THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
QUANTRILL'S GUERRILLAS
Researched and Compiled
by
Rose Mary Lankford
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Texas, she was one year old when her family moved to Florida. When she was seven, they moved to Batesville, Arkansas, and she has lived in and around the area since then. She attended Batesville schools and is a former secretary of the Batesville Hearing Aid Service.
Rose Mary is a member of the William C. Quantrill Society of Kansas City, Missouri, and a member of the Batesville Area Civil War Round Table.
She was accompanied on her research trips by her husband, Henry, who came up with practical suggestions when she needed them. Sometimes she wasn't allowed to take certain books from the library and of course she couldn't take the census records which were on microfilm home either. Henry thought of her taking a cassette tape recorder with her to talk into. He also kept her machines in working order, and helped her overcome "writer's block." As he worked nights, she worked on the book. They live near Evening Shade, have two grown sons, and four grandchildren.
Rose Mary became interested in Quantrill's guerrillas while researching Henry's family tree. His great-grandfather, Obediah Thomas, was a scout and a chaplin for the group. She thought that if she found a list of Quantrill's men, she would find Henry's elusive ancestor. The more she searched the more names she discovered. She also thought that if she found out information on the men, she could use the process of elimination, and find Obediah. Her list grew and grew. Finally, one day, someone told her that with as much information as she had gathered, she should put it in a book. Knowing that it is very difficult to find information on the guerrillas, she decided to do just that. It is her hope that many will be helped by this book, as it is a great genealogy reference. Anyone who is a Civil War buff will probably enjoy the book, too.
She discovered that Quantrill and his guerrillas were just plain, ordinary young men who came from good families, generally farmers. If the Civil War had not happened, Quantrill might have become a superintendant of schools. The men might have been peaceful farmers raising crops and families. But, the war did happen. They saw the sky filled with smoke from burning homes, barns, crops which, often as not, were their own. Their fields were trampled by infantry or cavalry. They became tough, for they had to, to exist. The law of the land seemed to be "kill or be killed. Only the strong survived." Some people considered Quantrill and his men as protectors and champions against the hated Federal troops. Others considered the guerrillas as their worst nightmare. Just the mere mention of the name Quantrill struck terror into the hearts of many people. Did he earn the reputation of being a cruel and sadistic man, or was he a victim of the times and newspapers?
Quantrill
shot Abraham Ellis, who was looking out of a window at the time when he
should have been hiding under a bed. Quantrill had no idea whether
Ellis was armed or not. Upon entering the hotel where Ellis was staying,
Quantrill went upstairs and discovered Ellis who was still alive.
Ellis was Quantrill's former school superintendant. When Quantrill
saw who he had shot, he apologized and proceeded to wash Ellis personnally.
Does this sound like a cruel and sadistic man? Quantrill burned one
town; General William Sherman burned several states! Quantrill
is a scoundrel; Sherman a hero. If the South had of won, would Quantrill
have become a hero, and Sherman a scoundrel!
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