Books+ Search Results
A thrilling record : founded on facts and observations obtained during ten days' experience with Colonel William T. Anderson (the notorious guerrilla chieftain)
Author
Title
A thrilling record : founded on facts and observations obtained during ten days' experience with Colonel William T. Anderson (the notorious guerrilla chieftain) / by Sergeant Thos. M. Goodman, the only survivor of the inhuman massacre of Centralia, Mo., September 27, 1864 ; and an eye-witness of the brutal and barbarous treatment by the guerrillas of the dead, wounded, and captured of Major Johnson's command ; edited and prepared for the press by Capt. Harry A. Houston.
Published
Des Moines, Iowa : Mills & Co., 1868.
Physical Description
66 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm
Local Notes
SML,Y Cc5 7r: Binder's title: Rebellion pamphlets.
Notes
Imprint on t.p.: Des Moines, Iowa, Mills & Co., steam book & job printing house.
Summary
On September 27, 1864, roughly 80 guerrillas under the command of William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson stopped a train outside of Centralia, Missouri. They then asked for a volunteer from among the Union soldiers on the train. Fully expecting to be executed, Sergeant Thomas M. Goodman stepped forward. Instead of killing the sergeant, however, the guerrillas shot the line of 22 unarmed Union soldiers. They set fire to the train and left the civilian passengers to deal with the mutilated bodies. What became known as the Centralia Massacre stands as a noteworthy example of intense violence directed against noncombatants that periodically characterized the Missouri-Kansas border war. The Union Army launched a swift response to the Centralia Massacre. The 39th Missouri Mounted Infantry pursued Anderson's men the afternoon of the 27th. What began as a retaliation mission quickly became a second bloodbath for the Union.
Under the command of Major A.V.E. Johnston, the 155 raw Union recruits were underequipped and inexperienced fighters. Anderson's followers, joined by additional guerrilla forces gathered in preparation for the invasion of Missouri, numbered close to 400. These guerrillas, including a young Jesse James, Cole Younger, and Frank James, seized the chance to consolidate their revenge against the federal forces who had occupied various sections of the Missouri-Kansas region since the mid-1850s. At Centralia, proslavery forces finally had the clear advantage over their opponents. Anderson's proslavery men killed Johnston and all but 32 of his outnumbered men in the Battle of Centralia. Sergeant Goodman called the scene a drunken "carnival of blood," and the incident became notorious for the torture and mutiliations that Anderson's men inflicted on the survivors of the battle.
Format
Books
Language
English
Added to Catalog
June 01, 2002
References
Howes, W. U.S.iana, 1650-1950 (1962 edition), G241
Subjects
Genre/Form
History.
Personal narratives.
Also listed under
Bookmark As
Citation
