Let The Bleeding Resume. Our next tour stop is a State born of war. I'm speaking of Kansas. It's not often that a State gets the word "bleeding" affixed to it. It started before the first Civil War. You, know, the North South one, not the current East West one. The lightning rod for the conflict was voter fraud. As the region known as Kansas was about to be organized into a Territory border ruffians from Missouri flooded over the border. When you've got 1,500 registered voters and 6,000 votes cast, somethings wrong, and only a blind man could fail to see it. The Blind man in question was Franklin Pierce, the President of the United States. He Was a Democrat, The Slave owners were 90+% Democrat. As far as he was considered, the election was legal.
The outrage was immediate, and so was the response from the abolitionists. Even the Church was mobilized, most notable among them Henry Ward Beecher, who shipped crates of Sharps Rifles to anti-slavery emigrants that were labeled as Bibles. Well, it says The Word is like a two edged sword, so...
In this case the weapons of our warfare were quite carnal, and things all centered on a town called Lawrence. The town, which was settled by free staters, has been sacked three times
- May 21, 1856 - Border ruffians from Missouri burn the Free State Hotel, 2 newspaper offices and houses and businesses
- August 21, 1863 - William Quantrill burn the town and kill 183 men and boys, as young as fourteen.
- July 10, 1875 - Captain Leah Marie Quantrill of the 1st Republican Cavalry burns several buildings, most of them wrecks already, in a show of resolve and gains the surrender of the town.
Actually, the third one would barely Qualify as a sack, if not for the last name of the Captain. Quantrill. As in, the daughter, though illegitimate, of WCQ, the butcher of Lawrence.
This time, however, the Governor of Kansas was a supporter of the Cause, and so the allegiance of the State was never in doubt. The real problem was Leavenworth, and that had been neutralized a few days before.
The sides have been drawn. Things are about to get very interesting.
Today I'm pleased to announce that I've snagged another big interview. Big in reputation at least. I do have a few problems with this interview, however. She's just a kid, Yes I said She, looks to be about or so. I really feel ambivalent with grilling a teenager with tough questions. My other problem is that she really is a Smart alek and rarely gives a straight answer. I say kid, but that's just me showing my age. She appears to be about twenty or so, five six, average build and looks quite fetching in her gold cavalry uniform offset by her flame red hair. Enough of that.
CG: Let's start with the beginning. How about your name?
LQ: Pick one. Poker, Faro, Twenty-One. I am pretty good with them all.
CG: I am sure you are. But I said name, not game.
LQ: The games are much more interesting.
CG: Maybe, but I want your name, please.
LQ: I guess I should say pickem as well. Leah Clark, Leah Hart, Rachel King, or maybe Leah O'Brien
CG: How about your real name.
LQ: (mumbles) Leah Marie Quantrill
CG: I didn't quite get that
LQ: Leah Marie Quantrill. Yes, Quantrill, as in Daughter of Satan, Demon Spawn, destined for hell and all that. Happy.
CG: Not really. but thank you. Tell me about yourself. Your family life.
LQ: Family, that's funny. I was born, so they tell me, on March 24, 1859 in a mining camp near Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. My father went by the name of Charlie Hart at the time and my mother was an Irish immigrant by the name of Kate O'Brien. They weren't married at the time. I have been told that my father really loved her, and that he was grieved when she died of some outbreak a few months later. I was sent north to be raised by his family and was called Leah Clarke for as long as I remember. I just found out my real name on my twelfth birthday.
CG: Nice present.
LQ: A few years later I left home. I've made a life for myself as a gambler ever since, except for joining the army.
CG: Tell me how that happened. I didn't think the army admitted women.
LQ: They don't. Well, not unless that woman is the daughter of the most powerful soldier in the West.
CG: That would be Katherine Sue Anderson, daughter of General Anderson.
LQ: Yes. Kathy took me under her wing from the start. She's been like a big sister to me. Kept me from getting courts martialed when I ran. I'm still not thrilled with being a Quantrill, but I think I can come out better than my dad. Kathy's the only friend I have, except for midnight. Midnight's my horse.
CG: I think you have at least one additional friend. Robert... You're turning the color of your hair, young lady. Have I hit a nerve?
LQ: It was completely accidental. I was making a report to General Anderson and in he walked. There's got to be some army regulation prohibiting it. Still, I can't stop thinking about him. I've managed to schedule some patrols while here at Fort Bannock so they overlap. We're both in the Idaho Rangers but in different squads. I don't think Colonel Renault suspects anything.
CG: Would you marry him?
LQ: I don't know. I would probably have to resign my commission, and right now I like being a Cavalry Officer a lot. That's probably a frightening thing to hear from a Quantrill.
CG: Not at all. Thank you for your time.
Two interviews with leaders of the rebellion. This trip back to 1881 is proving extremely successful. If I can snag another interview with Leah, is there any question you the reader would like me to ask? All I ask is you keep it clean and somewhat relevant to conditions in 1881. Nothing about American Idol or Obama, but questions about the Grant, Hayes and Garfield administration are up for grabs, as well as questions on Womens Suffrage, Women in the Military, Native American relations and others are quite germane. Right now I would ask that you post questions in the comments, I think that would be best.
