Synopsis
William Clarke Quantrill was a quiet Ohio schoolteacher and Confederate soldier who became the most feared and notorious guerrilla of the Civil War. A brilliant tactician, Quantrill was a brave and charismatic man who attracted hundreds to his side—notably the teenaged Frank James, Jesse James, and Cole Younger. The peak of his career came on August 21, 1863, when he led 450 men in a dawn raid on the staunchly Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas.
Author Edward E. Leslie brilliantly weaves together eyewitness accounts, letters, memoirs, and the reports of military officers and newspaper correspondents into a riveting narrative. Not only has he written the definitive biography of Quantrill but he is also the first historian to present a balanced portrait of the legendary raider.