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.
Welcome Back to our interview with Susan Anderson, the matriarch of the Republic of Ansdale. If you missed part one, click on the link. When we left off our interview, Susan was beginning to tell about her daughter Katherine joining the war effort as a soldier.
CG: You bring up Lieutenant Commander Semmes. Can I infer that you think women should be warriors like your husband?
SA: Women don't belong in the Army. Or the Navy. I know John and James have decided to let women serve because we've got a bigger population deficit than the south did, but I still don't like it. Women should rule the home. That's why one of the first things I did after the last war was to send Katherine off to Mobile Bay School For Girls. To learn to be a lady.
CG: It didn't work?
SA: I should have known better. I did know. I knew it when she first picked up a pistol when she was five. She wanted to be just like her brothers, even though the blast knocked her down. She didn't cry. She wanted to try again, and again, until she mastered it. So while I was disappointed when she told my husband that she wanted to be a soldier, I wasn't surprised. John got her stationed to Fort Shoshone in Wyoming as part of the Territorial Police, which is sort of like a police officer. Then the war erupted and the Territorial Police became Cavalry and she also became a sniper. She was also one of the founding members of the Emerald Guard, which is also tasked with protecting our government officials, including Prime Minister Davis.
CG: Your brother.
SA: Yes. Katherine seems to seek out the most dangerous assignments. A mother wants to protect all her children, so I saw to it that she got her first command with the founding of Fort Republic in Southwest Alaska. One of the reasons J.D. is going to Fort Bannock is because "he doesn't want to be bossed around by his sister."
CG: But you did get half of what you wanted. She did recently get married.
SA: Yes, to Major Morgan of Fort Shoshone. So she is an army wife as well. Though the couple is hardly together. Major Morgan is soon to replace my husband at Reno as Minister of War. It was a grand wedding which would be the envy of every Southern Belle. The distance is not conducive to grandchildren. That may change. Katherine is asking to go back to the Emerald Guard. Perhaps I can get her assigned to Reno.
CG: A related question. What is the status of Sauf Asir?
SA: Sauf Asir is an active plantation. All workers are hired. At twice the freedman's bureau rate, I should add. I inherited the plantation. James wanted nothing to do with it. I think Katherine wants to inherit it from me. That gives me joy. Uncle Ezra manages the estate, and has defended it proudly against United States troops since war broke out. He actually almost shot Katherine during one of her missions east. Another reason I wish she wasn't a soldier. Perhaps Major Morgan will settle her down.
CG: Perhaps. I hear there may be another wedding in the Anderson family. I hear rumors that your son Robert and Captain Quantrill are courting.
SA: They are. Young lovers never realize how obvious their actions are to others. I want Robert to be happy, but he could have done much better.
CG: I take it you don't approve?
SA: Her father was a cold blooded murderer and her mother a saloon girl. They weren't even married at the time of her birth.
CG: There was nothing she could do about any of that
SA: She is a gambler, frequents saloons, and dresses like one of General Hooker's camp followers. Like most gamblers she is probably a cheat.
CG: I have interviewed Captain Quantrill previously. She appears to be a good Christian girl who reads the Bible every day.
SA: Even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. She taught Robert to play poker. Even if she is an honest girl, it is tradition that the bride's family pays for the wedding.
CG: And since Captain Quantrill is an orphan, there's no family.
SA: Captain Quantrill will gain much more from the marriage than Robert.
CG: Pardon me for saying this, Mrs. Anderson, but while your family may have been Southern Royalty, there doesn't seem to be any High Society here in the West.
SA: He could have done much better.
CG: Mrs. Anderson, thank you for this interview. I will not ask you another question, but I hope you will permit me a final comment. You have raised four children who have risen to the highest ranks of prominence in a new nation. That takes character. I believe despite surface appearances Captain Quantrill is a woman of excellent character because of the fact that Robert is in love with her. He learned to judge character from you.
And that concludes my interview with Susan Anderson. Not much left to cover here. Thank you, Mrs. Anderson, for being a talker. Not sure who will be next, but stay tuned.
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.
