Customer Reviews

The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clark Quantrill and His Confederate Raiders

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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.

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.

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.

Great Book
This is an excellently researched book about the pre-Civil War era along the Missouri and Kansas border and why their conflicts escalated into a all out war between them during the Civil War.
This book is well balanced and not a bunch of hyped up exaggerated stories about a notorious outlaw. Excellent read for any student or history buff desiring to better understand the turmoil and terror the local communities and people endured and suffered on both sides of the civil war.

Leslie's grass roots research into the shadowy life of Civil War guerrilla chieftain William Quantrill has produced a vivid picture of the realities of life on the Missouri-Kansas frontier from the late 1850's until Quantrill's death in Kentucky in 1865 and has resulted in a book which will become the resource work in the field. Leslie spent years as a professional researcher doing background work for other authors writing on various topics, both fiction and non-fiction. Some of his research can be found in the works of James A. Michner, and others. Leslie knows how to dig out the facts of a story. On occasion, I accompanied him as he visited sites in both Missouri and Kansas where Quantrill stamped his name on the history of the War. I witnessed firsthand Leslie's feel for the subject material and his expertise and passion for fact-finding. "The Devil Knows How to Ride" tells Quantrill's story from his Ohio childhood, thru his arrival on the Kansas frontier, to his development as the leader of a band of Missouri men and boys who became the guerrillas who sacked Lawrence, Kansas and caused the Union to divert troops and resources from war operations in the East. While the story of Quantrill and his band has been told and retold, Leslie's research covered many years and addresses questions not heretofore answered: * Was Quantrill a recognized Confederate officer, or did he operate outside the rules and customs of "civilized" warfare"? * How did he achieve leadership, and then lose that leadership role of the men and boys who had at first flocked to him? * Why did he meet his death in Kentucky, and not on the Missouri-Kansas ground which he had terrorized? * What brought his followers to the band, who were they, and what became of them afterwards? * Did Quantrill teach Jesse and Frank James the lessons which led to their infamy? * What effect did his activities in Missouri have on the Civil War? * Was the man inherently evil, or was he a product of his times - fighting for what he took to be a just cause? These questions and more have been previously discussed by other authors who have not returned to the primary source material which is essential to the accurate telling of a biography that has not been addressed for many years. "The Devil Knows How to Ride" has an extensive bibliography, along with photos of documents and personalities not previously published. The depth and breath of the story, which is told in a readable and entertaining style, sets forth previously untold facts which are essential to an understanding of the tragic guerrilla warfare which rocked and shocked Missouri and Kansas during the Civil War. The book is a monumental achievement and a good read! -James P. O'Connor Nov. `96

I went to KU in Lawrence so I was well aware of Quantrill's raid but that was about all that I was aware of. (Pioneer Cemetery with headstone inscriptions bearing witness to that raid is just across I70 from KU on Mount Oread.) When studying the American Civil War in school one learns about Gettysburg, Antietam, Petersburg and the fighting in the Shenandoah of Virginia. Some passing mention might be made of the war in the west, usually a reference to Grant and Vicksburg. There is hardly if ever any mention of the 'border war' in eastern Kansas and western Missouri. The border war is still alive in that part of the nation; the massacre at Baxter Springs and General Order Number 11 that emptied a number of counties of citizens in western Missouri to combat bands of guerillas is still in the memory of many. Not all of the fighting was in the east and Edward Leslie does a fine job of bringing to life a bit of the war in the west. It was as nasty if not nastier than anything in the east.

This book is a must-have for all civil war enthusiasts, as well as should be mandatory reading for history classes on our local history. As a native of the town that Quantrill formed his raiders and a civil war enthusiast, I can confirm that Edward Leslie went to great lengths in researching the towns and the terrain that the Quantrill band frequently covered. Unlike previously released books on this subject, Leslie takes an unbiased approach at describing attrocities committed by both sides of the Missouri-Kansas border. As many people cling to the idea that men such as William Quantrill, Bill Anderson and George Todd were simply murderers quenching their own thirst for blood, even General Sterling Price himself viewed the efforts of the Missouri Conferderate Guerrillas to be a necessity for the Conferderate Cause. I commend the author for conveying the facts from both sides of the border and describing this truly dark period of Missouri history

Anyone who has read past biographies of Quantrill will realize that there are many conflicts between the books by Castel and Briehan, and of course, Connelly is obviously bias as a Union sympathizer. The writings of McCorkle and Burch are bent the other way, and Gregg's papers are hardly to be believed at all. Leslie has done a great job of reporting the real story of the bushwhackers which has to be done with very little primary material to work with that can be proved. A good book for civil war buffs, especially those like me who prefer the war on the western border as a topic.

This is a really outstanding book on the subjects not only of Quantrill but of the Civil War, the Abolition movement, the James brothers, Bloody Bill Anderson, North Central Texas, and life in mid nineteenth century America in general. You can't go wrong with this one.

From start to end of epilogue is 440 pages of intense information and you will not tire of any page of it. The book is very fair and portrays how a man I thought was a base criminal when I started was just one of many, many men in a brutal surrounding. The author does not gloss over the horrific burning of Lawrence or the Baxter Springs Massacre but he also gives significant time to the Union Orders that affected Quantrell's policies and the actions undertaken by Lane and Jennison that spawned much of the Missourian animousity.

From his history, real and mythic, to his life and the times it was in, to his death and (multiple) dispositions, I can't believe the author could have left anything out. In fact, I will have to go back through to try to condense the information in my head.

With nealy 620,000 combat deaths, the American Civil War has proven the single bloodiest conflict ever engaged in by U.S. forces. Names like Antietam, Gettysburg, and Appomattox still make many Americans cringe with thoughts of bullets, sabres, and grape shot tearing through ranks of steadily marching countrymen.

However, there was another smaller, beastly war occuring along the contested boarder region between Missouri and Kansas. Rarely was there a conflict between the massive armies of the C.S.A. and U.S.A. Rather it was a war of attrition waged by roving bands of maruaders who were less interested in ideology and more concerned with loot and plunder. Indeed, along the border raged a savage guerrilla war.

With the State of Kansas predomintly in support of the Federal Union, and the Missourians leaning towards Jeff Davis' Confederate States, the border was a tinderbox, and sparks were everywhere. Incidents of violence were common, and reprisal raids were bloody.

Leslie provides an excellent and informative book regarding not only the Missouri-Kansas border war, but one of the principal guerrila chieftains, William Clarke Quantrill. Q's band of raiders, which included such infamous names as Jesse and Frank James, Cole Younger, and the notorious "Bloody" Bill Anderson waged a war with few if any rules. Prisoners were executed with out remorse, cities and towns were burned to the ground, and civilians attempting the least resistance were gunned down, usually with one pistol ball to the head. Rather than being a rarity, Q's band was one of many roaming the countyside. The Unionists also maintained their guerrila fighters under the name of Jayhawkers who were equally ruthless as Quantrill; the difference being they were partial to the execution of Southern sympathizers.

Leslie follows the story of Q and the Kansas-Missouri war from its inception to its conclusion. He keeps his observations objective and provides a clear picture of both the C.S.A. and the U.S.A. His work is well researched and readable, and certainly leads readers to discover more about this unique, although bloody Americans.