiders: Irregular
Operations, (Time-Life Books, 1985), 149.
[2] Editors of Time-Life Books, Irregular Operations, 149, 152.
[3] Editors of Time-Life Books, Irregular Operations, 152-153.
[4] Editors of Time-Life Books, Irregular Operations, 153-154.
[5] William Elsey Connelley, Quantrill and the Border Wars, (Cedar
Rapids: Torch Press, 1910), 1910.
[6] Paul R. Petersen,
Quantrill in Texas, (Nashville:
Cumberland House, 2007), 103; Editors of Time-Life Books, Irregular Operations, 148-149; Schultz, Quantrill’s War, 73, 162.
[7] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas: The Forgotten Campaign, 104; Larry Wood, Civil War
Story of Bloody Bill Anderson, (Wild Horse Media Group LLC, 2021), loc.
16-17; Duane Schultz, Quantrill’s
War: The Life and Times of William Clarke Quantrill, (New York: St.
Martin’s Griffin, 1996), 72.
[8] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 104.
[9] OR XXII, 700; Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 105.
[10] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 104.
[11] OR XXII, 700; John McCorkle, Three Years with Quantrill: A True Story
Told by his Scout, John McCorkle, (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1992), 135-136.
[12] Schultz, Quantrill’s War, 134-135, 137.
[13] OR XXII, 688, 690, 696-697;
Connelley, Border Wars, 428.
[14]Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 109; Jensen, “O’Neill and the Band,” http://genealogytrails.com/kan/cherokee/oneill-andtheband.html.
[15] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 115.
[16] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 109; Connelley, Border Wars, 427-428.
[17] Nathaniel Thompson Allison (ed.),
History of Cherokee County, Kansas, and
Representative Citizens, (Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1904), 151;
Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 106;
Connelley, Border Wars, 422-423.
[18] Connelley, Border Wars, 422; OR XXII, 698.
[19] OR XXII, 698-699; Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 107.
[20] Connelley, Border Wars, 424.
[21] OR XXII, 698, 700; Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 107.
[22] OR XXII, 698.
[23] Connelley, Border Wars, 431.
[24] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 107; Connelley, Border Wars, 424-425, 431.
[25] OR XXII,
698-699; Allison, History of Cherokee
County, 155; McCorkle, Three Years,
136.
[26] Allison, History of Cherokee County, 155.
[27] OR XXII, 700; McCorkle, Three Years, 136.
[28] OR XXII, 696.
[29] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 109-110; Schultz, Quantrill’s War, 257.
[30] OR XXII, 688.
[31] OR XXII, 701; Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 110.
[32] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 110; Connelley, Border Wars, 425,427.
[33] OR XXII, 695, 697, 701;
McCorkle, Three Years, 137.
[34] OR XXII, 689, 696.
[35] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 111; Connelley, Border Wars, 428, 430-431.
[36] McCorkle, Three Years, 139; Petersen, Quantrill
in Texas, 113; Jensen, “O’Neill and the Band,” http://genealogytrails.com/kan/cherokee/oneillandtheband.html.
[37] OR XXII, 697.
[38] McCorkle, Three Years, 137-138.
[39] OR XXII, 692, 694.
[40] OR XXII, 689.
[41] OR XXII, 692; Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 111-112.
[42] McCorkle, Three Years, 140.
[43] Connelley, Border Wars, 430.
[44] OR XXII, 699.
[45] OR XXII, 701; Connelley, Border Wars, 432; Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 114.
[46] McCorkle, Three Years, 141-142; Petersen, Quantrill
in Texas, 115.
[47] OR XXII, 690-691.
[48] OR XXII, 691.
[49] OR XXII, 689.
[50] OR XXII, 698-699.
[51] OR XXII, 689, 693.
[52] OR XXII, 701.
[53] OR XXII, 701;
Kansas Historical Society, “Blunt’s Flag,” https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/blunt-s-flag/10115.
[54] OR XXII, 689; Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 114-115.
[55] Petersen, Quantrill in Texas, 115.
[56] OR XXII, 689, 701.
[57] Schultz, Quantrill’s War, 267-268.
[58] Wood,
Bloody Bill Anderson, loc. 41-42.
[59] Editors of Time-Life Books, Irregular Operations, 157-158.
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