Happy 143rd Birthday, State of Kansas (Jan 29, 1861)

StL_Dan · Post by **StL_Dan** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 3:36 pm

William Clarke Quantrill came to Kansas as a young man in 1858. Two years later he acheived a measure of notoriety by engineering a scheme with four free-state men to liberate the slaves of a Missouri farmer; however, Quantrill warned the farmer before the raid occurred, and three of the Kansas men were killed in the ambush. Quantrill adapted well to the ruthless chaos that Civil War brought to the Southwest, and until 1864 was the most popular and powerful leader of the various bands of Border Ruffians that pillaged the area. While he and the men who followed him had more in common with the Confederate than the Union cause, they were by no means enlisted soldiers. They terrorized the Kansas countryside almost entirely for profit: to rob the citizens and loot the towns. In addition, the innumerable atrocities committed on both sides made the guerilla armies convenient vehicles to carry out personal vengeance. The sack of Lawrence in 1863 by Quantrill's Bushwackers is one occasion in which revenge and avarice produced a bloodbath.

Prior to this attack the pro-slavery farmers of Missouri had been continuously antagonized by the marrauding forces of Jim Lane and "Doc" Jennison's Jayhawkers; due to their obvious position as abolitionist headquarters in Kansas, the citizens of Lawerence were frequently sent into hysterics when rumors of an attack from Missouri gained creedence. Nevertheless, security around the city was usually lax, and on August 21 the populace was jarred awake by the sounds of Quantrill's men invading the town. After a swift and bloody assault, the Ruffians had the town secured. Once their military objective was out of the way, they eagerly proceeded to loot and burn as many houses as they could. They cleaned out all the banks, and the taverns were drained of whiskey. While they killed no women or children, they shot every man they saw. The death toll numbered 150 men, whose burned and mangled corpses littered the streets of Lawrence when Quantrill's men rode away, just a few hours after they had came.

Although the raid was indeed a crushing blow to the Free State community in Kansas, it failed in one of its goals of executing prominent Lawerence residents such as Charles Robinson and the hated Jim Lane. The Bushwhackers destroyed a great deal of property, but did not take much with them to Missouri. The Federal troops in the area, who blatantly allowed Quantrill take over 400 men into the heart of Kansas, further demonstrated their incompetence by failing to make an organized pursuit of them as they left.

The Reverend H.D. Fisher was one of the men who narrowly escaped the murderous attack, and his account of the slaughter in Gun and the Gospel reflects the justifiable outrage of a witness and survivor. Quantrill's raid stands out in history as being not only one of the more gruesome events of the Civil War, but also the climax of the border conflict between Missouri and Kansas.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 4:36 pm

I wish William Clarke Quantrill or whoever could have found a more original name for a state than naming it the same as a town in the neighboring state.

and hence confusing the world forever.

StL_Dan · Post by **StL_Dan** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 5:32 pm

KC wrote:I wish William Clarke Quantrill or whoever could have found a more original name for a state than naming it the same as a town in the neighboring state.

and hence confusing the world forever.

yyyyyyyyyyup....couldn't agree more

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:43 pm

StL_Dan wrote:Quantrill's raid stands out in history as being not only one of the more gruesome events of the Civil War, but also the climax of the border conflict between Missouri and Kansas.

A young teenager named Jesse James was part of that raid on Lawrence as well. I'd have to sympathize with both sides.

Anyhow, 160,000 Irish-born troops fought for the Union during the Civil War (most by force). Many were in all Irish units known as the Irish Brigade. Ireland, however, officially sided with the South, and many more Irish fought with Southern units. In an attack in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1963, there was an ambush of the 7th Missouri Infantry where many died while tryin' to keep their green flag aloft in a ditch.

In the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the Irishmen of the 24th Georgia Infantry cheered the bravery of the charging Irish Brigade before mowing down their fellow countrymen.

StL_Dan · Post by **StL_Dan** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:04 pm

QueSi2Opie wrote: A young teenager named Jesse James was part of that raid on Lawrence as well. I'd have to sympathize with both sides.

as was his brother frank and those he and frank went on to become infamous with during their "little" run after the war if not mistaken

KCforumer · Post by **KCforumer** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 2:41 am

KC wrote:I wish William Clarke Quantrill or whoever could have found a more original name for a state than naming it the same as a town in the neighboring state.

and hence confusing the world forever.

The State of Kansas was not named after the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

I believe the Kansas River, KCMO and KCK were named after the Kansa Indians who used to live in what is now northeast Kansas, mostly near what is now the Kansas River. The Kansas River first held the name "Kansas" derived from "Kansa".

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:48 am

I understand it all came from the indian tribe but they obviously knew of the "Town of Kansas, MO" at the time they were naming their state.....I just think something original could have been chosen.

GuyInLenexa · Post by **GuyInLenexa** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 11:24 am

Actually I think that Kansas City MO should have stuck with their original name Possum Trot. Could you imagine?

The Possum Trot Chiefs
The Possum Trot Royals
Possum Trot Strip Steak

Or :

â€œPlease fasten your seat belts, we are beginning our descent into Possum Trot International Airportâ€

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 12:18 pm

GiL....that was never the name of KC...that was a possibility when they came up with KC from town of Kansas.

GuyInLenexa · Post by **GuyInLenexa** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 2:12 pm

My apologies, KC. But who ever thought of that as a possible name?
Just out of curiosity, why did they call Kansas City KS KC also? Was it incorporated later?

tat2kc · Post by **tat2kc** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 2:37 pm

KCK was originally called Wyandotte. Don't know when the name was changed.

KCforumer · Post by **KCforumer** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 5:13 pm

KCK is comprised of multiple cities that consolodated. Wyandotte, old Kansas City (KS), Armstrong, Riverview, Quindaro, Armourdale, Argentine, etc. I believe the area around 7th and Central Av was the original "Kansas City (KS)" and what is now downtown KCK was Wyandotte. I think.

Missionite · Post by **Missionite** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:28 pm

GuyInLenexa wrote:
Actually I think that Kansas City MO should have stuck with their original name Possum Trot.

Umm....I think you've spent a little too much time on the Worlds of Fun Railroad. FYI, the spiel they give in the ghost town is a joke.

For those of you that don't know what GuyInLenexa is talking about, riders aboard the Worlds of Fun railroad go through a small ghost town in the back of the park. The conducter starts talking about how two names were on the ballot to name the city...Kansas City and Possum Trot. It's all just a bunch of nonsense used to pass the time since they no longer have gunfights out there.

Matt

eliphar17 · Post by **eliphar17** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:31 pm

No, that's definitely the actual history. I have heard it before somewhere other than Worlds of Fun.

phxcat · Post by **phxcat** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:34 pm

KC, you are starting to sound like Devin. KCMO stole the name from Kansas, they were just too quick about and stole it before we had it!

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:02 pm

...
ok, let me settle this,
The Town of Kansas was named after the Kansa Indians, Kansas was incorporated a whole year later. Before our incorporation to the state, we still were incorporated into Jackson Cty. so we were still "The Town of Kansas"
also, Kansas City Kansas didn't come to be till 1886 when Wyandotte, Armourdale, Armstrong, and Kansas City, Kan., along with Riverview formed what we know today as KCK (although there was already a KCK at that time, it was much smaller and younger than KCMO)
1850: Town of Kansas incorporated to Jackson Cty. Missouri
1853: City of Kansas incorporated to state of Missouri (same as the Town of Kansas)
1854: Kansas Territory created by congress
1861: Kansas enters the union

Exact birthday of our great city: Feb. 22 1853 (when incorporated into the state)

The Town of Kansas was incorporated to the county on June 3, 1850.

It depends which you consider our birthday with either County or State incorporation.

In a book which I am getting some of this info from:
"Finally, they selected "Kansas," after the river that flowed nearby. The river had been named for the Indian tribe that lived near it."

Oh, and regarding the name:
"They rejected "Port Fonda" named after one member of the company. They passed over scornful suggestions such as "Possumtrot" and "Rabbitville." Finally they selected "Kansas"..."

Oh and BTW, even before our Incorporation to the County, The Town of Kansas still existed since 1846. And the name was with us since 1838.

tat2kc · Post by **tat2kc** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:39 pm

WHOA!!! High School history flashback! whew

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 10:19 pm

your exaggerating, well, they just don't teach us that stuff, dunno if they taught you that stuff.

KCforumer · Post by **KCforumer** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 7:41 am

phxcat wrote:KC, you are starting to sound like Devin. KCMO stole the name from Kansas, they were just too quick about and stole it before we had it!

Or, in that thinking, since the Kansas River first held the name Kansas, we could say that the Town of Kansas stole the the name from the mentioned river.

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 7:56 am

StL_Dan wrote:as was his brother frank and those he and frank went on to become infamous with during their "little" run after the war if not mistaken

They went on to commit the first daylight robbery of a bank (during peacetime) in American history in Liberty, MO.

KCforumer wrote:The State of Kansas was not named after the City of Kansas City, Missouri. I believe the Kansas River, KCMO and KCK were named after the Kansa Indians who used to live in what is now northeast Kansas, mostly near what is now the Kansas River. The Kansas River first held the name "Kansas" derived from "Kansa".

Lewis & Clark named the area West of the Missouri River at the mouth of the Kaw "Kansa Territory" in 1804. Kansas City, MO was called Chouteau Village or some shit after Bereniece and Francois Chouteau arrived in the area in 1821.

Proposed names for Kansas City in 1838:

Possum Trot
Rabbitville
Port Fonda
Muddy River Town
Gully Town
and
Kawsmouth

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