William T. Anderson

William T. Anderson[a] (1840 – October 26, 1864), also known as "Bloody Bill" Anderson, was one of the deadliest and most famous pro-Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. Anderson led a group of volunteer rangers who attacked Union loyalists and federal soldiers in the states of Missouri and Kansas.

William T. Anderson
Anderson, c. summer 1864
NicknameBloody Bill
Born1840
Hopkins County, Kentucky
DiedOctober 26, 1864(1864-10-26) (aged 23–24)
Albany, Missouri
Buried atPioneer Cemetery
Richmond, Missouri
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Service/branchPartisan rangers
Years of service1863–64
RankCaptain
UnitQuantrill's Raiders
Battles/wars

Early life

William T. Anderson was born in 1840 in Hopkins County, Kentucky, to William C. and Martha Anderson.[1] His siblings were Jim, Ellis, Mary Ellen, Josephine and Janie.[2] His schoolmates remembered him as a well-behaved, quiet child. [1] During his childhood, Anderson's family moved to Huntsville, Missouri, where his father got a job on a farm, and the family became well-respected.[3] In 1857, they moved to the Kansas Territory, going southwest on the Santa Fe Trail and settling 13 miles (21 km) east of Council Grove.[4]

The Anderson family supported slavery, though they did not own slaves. They moved to Kansas most likely for economic rather than political reasons.[5]

William T. Anderson Media

Notes

  1. Anderson's middle name is unknown. Wood speculates that it was "Thomas", his grandfather's name. (Wood 2003, p. 157)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wood 2003, p. 1.
  2. Castel & Goodrich 1998, p. 11.
  3. Wood 2003, pp. 1 & 3.
  4. Wood 2003, p. 3; Castel & Goodrich 1998, p. 11.
  5. Wood 2003, p. 4.