William Clarke Quantrill Quotes


Kill! Kill! Lawrence must be cleansed, and the only way to cleanse it is to kill!


Context

Lawrence was a thriving community of abolitionists. Quantrill’s irregular force generally murdered prisoners, scalped them, mutilates their bodies, and wore scalps and body parts as clothing decoration. Quantrill “cleansed” Lawrence by burning virtually every building and killing the male population, See {617769}. It has been a source of great argument as to whether the Confederate command and politicians were fully aware of his actions and endorsed them or didn’t know. Since many of his escapades were printed in the Newspapers of the day, it is probably the case that the Confederate authorities had so much to do, that they just didn’t want to determine the truth of the accusations.


Citations

William Clarke Quantrill, 1837-1865, Confederate Officer and Terrorist, Instructions from horseback to his men at the massacre of civilians of Lawrence Kansas, 1863

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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William Clarke Quantrill
William Clarke Quantrill
  • Born: July 31, 1837
  • Died: June 6, 1865
  • Nationality:
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William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War.