Bloody Bill Anderson

[JayLongley]

I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself.  My name is Jay Longley and I live in Brownwood in central Texas.  I have many hobbies and interests but one is studying the history of the Civil War.  This study led me to start an investigation into the many mysteries regarding the controversial life and death of Bloody Bill Anderson of Quantrill's Guerrillas.  I invite you to join our Yahoo group which is the home of this investigation.
***

Bloody Bill Anderson

Summary of Purposes


I began this investigation in the spring of 2006. My goal was to
learn if Bloody Bill Anderson died as a result of a Union ambush in
October, 1864 near Orrick, Missouri or if he escaped, returned to
Texas, and settled at Salt Creek in Brown County in frontier central
Texas as William C. Anderson. To recruit interested people to help
with this ongoing research, I created a Yahoo group called Bloody
Bill Anderson Mystery. I am convinced that Colonel William C.
Anderson of Brown County, Texas was Bloody Bill Anderson of
Quantrill's Guerrillas. Our group's job is to now prove that Colonel
Anderson was Bloody Bill to the historical community. To keep our
investigation headed in an orderly and productive direction toward
the ultimate proof, DNA analysis, I am proposing an outline to guide
our efforts - Summary of Purposes.

1. Bloody Bill Anderson's genealogical background. Since
traditional historians, in over 140 years, have failed to adequately
document Bloody Bill's family, any serious investigation into the
life of this important Southern leader must strive to correct the
sketchy and contradictory family tree of this heroic man. We need to
discover and document several important facts concerning his original
family.
a. We will attempt to reveal the most basic things about Bloody
Bill's parents that historians have failed to substantiate until
now. This includes the full names of the parents, how they died, and
where they died.
b. We will attempt to also determine the full names of Bill's
paternal and maternal grandparents. This step should be as far back,
into Bloody Bill Anderson's family, that we need to go in order to
create an accurate family tree from which we will ultimately locate
verifiable relatives from which we can screen and choose candidates
for DNA testing that will prove our case.
c. Traditional historians have done a pitiful job of even
determining, for certain, who Bloody Bill's siblings were. We will
attempt to determine who these brothers and sisters were, how many
children each had, where, how, and when they died and where they were
buried.
2. Historians Dr. Richard S. Brownlee and Shelby Foote referred to
Bloody Bill Anderson as "William C. Anderson" which exactly matches
the name of Colonel William C. Anderson of Brown County, Texas. We
will attempt to determine what documents these respected
historians/writers used to determine his name. Prior to these men's
books, published in the late 1950's and early 1960's, I have found
none that give a middle initial for this important man.
3. We will carefully examine and document Bloody Bill Anderson's
life up until late October of 1864 when the ambush occurred.
a. Study Bill's early years before his involvement in the Civil
War.
b. Examine important war-time events that influenced Anderson's
life. These will include his joining Quantrill's Guerrillas, the
1863 Kansas City jail collapse that killed his beloved sister
Josephine, the 1863 Lawrence Raid, the Battle of Centralia in
September 1864, and the highly controversial October 27, 1864 Ambush
that traditionalists claim killed Bloody Bill Anderson. We will
question the authenticity and origin of every piece of "evidence"
that traditionalist historians/writers have claimed, these many
decades, were taken from the guerrilla, the Yankees claimed was
Bloody Bill Anderson, who was riding Bill Anderson's horse that day
of the ambush.
4. Chronicle Bill Anderson's arrival in Texas after October 1964.
a. Search for letters, diaries, public documents, or other written
accounts of Bill Anderson after the Civil War.
b. Seek to locate Bloody Bill Anderson's relatives who may have
moved to the same area of frontier Texas where Anderson settled.
5. Identify Bloody Bill Anderson's close confidantes that knew of
his Civil War past before he publicly announced his true identity in
1924 to newspaperman Henry C. Fuller.
6. Study the underground Confederate government, the Knights of the
Golden Circle.
a. Examine the KGC's role and members in early-day Brown County
and Brownwood, Texas.
b. Research Colonel William C. Anderson's involvement with this
highly secretive group.
7. Identify as many of Colonel William C. Anderson's direct
descendants as possible.
a. Conduct and record interviews with every living direct
descendant.
b. Seek to locate public documents, photographs, diaries, letters,
Bibles, and any other written documents that shed light on Bloody
Bill Anderson.
c. Compile a family tree for Colonel Anderson with contact
information for the living and locations of burial and other
pertinent information for the deceased.
8. Participate on all Internet websites where the life and death of
Bloody Bill Anderson is discussed.
a. Ask tough questions about the many contradictory statements
that traditionalist historians/writers have made about Bloody Bill.
b. Require those who believe Bloody Bill Anderson was killed in
1864 to PROVE the origins, authenticity, and validity of every piece
of information, every photograph, and every item from they claimed
were taken from the ambushed guerrilla's body and Anderson's horse
after the October 1864 ambush.
c. Promote our group on all historical and genealogical websites
you participate on. Always keep in mind that we will need interested
and credentialed professionals, from numerous fields, to donate their
time and expertise to our investigation as we move forward. You can
use our group's Invite feature to personally invite people to join us
in this worthy research.
9. Document and record as much as possible information about Colonel
William C. Anderson's life after the Civil War.
a. Determine who Bill Anderson's closest associates were during
the 60 years he lived in Brown County, Texas.
b. Document important events in Brown County and Brownwood history
and learn the parts Colonel Anderson played in these events.
c. Examine Bill Anderson's participation with Jesse James and
other significant people after the Civil War.
10. Conduct and encourage DNA tests to prove, once and for all time,
that Colonel William C. Anderson was Bloody Bill Anderson.
a. Compile a list of as many relatives of the historically-
accepted Bloody Bill Anderson as possible.
b. List as many confirmed living descendants of Brown County's
William C. Anderson as possible.
c. Screen willing descendants and verify that they are legitimate
bloodline relatives. There will be absolutely no room for error in
this crucial phase of our investigation.
d. Locate, contact and persuade the responsible government
agencies and credentialed historical organizations to conduct an
exhumation of the grave, at Richmond, Missouri, and strongly
encourage them to prove or disprove the traditionalists' belief that
the grave contains the body of "Capt. William T. Anderson".

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

[JayLongley]

The following is the Henry C. Fuller interview of William C. Anderson
as it appeared in the Brownwood Bulletin's "Scrapbook" series written
by Lorene Bishop who was the historian of the Brown County Historical
Society. This article appeared October 1, 1989.
***

"In the 1920's Henry C. Fuller was a staff writer for the Banner-
Bulletin, a Brown County weekly newspaper. He interviewed many of
the pioneers of Brown County and printed their stories in the weekly
paper. One man Fuller interviewed was William C. Anderson of the
Salt Creek community. Anderson told Fuller that he was "Bloody Bill"
Anderson of the infamous Quantrill Guerrillas of Missouri. Fuller
began to write letters and send pictures back to Missouri trying to
prove if Anderson was "Bloody Bill" Anderson. Many in Missouri said
that he was the Anderson others said that it could not be the
Anderson.
On Aug. 24, 1924 the San Antonio Express carried this story written
by Henry C. Fuller:

'Six miles from Brownwood, on the banks of Salt Creek, a pretty
stream, that flows between rocky banks through pecan groves and
lovely valleys to the Colorado River, lives Uncle Bill Anderson, now
85 years old, and one time member of the famous Quantrill band of
guerrillas. The writer formed the acquaintance of Uncle Bill about
five year ago when he came to
this part of Texas and has spent many hours talking to him about the
stirring days of the past, at his home on Salt Creek. Uncle Bill, as
everybody knows him, is a familiar figure on the streets of Brownwood
on Saturday, and spends most of his time when in town at the
courthouse, conversing with old time friends and acquaintances. He
seldom talks about his connection with the famous band of William
Quantrill, and it is only to the closest friends that he talks at all
on this subject.
He joined Quantrill at the beginning of the tragic career of that
stormy petrel of the Civil War and was with him in practically [all
his] raids against the armies of the Union. Uncle Bill Anderson is
supposed to be dead, and the official reports in the office of the
secretary of war at Washington, signed by Major Cox of the Union
army, show that he was killed in Ray County, Missouri, about the
close of the Civil War, and was buried near where he was killed.
In a book written some time ago by a man named Connelly, who is now
president of the Kansas Historical Society at Topeka, Kansas, pains
are taken to show just how Bill Anderson was killed by Union
soldiers. The story is that on a certain occasion while Anderson
with a small band of guerrillas was raiding in Ray County, Missouri,
far removed from the main band under Quantrill, the Union forces
found it out and sent Major Cox with a detachment of soldiers and
under sealed orders to go to Ray County and Cox was not to open his
orders until he had reached a certain locality, which he was to do by
night, using the utmost secrecy and stealth in doing so and not
intimating to his men where he was going.
Major Cox followed the directions, and on reaching the lonely spot in
Ray County, he opened his orders and was surprised that they told him
he was now in the immediate vicinity of the camp of Bill Anderson,
right hand man of Quantrill, and that while most of his men were to
ambush or conceal themselves behind a fence on both sides of a long
land that opened from a wooded area, a small detachment was to go
forward, locate the band of Anderson and as soon as they had done so,
beat a hasty retreat, running back through the lane, and the rest of
the men under Cox were to fire upon the guerrillas and kill them as
they came by.
The plan worked fine, but when the scouts located Bill Anderson, and
Anderson's men gave instant pursuit, Anderson himself did not go.
However, one of his lieutenants mounted on the fine horse of Anderson
had joined in the chase. Every man was killed in ambush in the lane,
just as the orders of Cox anticipated, and the one on the big horse
known to belong to Anderson, was taken for Anderson.
As soon as Bill Anderson heard the shooting he knew that an ambuscade
had told the story, and mounting another horse in camp he plunged
into the woods and escaped. This was his last escapade of the war.
Leaving Missouri, he rode southward and kept on riding, riding until
he reached what is now the State of Texas, and then he rode on and
on, intending to go to Mexico and locate there. By and by he reached
the lovely valley of Salt Creek, in what is now Brown County. Nobody
lived here then, and once in (a) while roving bands of Indians passed
through the country. It was a charming place on an extreme feather
edge of things. Bluebonnets were in bloom as far as the eye could
see. Antelope and deer and an occasional buffalo and wild turkeys
and prairie chickens added to the interest and beauty of the
landscape. Through this lovely valley the little stream that Uncle
Bill named Salt Creek wended its way, between great groves of pecan
trees.
In the distance great hills formed as attractive and satisfactory
background. As Bill Anderson, then a young man, looked upon the
peaceful scene, far removed from strife and from human habitation, he
made up his mind at once to go no further in search of a place in
which to locate and build a home. So tethering his horse in the
midst of as fine grass as was ever tasted by the equine species, and
after broiling a fine steak from a deer which he shot, the wanderer
spread his blanket and with his saddle under his head was soon
sleeping quietly, and dreaming perhaps of the stirring days with
Quantrill back in Missouri. On the following day he rode up and down
the valley, and at last selected the place on which to build his
house.
The house was built of logs - a double-roomed affair, and still
stands, although he has added to it as the years passed, covering it
by and by with lumber hauled on ox wagons from Fort Worth. In time
Bill married and children came to bless the union as the old saying
goes. These children grew to manhood and womanhood, married and now
in Brown County, all good people and doing their part toward making
the world and humanity better in every way.' "
****

~Jay~
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

[JayLongley]

                                       Gunshots they claim killed Bloody Bill

One of the most disturbing aspects about the way the Bloody Bill Anderson story has been presented by historians and writers for over 140 years, has been the many contradictory accounts of both the number of gunshots and the location of gunshot wounds these writers claim killed Bloody Bill Anderson in the ambush near Orrick, Missouri on October 26th or 27th depending on which story you believe. Going back through my notes on this event, I came across over a dozen different and contradictory stories of both the number of gunshots this guerrilla was said to have taken and their location on the body. The contradictions are quite obvious and the differences are as numerous as the writers who told about these very important gunshots. If one accepts that Bloody Bill Anderson was killed in this ambush, which I don't, then it must be amply certain that only one of these reports can possibly be the true account. I will give you all just a sampling of these accounts and will leave it up to those who have written and published these opposing versions to explain their positions and give their sources.
****

The following article was written, on October 8, 1989, by Lorene
Bishop who was a writer for the Brownwood Bulletin and President of
the Brown County Historical Society. Lorene Bishop, as almost every reputable Brown County historian believed firmly that Bloody Bill Anderson lived out his life in Brown County, Texas until his death in 1927. I am posting only the portion of Bishop's book that deals with the ambush below as told by James S. Hackley:

"... The existence of the Bill Anderson of Texas that became known to
Missourians in 1924 when a short article about him appeared in The
Houston Post and was copied in Missouri papers. At once Colonel
James S. Hackley, an early settler of Mobeby Missouri present his
knowledge of the facts preceeding the slaying. His story indicates
that the guerrilla's body was identified by his, Hackley's mother, a
cousin of the slain Confederate irregular...
Four weeks later we drove to Richmond to my mother's brother. When
my uncle came out to greet my mother, a boy ran up and said that Bill
Anderson had been killed and his body was at Tice's gallery.
We went to Tice's gallery. When my mother saw the blood on
Anderson's face, and his clotted hair, she pleaded that the picture
not be taken until she had washed his face and combed his hair. Her
plea was refused by Captain Cox, who was present and claimed to have
killed Anderson.
Anderson was buried in Richmond. The bullet that ended his life
struck him in the back of his head and came out through his
forehead.' "

(This account says ONE bullet "struck him in the back of the head and came out through his forehead.")
***

This next account is from the War of the Rebellion Records and comes from no other that Lt. Colonel S.P. Cox himself.

"Report of Lieut. Col. Samuel P. Cox, Thirty-third Infanty Enrolled
Missouri Militia.
Richmond, Mo., October 27, 1864.

DEAR SIR: We have the honor to report the result of our expedition on
yesterday against the notorious bushwhacker, William T. Anderson and
his forces, near Albany, in the soutwest corner of this county (Ray).
Learning his whereabouts we struck camp on yesterday morning
and made a forced march and came in contact with their pickets about
a mile this side of Albany; drove them in and through Albany and into
the woods beyond. We dismounted our men in the town, threw our
infantry force into the woods beyond, sending a cavalry advance who
engaged the enemy and fell back, when Anderson and his fiendish gang,
about 300 strong, raised the Indian yell and came in full speed upon
our lines, shooting and yelling as they came. Our lines held their
position without a break.The notorious bushwhacker, Anderson, and one
of his men, supposed to be Captain Rains, son of General Rains,
charged through our lines. Anderson was killed and fell some fifty
steps in our rear, receiving two balls in the side of the head. Rains
made his escape and their forces retreated in full speed, being
completely routed; our cavalry pursued them some ten miles, finding
the road strewn with blood for miles. We hear of them scattered in
various directions, some considerable force of them making thier way
toward Richfield, in Clay County. We capured on Anderson private
papers and orders from General Price that identify him beyond a doubt.
I have the honor to report that my officers and me conducted
themselves well and fought bravely on the field. We had 4 men
wounded; lost none. The forces of my command consisted of a portion
of Major Grimes, of Ray County, Fifty first Regiment Enrolled
Missouri Militia, and a portion of the Thirty-Third Enrolled Missouri
Militia, from Daviess and Caldwell Counties.

Respectfully yours,

S.P. COX
Lieut. Col., Comdg. Thirty-third Regt. Enrolled Missouri
Militia.
GENERAL CRAIG

(This one claims Anderson was hit with "two balls in the side of the head." Quite a feat of markmanship I would say.)

***
The next is from a message by one of the members of our Bloody Bill Anderson Mystery group, Laura Anderson Way, in which she quotes Paul Petersen.

"The following is from the book "Quantrill of Missouri" by Paul Petersen, page 392 and 393."

"In late October, in Ray County, Anderson saw the report that Price had been defeated and that George Todd had been killed. On October 24 he determined to punish the Federals for the Southern defeat at Westport."

"Harrison Trow recalled that William Smith, a veteran guerrilla with four years' experience, rode next to Anderson. Trow claimed that five bullets struck Smith and three struck Anderson, and at the end of the fight, both men were dead."

(Here Trow is quoted as saying "three (bullets) struck Anderson. Another strange fact is that, while this report claims William Smith was killed in this ambush, Smith's name appears nowhere on the monument erected to the guerrillas killed that day.)

***
From: http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleYear&id=2366

"...Anderson went to Texas that winter, got married, and returned to
Missouri in 1864 with a band of about 50 fighters. Anderson embarked
on a summer of violence, leading his group on a campaign that killed
hundreds and caused extensive damage. The climax came on September 27
when Anderson's gang joined with several others to pillage the town
of Centralia, Missouri. When more than 100 Union soldiers pursued
them, the guerillas ambushed and massacred the entire detachment.
Just a month later, Anderson's band was caught in a Union ambush
outside of Albany, Missouri, and Anderson was killed by two bullets
to his head. The body of the "blood-drenched savage," as he became
known in the area, was placed on public display. Anderson kept a rope
to record his killings, and there were 54 knots in it at the time of
his death..."

***

From:
http://www.bullshido.net/modules. php?
name=Reviews& file=viewarticle &id=291

Adult language is used on that site.

"...After completely decimating the town, he moved his men to the
south of town and set up an ambush for 150 Union Calvary men moving
in after him. They killed 116 of them. They shot them through the
head, then scalped them and thrust them with bayonets. They even
chopped of ears and noses.

On October 27th 1864, Anderson was ambushed by Captain S.P.Cox and
his Union troops. He and one other man charged the line guns blazing.
His horse was shot and he bit the dust, he was then shot in the back
of the head 2 times. His body was taken to Richmond, Missouri where
they decapitated his corpse and stuck his head on a telegraph pole.
His body was then dragged through the streets and dumped in an
unmarked grave.

Bloody Bill was passionate, angry and ruthless ~ described by Jim
Cummins as "The most desperate man I ever met." "

(This one seems to be saying Anderson's horse "bit the dust" and then Anderson was executed with two shots in the back of the head.)

***

http://www.civilwarhistory.com/quantrill/anderson.htm

"While leading his guerilla band near Orrick, Missouri on October
27th 1864, Anderson was ambushed by Captain S.P.Cox and his Union
troops. Anderson was caught completely unaware and was riddled with
bullets then left for dead in his saddle. His loyal followers put up
a fight to try and recover Anderson's corpse, but they were driven
back by superior firepower.

Anderson's body was taken to Richmond, Missouri where it was propped
up in a chair and a pistol was placed in the dead man's hand then
photographs were taken. A short while later, the Union troopers, full
of loathing for the dead man, decapitated Anderson and impaled his
head on a telegraph pole at the entrance to the town as a signature
to all that the infamous killer was indeed dead. Anderson's torso was
roped and tied to a horse then dragged along the streets of Richmond
before being dumped in an unmarked grave outside of town."

(This is just one of many accounts that claim that Bill Anderson's body was "riddled with bullets".)

***

Carl W. Breihan tells the story a little different in his account from page 78 of his "Killer Legions of Quantrill", 1971, by saying the following:

"...Anderson was the first to fall, his body caught in a crossfire and riddled as he toppled from the saddle..."

***

If it weren't for the seriousness of this historical event, all of these different and contradictory accounts would be laughable. To say the least, EVERY writer who has made money selling books containing a version of this ambush story owes the American public an explanation for writing whatever tale he/she chose to tell in the book(s), regarding the way they claim Bloody Bill Anderson was killed that day. They should step forward and give their sources for this misinformation.
Thank you,
~Jay~


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

[JayLongley]

Here is a list of some of the books I have completely read during
this investigation. While reading them, I have taken extensive
notes, both handwritten and Xerox, and I have posted much of this
noted information in our Messages Archives for our members' use. To
retrieve and read these excerpts, members are encouraged to type in
either the book's full title or the author's full name in the
Messages Search box located at the top of our group's messages list
on our homepage:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

***

1) "Wildwood Boys" by James Carlos Blake, novel based on historical
facts, hardcover published in 2000 by William Morrow, an imprint of
HarperCollins Publishers Inc., paperback published in 2001 by
Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

2) "Rebel Gold" by Warren Getler and Bob Brewer, previously
published as "Shadow of the Sentinel", copyright @ 2003, Simon &
Schuster, Inc., paperback published in 2005.

3) "Frontier's Generation" by Tevis Clyde Smith (Sr.), published by
the author, Brownwood, Texas, Greenwood Press, 1931, First
Edition, "Price 50 Cents".

4) "From The Memories of Men" by T.C. Smith, Jr., 1954.

5) "Jesse James Was One of His Names" by Del Schrader and Jesse
James III, online version
http://bwcpublishing.com/names/names.html

6) "Brown's Henry Ford" by Lex Johnston, Great Grandson of Henry
Ford, included in "In The Life And Lives of Brown County People",
published by The Brown County Historical Society.

7) "The Story of Cole Younger by Himself", Introduction by Marley
Brant, originally published 1903, re-published in 2000 by Minnesota
Historical Society.

"Branded as Rebels", compiled by Joanne Chiles Eakin & Donald R.
Hale, 1993.

9) "INSIDE WAR - The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the
American Civil War" by Michael Fellman, Oxford University Press, 1989.

10) "The Blue And The Gray" by Henry Steele Commager, 1982, (Two
Volumes in One).

11) "Jesse James Was His Name" or, "Fact And Fiction Concerning The
Careers of The Notorious James Brothers of Missouri" by William A.
Settle, Jr., 1966, Columbia, Missouri, University of Missouri Press.

12) "Reminiscences of one who suffered in the lost cause" by Charles
Hewitt Hance, published 1915.

13) "Quantrill And The Border Wars" by William Elsey Connelley,
Pageant Book Company, New York, 1956, originally published 1909.

14) "Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border" by Donald L. Gilmore,
2006, Pelican Publishing Company.

15) "The Civil War Story of Bloody Bill Anderson" by Larry Wood,
2003, Published by Eakin Press - Austin, Texas.

16) "Quantrill and his civil war guerrillas" by Carl W. Breihan,
1959.

17) "Bloody Bill Anderson - The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War
Guerrilla by Albert Castel & Thomas Goodrich.

18) "Three Years With Quantrill" by John McCorkle.

19) "A Dynasty of Western Outlaws" by Paul I. Wellman, University of
Nebraska Press - Lincoln and London, 1961, Reprinted Bison Book, 1986.

20) "The Killer Legions of Quantrill" by Carl W. Breihan, Hangman
Press As Presented By Superior Publishing Company, Seattle,
Washington, 1971, First Edition.

21) "Noted Guerrillas" or "The Warfare on the Border" by John N.
Edwards, Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1976, originally printed 1877.

22) "In The Life And Lives Of Brown County People" Books Nos Ten,
Eleven, and Nineteen, published by the Brown County Historical
Society.

23) "The Nice and Nasty in Brown County" by Ruth Griffin Spence,
1988.

24) "Something About Brown" by T.R. Havins, 1958, Banner Printing
Company, Brownwood, Texas.

25) "Freemasonry in Brownwood" by Donovan Duncan Tidwell, 1966.

26) "McInnis Funeral Home Records Brownwood, (Brown County) Texas
1910-1942" compiled by Hazel Ellis Wetzel, 1985.

27) "The Promised Land" by James C. White.

***

~Jay~

[JayLongley]

From: "Three Years With Quantrill" by (Scout) John McCorkle. Below
are the notes I took while reading this book last year that I thought
were significant to our study. Tragically, I was only able to get a
republished copy of this book. Guess who was given the job of
footnoting it? Yankee professor Albert Castel. Castel criticized
nearly every paragraph that McCorkle wrote! Castel's butchering of
the book made it nearly unreadable.

***

page 67 - "...Being very tired we all (16 in number) all retired
early and were soon asleep, Colonel Quantrill and Cole Younger
occupying the bed and the remainder of us sleeping on the floor..."

page 84 [January, 1863 - Missouri] - "The next afternoon we went in
search of Cole Younger and George Todd and the next day we found them
in camp in the woods about seven miles south of Independence on
Howard's Branch, and with him were my brother, Jabez, Tom Tally,
George Tally, Joe Hardin, Doc Hale and Jim Morris and in a few days
Ike Bassham and three others joined us..."

page 144 [Bloody Bill Anderson's marriage to Bush Smith, 1863] -
"...During Christmas week, Captain Bill Anderson married a Southern
lady in Sherman, all of us attending the wedding."
page 145 - "On the 20th of March, 1864, we broke camp on Red River
and started back north..."

page 166 & 170 [August or September 1864] - "Captain Todd then
said, 'Boys, this country's full of Federals and they are all after
us and we'll have to disband and scatter.' "
"...After staying in this neighborhood for a few days, Quantrill told
us that Jim Little was not well enough to leave and for us to go on
to a place near Rocheport, where it had been prearranged we should
meet, and to tell Captain Todd to take command and for us to ask to
go south and spend the winter."

page 173 - "We went on up into the western portion of Lafayette
county and the eastern portion of Jackson county. Here Captain
Anderson and his company left us and came on down into Howard
County. This was the last time I ever saw Bill Anderson and the next
I heard of him he had been killed..."

page 180 [shortly after the previous account] - "In a few days after
Captain Shepherd and his men left, Colonel Quantrill returned and we
started south. He told us that he intended to cross the Missouri
River at Arrow Rock, go across the State of Missouri into Illinois,
then into Kentucky and thence into Virginia, that we were all to wear
Federal uniforms and to pass ourselves as Union soldiers, and his
name was to be Colonel Clark, in command of a Colorado regiment.
When we reached the Missouri River we found it so full of ice that we
could not cross..."

***

~Jay~
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

[JayLongley]

Traditionalists' Imagination Gone Wild !

From: "Bloody Bill Anderson - The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War
Guerrilla" by Albert Castel and Thomas Goodrich, pages 125 & 126.
As most of our members are aware, these two Yankee writers are well-
respected and heavily-relied upon by traditionalists who oppose us.
Though this excerpt that tells of the ambush in 1864 is brief, it
would take a much longer analysis to detail all of the blatant
innaccuracies contained in it. I am posting it solely for the
amusement of our members and will let each of you consider all the
myths contained in it.

***

(Albany, Missouri, Oct. 27th, 1864) - "Suddenly the detachment
(Cox's) came scurrying back, hotly pursued by guerrillas two to three
hundred strong.
...All, that is, except two charging up the lane far ahead of the
rest. The one in the lead rode an iron-gray horse, its reins
clenched between his teeth, and he held a blazing revolver in each
hand...
Several soldiers approached the body of the first bushwhacker who had
burst through their line. A bullet had blown away a hunk of his
skull behind the left ear and another had penetrated his left
temple. In all probability he had died instantly and painlessly.
Turning the body over, the militiamen studied it. Obviously he was
no ordinary bushwhacker. Beside him lay a wide-brimmed white hat
with a long black plume. Under his close-fitting, dun-colored frock
coat were a blue cloth vest and an elaborately embroidered black
shirt. Each hand still clasped a revolver; hip holsters attached to
the saddle of his magnificent gray mare, which stood nearby, a scalp
dangling from it's bridle."
***

~Jay~
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

[JayLongley]

Confederate Partisan Rangers

Here is an excellent site for researching the Partisan Rangers written by Bertil Haggman who worked on the project for eight years. The author agreed with Dr. Richard S. Brownlee, Shelby Foote and many others that Bloody Bill Anderson's middle initial was a "C." and not a "T."

http://www.mygen.com/users/outlaw/csa.html

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"...Partisan and guerrilla warfare was especially furious in Missouri where a number of Partisan Ranger units operated along with the guerrilla companies of William C. "Bloody Bill" Anderson, William C. Quantrill and George Todd. The main action was on the border to Kansas with raids into Kansas and the Union occupation troops used very harsh counterinsurgency methods against the population in the western counties of Missouri..."
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~Jay~


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

[Rebel_Doc]

Brownlee made an error, and everybody & their pet poodle has perpetuated it.  His book was published in 1962, and is still generally considered one of the best on the border war -- thus becoming the source for writers with little knowledge of that aspect of the Civil War.  Although a mountain of undisputable Federal, State and County records prove Bloody Bill's middle initial was "T," there are those who depend on unreliable sources available at their local library or on the internet.

A mistake, no matter how often it's repeated, is still a mistake.

[Gay Mathis]

"Picking" only the parts of a page without reading the whole page which also lists William T. (Bloody Bill) Anderson's on that same page..

Is this his website also?

THE GRAY GHOSTS COLUMN


William T. Anderson Missouri – Capt. MO Guerrilla

http://www.southernmessenger.org/the_gray_ghost_column.htm

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Gay

[yohoosue]

If one relies solely on different authors that give Bloody Bill's name as William C Anderson, why would one ignore the name Bloody Bill's parents gave him, and the one Bloody Bill used on his marriage certificate in 1864, William T Anderson?
Aren't all the different books that mention his name as William C using simply ONE source? The 1924 newspaper article when William C Anderson of Brown Co TX claimed he was Bloody Bill? And therefore, would it not be fair to say they were repeats of that one source, and do not qualify as more than one source?
And further, his claim to be Bloody Bill has been proven to be false by many independant researchers, 
using varied documents such as census records, agricultural census, tax records, marriage certificates, death certificates, county records and military records
that were evidently not used or quoted as sources for his name in the various books.
Perhaps in the future, all authors will be aware of, research and quote from these records, and use Bloody Bill's correct name his parents gave him, William T Anderson, per the 1860 Breckinridge Co MO census, and his 1864 Grayson Co TX marriage certificate, where he himself quoted his name as Lieut William T Anderson, which was repeated in another space on the same document as WT Anderson, making that legal document a double whammy for proof.
Sincerely,
Yohoosue