William T. Anderson

Full Name: William T. Anderson also known as "Bloody Bill" Anderson
Profession: Confederate Guerrilla Leader

Nationality:

Biography: William T. Anderson, also known as "Bloody Bill," was an American soldier that operated in Missouri and Kansas as a Confederate guerilla leader during the American Civil War. His group attacked Union loyalists and federal soldiers.

Anderson began with a life of small-time crime, which turned to violence when his father was killed by a Union loyalist judge. He killed the judge and then fled, where he embarked on his career as a bushwhacker, another name for guerilla fighters of the time.

Tragedy again increased Anderson's violence when, due to his infamy, his two sisters were imprisoned in a makeshift jail in Kansas City. The jail collapsed, killing one sister and permanently maiming the other. Anderson subsequently participated in the Lawrence Massacre and Battle of Baxter Springs.

Birthplace: Hopkins County, Kentucky, USA

Died: October 26, 1864
Cause of Death: Killed in battle by Union troops in a skirmish at Albany, Missouri

Historical Events

1863-08-21 Lawrence Massacre [Quantrill's raid]: 450 Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill with William T. Anderson and Frank James attack the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas, killing more than 150 unarmed men and boys
1864-09-27 Centralia Massacre: Pro-Confederate guerrillas led by William T. Anderson with Jesse James loot Centralia and attack a train on the North Missouri Railroad, executing 24 Union soldiers. Later the same day the guerillas defeat the newly formed 39th Missouri Infantry Regiment, killing 123 of its 147 solders.
1864-10-26 Union troops ambush and kill Bill William T. Anderson known as "Bloody Bill" near Albany, Missouri