William Clarke Quantrill: His Life and Times

by Albert E. Castel

The Quantrill legend is rooted in acts of savage violence throughout Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War - deeds both romanticized and vilified. In William Clarke Quantrill, Albert Castel’s classic biography, the story of Quantrill and his men comes alive through facts verified from firsthand, original sources.
Castel traces Quantrill’s rise to power, from Kansas border ruffian and Confederate Army captain to lawless leader of "the most formidable band of revolver fighters the West ever knew." During the Civil War Quantrill and his men descended on Lawrence, Kansas, and carried out a frightful massacre of the civilian population. Some of Quantrill’s bushwhackers made names for themselves at Lawrence or after the war, as outlaws: "Bloody Bill" Anderson, Cole Younger, George Todd, "Little Archie" Clement, and Frank and Jesse James.

 

Genres: Civil War

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

One of the leading authorities on the Civil War in the western theater, Albert Edward Castel earned his B.A. and M.A. from Wichita State University and his Ph.D. in History and Political Science from the University of Chicago. He taught at UCLA and Waynesburg College before accepting a position at Western Michigan University, where he taught from 1960 until his retirement in 1991.

Reviews

[Mark Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic account from the estimable Albert Castel. Very balanced, he establishes Quantrill as a great guerrilla leader while at the same time acknowledging he was a cold blooded killer. But there were many far more murderous men in his gang. Castel provides blow by blow accounts of Quantrill’s raids with exciting detail... if exclamation marks in history books bothers you, consider yourself forewarned! There is also great context, with a prequel describing the Kansas-Missouri prewar violence which is essential to understanding why the civil war in Missouri and Kansas was so bloody and merciless, and a concluding sequel describing the post-Quantrill gang, especially the legendary but actually rather pathetic James-Younger gang.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I think of the potential terrors posed by ISIS today, and compare that with the real circumstances presented in this book, I think I feel safer today than would have been the case if I had lived in Missouri or Kansas during the Civil War. What an awful time to live!

[Tim Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of good information in this book. While some claim it to be a Yankee version of the history the book looks at to the facts and takes the time to diminish the legends while telling the reality and brutality of Quantrill and his raiders.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well researched book as shown by the amount of detail it goes into. There are no good guys or bad guys in this book considering the number of brutal acts perpetrated by both sides.