Quantrill, << KWON trihl, >> William Clarke (1837-1865), was the leader of a Confederate guerrilla band during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He was born on July 31, 1837, in Canal Dover (now Dover), Ohio. In 1857, he went to Kansas and started farming. The next year, he rode west with a wagon train and became a gambler. He returned to Kansas in 1859 and taught school. Quantrill was accused of stealing cattle and horses and of killing several people, but he escaped arrest.
At the start of the Civil War, Quantrill formed a band of guerrilla troops. He led his men on raids against Kansas and Missouri farmers and townspeople who favored the Union. Quantrill’s band was mustered into Confederate service in 1862 but continued to operate independently. On Aug. 21, 1863, he and his men burned most of the town of Lawrence, Kansas, and killed about 150 people. Frank James, Jesse James’s brother, rode with the band that day. Quantrill was killed during a raid in Kentucky on June 6, 1865.
See also Wilson’s Creek, Battle of .
