A memorial to the victims of Quantrill's Raid at Oak Hill Cemetery in east Lawrence. (Photo by J. Schafer)
One-hundred-fifty years ago today (WED)... on a hot, Friday morning... Lawrence was set on fire. Men were murdered in front of their wives and children. Teenage boys were killed in front of their mothers. On August 21, 1863, William Quantrill led several hundred, pro-Confederate men in the early-morning attack on Lawrence that came to be known as "Quantrill's Raid." KPR's J. Schafer recently took a walking tour of downtown Lawrence to learn more about that fateful day. His guide was local historian John Jewell, the business manager at the Watkins Community Museum.
That's Lawrence historian John Jewell. He was speaking with KPR's J. Schafer about Quantrill's Raid, which took place 150 years ago today. You can learn more about the raid - and more about the history of Lawrence - by visiting the Watkins Museum in downtown Lawrence.
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Lawrence historian John Jewell, with Watkins Museum of History, standing next to a memorial to the victims of Quantrill's Raid in Oak Hill Cemetery. (Photo by J. Schafer)
(newscast version)
It was 150 years ago today (WED) that most of Lawrence was set on fire and 200 of its citizens were slaughtered in the streets. The massacre was carried out by William Quantrill and his pro-Confederate forces, who rode into town in the early-morning hours of August 21, 1863.
Lawrence historian John Jewell says Quantrill's raid was devastating, but the survivors rebuilt the town. Within four years, Lawrence was a thriving community and larger than it had been before the raid.