The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantril And His Confederate Raiders [Paperback]

Edward E. Leslie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 1998

Brilliantly weaving together eyewitness accounts, letters, memories, newspaper articles, and military reports into a riveting narrative, this definitive biography reveals the personality of William Clarke Quantrill (1837–1865) and the events that transformed a quiet Ohio schoolteacher from a staunchly Unionist family into a virulent pro-slavery Confederate soldier and the most feared and despised guerrilla chieftain of the Civil War. This groundbreaking work includes the most accurate account ever written of the 1863 Lawrence, Kansas massacre (the greatest atrocity of the Civil War), when Quantrill and 450 raiders torched the Unionist town and executed roughly 200 unarmed, unresisting men and teenage boys. It also details the postwar outlaw careers of those who rode with him—Frank and Jesse James, and Cole Younger. No other history so fully penetrates the myth of a cardboard-cutout psychopath to expose Quantrill in all his brutality and human complexity.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

William Clarke Quantrill was quite possibly the most dangerous man to fight in the Civil War. The leader of an almost psychopathic band of guerrilla warriors, Quantrill participated as a Confederate in a deadly border war between Southern sympathizers in Missouri and the Unionist Jayhawks of Kansas. He was largely responsible for the 1863 massacre of nearly 200 unresisting men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as dozens of other brutal acts that today would be called terrorism. Among the notorious men who rode with him were Frank and Jesse James, whose postwar crime careers are briefly reviewed. Edward E. Leslie provides an objective treatment of his controversial subject, and readers will appreciate his ability to tell a good story--including the one about why Quantrill's bones currently rest in three different states and why a forensically correct wax reconstruction of his head can be found in the refrigerator of an Ohio historical society. --John J. Miller

From Library Journal

Confederate "partisan ranger" Quantrill, known for senseless killing, led his band of guerrillas on constant raids against Union forces and sympathizers in Missouri and Kansas. His most notorious attack was on Lawrence, Kansas, as he turned his men loose to murder and loot as they pleased, leaving the town in ruins and strewn with corpses. Leslie (Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: The True Stories of Maroons, Castaways and Other Survivors, LJ 10/1/88) provides a comprehensive story of Quantrill and his raiders, beginning with the Kansas-Missouri border wars all the way through the Civil War and ending with annual guerrilla reunions into the early 1900s. Along the way, he discusses such notorious Quantrill followers as Frank and Jesse James and Cole Younger. Leslie attempts a balanced view of the infamous guerrilla leader, portraying his willingness to kill while dispelling myths surrounding him. This is a good place to begin a study of Quantrill; recommended for academic and public libraries.?Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030680865X
• ISBN-13: 978-0306808654
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book on the WFSI in Missouri, March 17, 2000

By 

Chris Johnson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantril And His Confederate Raiders (Paperback)

In Missouri and Kansas, the War for Southern Independence was a brutal, inhuman, savage business. And, contrary to many of the history books, there was brutality, inhumanity, and savagery on both sides. William Clarke Quantrill's Lawrence raid was more than matched by the Union Army's Order #11, the depredations of Doc Jennison and other jawhawkers, the deliberate execution of Confederate prisoners by Union officers at Palmyra and St. Louis, and other atrocities.

This book is one of the best books I've ever read on the War for Southern Independence in Missouri. Its description of Quantrill's early life is rather speculative, due, one supposes, to the lack of documentary material. But one really gets a feel for the Missouri war here, and Leslie does come up with some surprising information. For the benefit of those who thought Quantrill's Raiders were a sort of nascent Klan, Leslie points out(somewhat reluctantly, it seemed to me)that at least three free blacks rode with Quantrill and one of these scouted Lawrence prior to the raid. And his description of the fate of Quantrill's remains is interesting. Highly recommended.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening book., August 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantril And His Confederate Raiders (Paperback)

William Clarke Quantrill was and is one of the most demonized military leaders of the Civil War. While this book did not shirk from covering Quantrill's atrocities and activities, it did place them in context of the time that they occurred. Leslie does a valuable service in explaining the Missouri/Kansas situation prior to the Civil War, and in also informing the reader about the men who rode with Quantrill and the people he fought.

The Border War of the late 1850's and Civil War is undoubtedly the most savage situation I am familiar with in American history. When compared with his Union contemporaries such as John Lane, Charles Dennison, and James Montgomery, Quantrill isn't a monster; rather he is one of a number of men who acted barbarically.

I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn about the western arena of the Civil War and the Kansas/Missouri conflict. I have pro-Southern friends who would not like the brutal honesty about Southern actions in the war. On the other hand, I know Northern apologists who, after reading this book, will not be able to one-sidedly bash the South, when, as they will see, there were plenty of Northern butchers, especially at the beginning of the conflict.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life deliveres the best stories., January 28, 2002

By 

Wojciech Langer (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantril And His Confederate Raiders (Paperback)

To write a historical book like "The True Story of William Clarke Quantrill" is not an easy job.
I can fully realize how much time Edward Leslie must have spent to do his research in order to perfectly present life of politicians, guerilla fighters, soldiers and uninvolved citizens during terrible times of Civil War on the border of Missouri and Kansas. I truly appreciate his huge effort and will say without hesitation that not quite often reader can come across such a magnificent work.
This book shows that United States of America, leading economy of the world and symbol of freedom and justice, once in the past was the scene of unimaginable brutal and fierce war. Civilians were killed, soldiers-prisoners of war executed, massacres took place and "no-quarter" manner of fighting was widely practiced. Nobody could be trusted; one never knew who is his friend or enemy.
I am not very much sure what made me to read this book almost non- stop: subject that most people like to read about - killings, war and action, or fantastic description of the era and people having enough bad luck to witness it.
No doubt, I had in my hands masterpiece of a historical book.