William T. Anderson -- Pioneer Cemetery Richmond MO
N 39° 17.063 W 093° 58.585
15S E 415788 N 4348789
"Bloody Bill" Anderson was a Confederate guerrilla leader in Missouri. His rebel band included a young Jesse James. They committed atrocities in and near Centralia, Missouri. He met a violent death. He is buried here.
Waymark Code: WM9GFY
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 08/18/2010
Views: 23
William T. Anderson was notorious as a particularly brutal Confederate guerrilla leader of "bushwackers" in Kansas and Missouri during the American Civil War.
He was a lieutenant of William Quantrill's guerrillas that burnt to the ground Lawrence, Kansas in August, 1863. Quantrill's raiders retreated to Texas for the winter. Quantrill and Anderson quarreled there, and Anderson returned to Missouri in March,1864. He then organized in Missouri his own guerrilla company to disrupt Missouri's northern rail route across the state.
On September 27, 1864 Anderson's men participated in what came to be known as The Centralia, Missouri massacre at the Northern Missouri Railroad's depot. Union major A.E.V Johnson and his newly formed 39th Missouri Infantry Regiment(mounted) set off with his men to pursue Anderson's guerrillas that day. They were lured into a trap, gunned down and tortured before their bodies were mutilated or scalped.
Union militia Colonel Samuel Cox was assigned the task of eliminating the gurerrilla and his men. He also set a trap in Ray County near the village of Albany near today's Orrick.
Anderson was shot out of his saddle and killed there. His body was taken to nearby Richmond where he was put on display and photographed.
He was buried in an unmarked grave in the corner of the Pioneer Cemetery in Richmond.
A marker was placed in the cemetery in the 1960's and it is the one I photographed and observed its GPS coordinates. The exact date of Anderson's birth is an open question. The marker says he was born in 1840. However, the year of his birth may have been 1838 or 1839. Also the exact day and month of his birth are unknown too--at least to me. Some say he was born in Kentucky. Others list Missouri's Randolph County as his state of birth.
Just observing the marker today in this beautifully manicured and maintained cemetery,known primarily for its Mormon pioneer leaders that are buried there, doesn't give the casual observer an idea of "Bloody Bill's" notoriety.
Source: Website: www.worldlingo.com (See link below)
Description:
On the big stage of the American Civil War, today "Bloody Bill" Anderson is but a footnote in America's Civil War history. However, in Missouri and Kansas we are still reminded of his brutal wrath against his Union foes.
Missouri this year is taking a close look at our Civil War incidents as a part of the 150th anniversary of that conflict.
You can be sure that his violent approach to war will be remembered at the National Cemetery in Jefferson City where Major A.V.E Johnson and his men were finally interred.
You can be sure his name will be remembered in Centralia and Richmond, Missouri and in Lawrence, Kansas too!
Date of birth: 01/01/1839
Date of death: 10/26/1864
Area of notoriety: Military
Marker Type: Horizontal Marker
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: dawn to dusk
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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