The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-25
To GET SOMETHING AT LAST
Heirs of the Recruits Killed at Lawrence Il
have Relief.


Washington, April 24-Congressman
Marsh, from the committee on military
affairs, has submitted report in favor
of the bill for the relief of the legal
heirs of seventeen recruits for the Four
teenth Kansas cavalry volunteers. who
were killed at Lawrence, Kan, August
y, 1863, by guerrilaS. This bill recalls
one of the most horrible chapters of the
guerrilla warfare OF the west, for the
! killing of these men was one of the most
fiendish butcheries of the civil war.
Major /. j. Beam, Captain w. A.
Rankin and John Eide were appointed
recruiting officers for the Fourteenth
Kansas cavalry, and in July and Au-
gust, 1868, Major Beam recruited about
fifty men, twenty-five of whom We're in
camp at Lawrence on August 20 and
d The federal government had furn-
ished them with camp and garrison
equipments, and with clothing: they
had been examined by the surgeon and
passed, but they had not been armed
or mustered into the service. They
were as defenseless as ordinary citizens.
Before sunrise on the morning Of Au-
gust Il Quantrell, the Missouri guer-
rilla raider, and his men swept down
upon the little town OF Lawrence, burn
ed the place, and, in cold blood. muir
dered over 200 of the defenSeless citi-
Zens. Among the victims were seven
teen Of the twenty-five unarmed men
who had enlisted in the Fourteenth cav
airy, but had no arms for their defense.
The men not having been mustered into
service. their names never appeared in
the war records. and their friends never
received even their bounty or service
money.
Major Beam in 1866 made a fun re-
port to the adjutant general OF Kansas,
showing that these men were murder
ed after they were under orders from
United States army officers, though not
mustered into the service. In that re-
port he said:
on the 2lst day Of August I had re-
cruited nearly fifty men. twenty-five OF
whom were IN camp at Lawrence on
that fatal morning when Quantrell with
his fiendish band entered the town and
did his helHsh work. By a mere chance.
the evening before I had started for
Leavenworth for cOmmissary stores:
but, seeing from Little Stranger hills
the smoke Of burning Lawrence ming
ling with the clouds, L returned 10 that
Inflated city. and found IL in ashes. and
that seventeen q my men had fallen.
though 1 had requested Sheriff Brown
u grant me permission % use. for the
purpose o< drill. and in defense, in case
Il was required (Which did not think
irnposs7Dl@). the muskets which were
stacked in a buil5tng not three .rSfs
from my camp. and which were burned
on the 2lst- I could draw no arms from
the government. as I was not mustered
into the service as an a officer. Had
shsse men had thss@ arms, they could
and would have formed a nucleus q
which the citizens would have rallied.
and the record might have been differ
eut. AS Il was. they could make no d.
fense. and fell an easy prey % the mer-
cllezs invaders.
These men were Tot mustered into the
service, and. Notwithstanding they fell
IN the cause q their country. neither
they nor thel- heirs have received eth
er pay o. bounty Tor their services. Z
sens % Be the simplest justice 20 The
heirs. some q whom are INDECENT. IT,
fust-ious people and badly IN ned 4
IL. that The government should pay
what vas then due them. both bounty
end for services
n February. 1855. Adjutant General
Drum made long report 20 ne serre-
tzry % var z which be said.
On June Il. iSsZ al the papers a ne
case q these men we're submitted % the
honorable secretary q var for 6aclsl0a
IS % Whistler or not. On evidence PIE
serted. these men should be consider
e as = ths se-vlcs = ire United states
AZ ~ the % their dea-h- OF the sane
date TIE papers were returned 20 his
Ostic@ ~ he secretary u var. xi:l ths
remark 1T j. not bziseTes 20 - E-s-h-
- rie power . The gssr department g.
give -e-ie< 90 iris case Il can - doae
By authority = congress
\ blI similar % that nez aes1re raa
h01se gas Dsssed - ths serafe n the
Forty-slnsh cucgrsss. and va fzTorz-
tco.i.aaes a E.xasa P.xso