Peter Brecheisen and Quantrill’s Lawrence Kansas Raid
August 20-21, 1863
Quantrill
William Clarke Quantrill was a captain of the Confederate partisan rangers, better known as Bushwackers, operating out of Missouri. Quantrill mainly conducted his operations in south western Missouri, Kansas and the Oklahoma Territory. Later in the war, Quantrill road down into Texas and eventually into western Kentucky where he was killed in an ambush near Taylorsville on May 10, 1865.
At the highpoint of his career Quantrill had over 400 men riding at arms, but the rough and ready nature of his band was such that it couldn’t last long. It was probably the move to Texas that brought on the split. In an infamous move to break Quantrill’s power in Missouri, Union General Thomas Ewing had issued General Order No 11 ordering the depopulation and destruction of three and a half Missouri counties along the Kansas border. The idea had been to deprive Quantrill of supplies and support and it worked: Quantrill rode south to Texas to winter over with the Confederate army and it was there that his force blew itself apart. By the time Quantrill rode to his doom in Kentucky he was only leading a couple of dozen men.
The most famous of Quantrill’s raids took place on August 21, 1863 at the highpoint of Quantrill’s power. Lawrence, Kansas was the headquarters' for Colonel Charles Jennison, commander of the 7th regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry also known as the Jayhawkers. One of Jemmison’s commanders was a Kansas Senator by the name of Jim Lane. Lane had raised a group of riders, called the Kansas Brigade that wore red piping on their pants. Called the Redlegs, Lane and his men raided into south western Missouri. The most notorious of Lane's raids was the sacking of the Missouri town of Osceola, where at least nine men were murdered. Lane was the target of Quantrill’s attack on Lawrence.
On August 20, 1863 Peter Brecheisen and his son, Peter Jr., setout with a wagon load produce from their farm in Osage County, Kansas to sell in Lawrence. They got as far as Eudora before they stopped for the night. In the morning they were awakened by a large band of horsemen riding past their wagon. After breakfast, Peter and his son rode on toward Lawrence wondering about the mornings events. Peter Jr. told his father that he heard someone shout, “Hold your fire!”, as the men rode past and this must have caused some consternation in the older man.
Even before they came in sight of the town they could see the smoke rising in the morning air and hear the sounds of explosions in the distance. A lone rider galloping toward them shouted that Quantrill was in town and killing all of the men. Peter and his son drove off the road into a stand of timber near a farmhouse. While they were hiding, a small band of riders came down the road from town and stopped at the house. Peter and his son laid low listening to the sounds of loud shouting followed by gunfire.
After the riders left and hearing the sound of a woman crying, Peter went up to the house to see what had happened, there he found a woman weeping over a body. She told him that the dead man was her husband, Mr. Stone. Peter and his son carried the body into the house and contacted a neighbor to come over and help Mrs. Stone with the prepping of the body. She told them that the riders had come up to the door and demanded to know the way to Eudora, when Mr. Stone told them they shot him down and rode away.
Still hauling their wagon load of produce Peter and son returned home fearing for their lives the whole way. Arriving home Peter rounded up his family along with a little food and lead them out into a cornfield where they hid out for three days. After they were certain the coast was clear the family went back to their house and Peter rode back to Lawrence to see what had happened, he arrived just in time to help bury the dead.
Bushwackers continued to raid in Osage County for the remained of the war. Once Quantrill’s band split up all pretense of military organization was lost and many of the riders were little more than bandits. Peter stopped buying horses because so many were being stolen it was impossible to know if a horse was legitimate or not. Any time the family left their home they took all their valuables with them because they knew the Bushwackers would come looking as soon as they were gone. Returning home from one trip the family found two young heifers they were raising for hauling butchered and hanging from a tree.
Hotel Eldridge Lawrence, Kansas
The target of the raid.
Sources
Historical background: Wikipedia
The story of Peter Brecheisen and the Raid on Lawrence, Kansas:
The Family History of Peter Brecheisen I
By LaVerne Natalie Brecheisen, Charles M. Brecheisen Sr., Mary Brecheisen Rodewald
Copyright 1979
Mennonite Press, Inc.
North Newton, Kansas