, 1863-09-11

10 IS0, p1shed southeast from Lane5Held, az
struck Quantteps train about sunrise d,
miles north Of Pao1a, aud but little behi1
the commands Of Coleman mad Clark.
Maj. Thacher, commanding at Wcstpor
when news arrived that Quantrel was returI
Ing by way Of the Usage Valley, took, Il
rest Of the mounted troops on the upper bo
der (Co. A, 9th, and E, 11th Kansas, 1umbe
ing l2Q mem, and moved down the line. e
struck Qhantrel's trail below Aubrey, INN
mand.
Qnantrel, when after dark he had battle
his pu1sners, stopped to rest fire n11es nortl
east Of Paola, and there, after midnight,
squad Of Linn county militia under Car,
Pardte, IN search Of his trail, alarmed b
camp. &c at once moved on, and betwec
came within gunshot Of theadrance Of abou
$50 Of the 4th ii. s. n, upder Lieut., CO
King. which had been ordered from the cop1
try ot the Little Blue, in jackson count,
down the line to intercept him. The az
vance. appriscd Lieut. Col. King Of the az
proach Of another force. skirmishers wei
thrown out, but Quantrel, aided by the dark
ness and the broken character Of the prairie
eluded the force and passed on. Lieut. Col
King was unable to find his trail that night,
Tie pursuing forces thus thrown behind
Quantrcl passed cut Of Kansas and rot to HI
timber Of the middle fork Of Grand River II
missouri, near his last rendezvous b=for
sta1tlng, about noon Of the ed, an hour /,
There bis forces scattered. Many Gismouut
cd, OF worn out through fatigue or wounds
sought concealMent and safety In the fast
nesses Of that region. About one hundred
moved down Graud River, while the chic
Part & the force passed northeast to Chape
Hill. Oar forces divided In like manner at thai
point, MAI Plumb aud Maj. Thatcher follow,
ing the Iuafn bndv
On the 20th Of August went to Leayeu,
worth On official business. The dfsDatches
OF Capt. Pike were not sent to Leayenworth
until o. N. On tue morning Of the 21st, BE-.
G1Is canse TIE telegraph offices at Leavenworth
for Want Of relief Of operators. I received
those dispatches and the one announcing
tlat Quantrel had passed through Ga7dnsr
going towards Lawrence, not until quarter to
II q. H., on the 2lst.
There VAS no cavalry stationed at Fort
h11esavenWo1th, La though five companies Of the
annie, but without arms. There was one
company at Leavenworth City, just receiving
horse equipments Arms aud horse eauip.
ments were Issued at once, and at D. N I
started from Fort Leavenworth with near
Soo men OF these companies. News reached
re a:,.a.1e a. heasenWorth City Of the burning Of
rebels to 50 thence to Topeka, thought it
best to go to Dc Soto, aud thence. after na M
ayotdable delay Of five hours in crossing the
Kansas River, to Landshe1d. Finding there,
at day-break, that Qunntzel had passed east. t
1t1t the command to follow as rapidly as pos
elb!e, and pushed on, reaching, soon after
dark the point en- Grand River where Quan-
trers force had scattered.
Lieut.. Col. lazaar, with the detachments
OF the Let Missouri, from Warrensburs and
9leasant Hill, numbering aoout tn , hundred
men, after milling to find Quantrel on the
Bsackwater, on the Goth, encountered him at
force, and has since had five very successful
engagements NTH different parties Of his
The pursuit. Of Quantrel, after our forces
mad caught up with him at Brooklyn, was 50
close that he was unable to commit any fur
tneE damage to property On bis route, bnt
led horses, and much Of the Plunder from the
Lawrence stoEes aud since he reached Mis-
eont1, large part Of his men have abandon
@ ea their horses and takeu to the brush afoot.
me number Of horses aud equipments 80 far
captured exceeds ono hundret, aad the nun
per OF participants IN the massacre already
Killed Is fully ns great. The most unremlt-
ting Efforts arc being made to hunt down tue
remainder r Of the band, before they recover
from the pursuit.
Familiar as many Of Quantrel. men were
"AsAA NAA pan AA4~1-AHo9atTuclEU Us TO E0Qfo4
BY any reads Or fosds-with rolling country
to Traverse as open az the sea-to held of his
well mounted, compact, and well disciplined
force, was extremely dif1icnlt. The troops
which followed and overlook him south of
Lawrence, without q cooperating force to
stop MN, we're practically useless from OK
low but undertook to head him failed, though
they nearly oil cxerted themselves to the Ut
most to accomplish it. There were few Of
the troops which did not travel an hundred
miles IN the first twenty.four hours Of the
pursuit. Many horses we're killed. Four
men OF the 1lth Ohio were sun STRICKEN
me, fell dead On dismountine to rest. The
citizens engaged in pursuit, though they
were able generally to keep close upon the
enemy between Brooklyn and Paola, killing
and Wonnd!ng many stragg1ers and men ID
the rear guard. were without the requisite
fally encounter the eaemy.
Although Quantrel was nearly eleven hours
IN Kansas before reaching Lawrence, no in
formation Of his approach was conveyed to
:he a' people of that town. Captain
rike, At Aubrey, sent no messenger
either to Paolaa O1athe Or Lawrence,
was to be attacked. Capt. Coleman, on get
ting the news at Little Santa Fc, at once dis
patched messenger to O13the, asking the
commanding officer there to speed 1t west
HaId. That officer, not knowing in whit d.
rection the gucrillss were moving, sent
Out the Santa Fe road, vino, when
nearly At Gardner, hedsiog that Quantrel had
Just passed through there, returned to Olathe.
With one exception, citizens along the
route, who could v ell hare given the alarm,
did not even attempt It. One man excused
himself for his neglect on the plea TINT his
horses had been working hard the day before.
4 he1y tfyfY, Var 4
renee, begged his father to let him mount his
pony, and, going by.road, alarm the town;
but he was not allowed to go. Mr.. J. Reed,
living in the "Heaper nelghborhood," near
Endora, started ahead Of Quautrel from that
PLACE to carry the warning to Lawrence; bnt
while riding at full speed, his horse fell and
Mas n; kiled. and he himself 80 injured that he
Thus surprised, the people Of Lawrence
were power1ess. They had never, except On
the occasion I referred to above, thought an
attack probably; and, feeling strong IL. their
own prepar:tione, neyer, even then. asked for
abuudaace Of arms in their city araaaal, aud
could have met Quantre1, on halt M: hours
notice, with five hundred men. The gueril-
las, reaching the town ut sunrise, caught
most Of the tuhabitants .sleep, acd scattered
to the various houses so promtly as TO pre-
number Of the ment They robbed the most
Of the stores aud banks, aud burned one hun
dred and eigh9-iye Buildings including one
fourth Of the private residences, and nearly
all the business portion CT the toWn-ald
with circumstances Of the most flendish at.
rocity, murdered ono hundred and forty uu-
armed men, nopg than fourteen recruits Of
The 14th regiment, aud twenty Of the ed Kan
sas Colored Volunteers. About tWenty.four
persons were wounded.
Since the fall of VicksburE, and the breaking
up OF large parts Of Prices aud Mnrmaduke's
armies, great numbers Of rebel soldiers, whose
families live In Western Missouri, have re-
turned, and, being unable or unwilling to
lire at home, have Joined the bands Of gusr-
ril1aa infestiog the border. Companies which
before this summer mustered buttwenty or
thirty, have now grown to fifty or hundred.
All the people Of the country, through lear or
favor, feed them; and rarely any give informa-
tion as to their movements, Having I'LL the
Inhabitants, by good will or compulslon,
thus practically their friends, and being
familiar with the Businesses Of country won
derfnlly adapted by nature to guerilla warfare,
they have been generally able to clude the
most energetic pursuit, When assembled In
= body ofseveral hundred, they scatter before
an inferior force, and when our troops scatter
In pursuit, they reassemble to fall on ap
exposed Equaa. or a weakened post, or
deferce1esa strip Of the border.
have had seven stations On the nuS3 from
which patrols have each night and each day
traye1sei eyer7 foot Of the border <for ninety
r,,}1na FTha -frcnn4 Ynf have ao, .h7o a.