The proceedings of civil wars are often slightly more than a victor's restricted account of the truth. Once conquered, the defeated habitually turn into defenseless to the complete misrepresentations of historians of the winning side. With the passing of time, nonetheless, these biased histories are put through more comprehensive inspection by later generations of unconvinced historians. (Goodrich, p 67)
In the situation of the American Civil War, nonetheless, even one-thirty-seven years after the incident, misinterpretations still continue. One of these is the well-liked idea that the Missouri guerrillas who struggled on the Western border throughout the war and were forced the Union Army to redirect important manpower as well as materiel away from the main battle were simply thugs as well as brigands. The raid on Lawrence, Kansas, on August 21st, 1863, by Missouri guerrillas led by William Clarke Quantrill was an event that had long been building. Since 1854, the border between Kansas and Missouri had been the scene of continuous turmoil and bloodshed. With the passage in the year 1854 of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the fate of Kansas was made a point of contention between pro-slavery forces in Missouri and Abolitionists in Kansas and the nation.
In July 1854, a party of settlers sponsored by the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Society left Boston and settled its tents on the site of Lawrence, Kansas. On the occasion of their departure, John Greenleaf Whittier penned a hymn ominously heralding their intentions.
The people on both sides of the Missouri-Kansas border became increasingly at sword's points. On August 25th, 1856, George Washington Clarke invaded central Kansas with 150 Missourians before being driven out of the state Mound City preacher James Montgomery and his men. Later, after scourting out his old enemies, Montgomery mounted a reprisal raid into Missouri.................
