The Undying Border War
Quantrill Leads Lawrence Massacre
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - With indiscriminant violence, infamous Confederate bushwhacker William Clarke Quantrill and his gang razed Lawrence to the ground Friday, 21 August 1863, leaving almost 200 men and boys dead.
Union Forces Retaliate: Order No. 11
CASS COUNTY, MISSOURI - Union forces retaliated Tuesday with the issuance of General Order No. 11 by Brigadier General Thomas Ewing Jr. on 25 August 1863, calling for all men, women, and children to evacuate the three-county border area within 15 days.
Three fires raged all around and through the families of Cass County during the time period of the Civil War in Missouri. For the Kansas-Missouri border, this was the undying Border War. Although little is known about Order No. 11 in the public eye, the conflict in the three-county border area was bad enough that the area came to be known as "the burnt district." The three fires that raged, that meant destruction for this area and these families, were Unionism, Secessionism, and the undying Border War. You will find these stories and more in Caught Between Three Fires: Cass County MO, Chaos, and Order No. 11.
