Sacking of Osceola
Encyclopedia
The Sacking of Osceola was a Union Jayhawker
initiative on September 23, 1861, to push out pro-Southern elements at Osceola, Missouri
. It was not authorized by Union military authorities but was the work of an informal group of Kansas pro-Union "Jayhawkers". The town of 3,000 people was plundered and burned to the ground, and nine local citizens were executed.
's secessionist Missouri State Guard
victory over General Nathaniel Lyon
's Union army at the Battle of Wilson's Creek
, Price began initiatives to "clean out" opposition in Kansas and retake the state of Missouri.
James H. Lane
organized 1,200 troops to resist the Price invasion into Kansas. Price defeated Lane in the Battle of Dry Wood Creek
near Fort Scott, Kansas
. Lane retreated and Price continued his offensive further into Missouri to the Siege of Lexington
.
While Price moved North, Lane launched an attack behind him. After crossing the Missouri border at Trading Post, Kansas
on September 10, Lane began an offensive moving East on Butler
, Harrisonville
, Osceola and Clinton, Missouri
.
under Capt. Thomas Moonlight
shelled the St. Clair County courthouse. According to reports, many of the Kansans got so drunk that when it came time to leave they were unable to march and had to ride in wagons and carriages. They carried off with them a tremendous load of plunder, including as Lane's personal share a piano and a quantity of silk dresses. Hundreds of slaves followed Lane to Kansas and freedom. The troops moved Northwest and arrived at Kansas City, Missouri
, on September 29, to pursue Price as he retreated south through the state.
Osceola was plundered with Lane's men taking 350 horses and 200 slaves, 400 cattle, 3,000 bags of flour, and quantities of supplies from all the town shops and stores as well as carriages and wagons. Nine local men were rounded up, given a quick drumhead court-martial trial, and executed. All but three of the town's 800 buildings burned; the town never fully recovered.
raid on Lawrence, Kansas, leading in turn to the depopulation of four counties of western Missouri under General Order No. 11.
Jayhawker
Jayhawkers is a term that came to prominence just before the American Civil War in Bleeding Kansas, where it was adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause. These bands, known as "Jayhawkers", were guerrilla fighters who often clashed with pro-slavery groups from Missouri known...
initiative on September 23, 1861, to push out pro-Southern elements at Osceola, Missouri
Osceola, Missouri
Osceola is a city in St. Clair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 835 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of St. Clair County.-History:...
. It was not authorized by Union military authorities but was the work of an informal group of Kansas pro-Union "Jayhawkers". The town of 3,000 people was plundered and burned to the ground, and nine local citizens were executed.
Background
Following Sterling PriceSterling Price
Sterling Price was a lawyer, planter, and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, who served as the 11th Governor of the state from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a United States Army brigadier general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general in the American Civil...
's secessionist Missouri State Guard
Missouri State Guard
The Missouri State Guard was a state militia organized in the state of Missouri during the early days of the American Civil War. While not initially a formal part of the Confederate States Army, the State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at times, under regular Confederate...
victory over General Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict....
's Union army at the Battle of Wilson's Creek
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War. It was the first major battle of the war west of the Mississippi River and is sometimes...
, Price began initiatives to "clean out" opposition in Kansas and retake the state of Missouri.
James H. Lane
James H. Lane (Senator)
James Henry Lane also known as Jim Lane was a partisan during the Bleeding Kansas period that immediately preceded the American Civil War. During the war, Lane served as a United States Senator and as a general who fought for the Union...
organized 1,200 troops to resist the Price invasion into Kansas. Price defeated Lane in the Battle of Dry Wood Creek
Battle of Dry Wood Creek
The Battle of Dry Wood Creek was fought on September 2, 1861 in Vernon County, Missouri during the American Civil War...
near Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
. Lane retreated and Price continued his offensive further into Missouri to the Siege of Lexington
Battle of Lexington I
The First Battle of Lexington also known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales, was an engagement of the American Civil War, occurring from September 13 to September 20, 1861, between the Union Army and the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard, in Lexington, the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri...
.
While Price moved North, Lane launched an attack behind him. After crossing the Missouri border at Trading Post, Kansas
Trading Post, Kansas
Trading Post is an unincorporated community in Linn County, Kansas, United States, which is said to be one of the oldest continuously occupied locations in the state. The Battle of Marais des Cygnes was fought here during the American Civil War...
on September 10, Lane began an offensive moving East on Butler
Butler, Missouri
Butler is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,209 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bates County.Butler was the first city west of the Mississippi River to have electricity.-Geography:...
, Harrisonville
Harrisonville, Missouri
Harrisonville is a city in Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,019 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of CassCounty.Harrisonville was found in 1837, and was named for Congressman Albert G. Harrison...
, Osceola and Clinton, Missouri
Clinton, Missouri
Clinton is a city in Henry County, Missouri, United States. The city was named for New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. The population was 9,311 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Henry County.-Geography:Clinton is located at...
.
Osceola
The climax of the campaign was on September 23, 1861, at Osceola, where Lane's forces drove off a small Southern force and then looted and burned the town. An artillery batteryArtillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
under Capt. Thomas Moonlight
Thomas Moonlight
Thomas Moonlight was a United States politician and general.-Birth:Thomas was baptised on 30 September 1833 in St Vigeans, Angus, Scotland with birth record number 319/0040 0169...
shelled the St. Clair County courthouse. According to reports, many of the Kansans got so drunk that when it came time to leave they were unable to march and had to ride in wagons and carriages. They carried off with them a tremendous load of plunder, including as Lane's personal share a piano and a quantity of silk dresses. Hundreds of slaves followed Lane to Kansas and freedom. The troops moved Northwest and arrived at Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, on September 29, to pursue Price as he retreated south through the state.
Osceola was plundered with Lane's men taking 350 horses and 200 slaves, 400 cattle, 3,000 bags of flour, and quantities of supplies from all the town shops and stores as well as carriages and wagons. Nine local men were rounded up, given a quick drumhead court-martial trial, and executed. All but three of the town's 800 buildings burned; the town never fully recovered.
Aftermath
Lane's raid stirred hatred that would contribute to Quantrill'sWilliam Quantrill
William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. After leading a Confederate bushwhacker unit along the Missouri-Kansas border in the early 1860s, which included the infamous raid and sacking of Lawrence, Kansas in 1863, Quantrill eventually ended up in...
raid on Lawrence, Kansas, leading in turn to the depopulation of four counties of western Missouri under General Order No. 11.