The Kansas in the Civil War Message Board

Bloody Bill Anderson

Bloody Bill Anderson

Summary of Purposes

I began this investigation in the spring of 2006. My goal was to
learn if Bloody Bill Anderson died as a result of a Union ambush in
October, 1864 near Orrick, Missouri or if he escaped, returned to
Texas, and settled at Salt Creek in Brown County in frontier central
Texas as William C. Anderson. To recruit interested people to help
with this ongoing research, I created a Yahoo group called Bloody
Bill Anderson Mystery. I am convinced that Colonel William C.
Anderson of Brown County, Texas was Bloody Bill Anderson of
Quantrill's Guerrillas. Our group's job is to now prove that Colonel
Anderson was Bloody Bill to the historical community. To keep our
investigation headed in an orderly and productive direction toward
the ultimate proof, DNA analysis, I am proposing an outline to guide
our efforts - Summary of Purposes.

1. Bloody Bill Anderson's genealogical background. Since
traditional historians, in over 140 years, have failed to adequately
document Bloody Bill's family, any serious investigation into the
life of this important Southern leader must strive to correct the
sketchy and contradictory family tree of this heroic man. We need to
discover and document several important facts concerning his original
family.
a. We will attempt to reveal the most basic things about Bloody
Bill's parents that historians have failed to substantiate until
now. This includes the full names of the parents, how they died, and
where they died.
b. We will attempt to also determine the full names of Bill's
paternal and maternal grandparents. This step should be as far back,
into Bloody Bill Anderson's family, that we need to go in order to
create an accurate family tree from which we will ultimately locate
verifiable relatives from which we can screen and choose candidates
for DNA testing that will prove our case.
c. Traditional historians have done a pitiful job of even
determining, for certain, who Bloody Bill's siblings were. We will
attempt to determine who these brothers and sisters were, how many
children each had, where, how, and when they died and where they were
buried.
2. Historians Dr. Richard S. Brownlee and Shelby Foote referred to
Bloody Bill Anderson as "William C. Anderson" which exactly matches
the name of Colonel William C. Anderson of Brown County, Texas. We
will attempt to determine what documents these respected
historians/writers used to determine his name. Prior to these men's
books, published in the late 1950's and early 1960's, I have found
none that give a middle initial for this important man.
3. We will carefully examine and document Bloody Bill Anderson's
life up until late October of 1864 when the ambush occurred.
a. Study Bill's early years before his involvement in the Civil
War.
b. Examine important war-time events that influenced Anderson's
life. These will include his joining Quantrill's Guerrillas, the
1863 Kansas City jail collapse that killed his beloved sister
Josephine, the 1863 Lawrence Raid, the Battle of Centralia in
September 1864, and the highly controversial October 27, 1864 Ambush
that traditionalists claim killed Bloody Bill Anderson. We will
question the authenticity and origin of every piece of "evidence"
that traditionalist historians/writers have claimed, these many
decades, were taken from the guerrilla, the Yankees claimed was
Bloody Bill Anderson, who was riding Bill Anderson's horse that day
of the ambush.
4. Chronicle Bill Anderson's arrival in Texas after October 1964.
a. Search for letters, diaries, public documents, or other written
accounts of Bill Anderson after the Civil War.
b. Seek to locate Bloody Bill Anderson's relatives who may have
moved to the same area of frontier Texas where Anderson settled.
5. Identify Bloody Bill Anderson's close confidantes that knew of
his Civil War past before he publicly announced his true identity in
1924 to newspaperman Henry C. Fuller.
6. Study the underground Confederate government, the Knights of the
Golden Circle.
a. Examine the KGC's role and members in early-day Brown County
and Brownwood, Texas.
b. Research Colonel William C. Anderson's involvement with this
highly secretive group.
7. Identify as many of Colonel William C. Anderson's direct
descendants as possible.
a. Conduct and record interviews with every living direct
descendant.
b. Seek to locate public documents, photographs, diaries, letters,
Bibles, and any other written documents that shed light on Bloody
Bill Anderson.
c. Compile a family tree for Colonel Anderson with contact
information for the living and locations of burial and other
pertinent information for the deceased.
8. Participate on all Internet websites where the life and death of
Bloody Bill Anderson is discussed.
a. Ask tough questions about the many contradictory statements
that traditionalist historians/writers have made about Bloody Bill.
b. Require those who believe Bloody Bill Anderson was killed in
1864 to PROVE the origins, authenticity, and validity of every piece
of information, every photograph, and every item from they claimed
were taken from the ambushed guerrilla's body and Anderson's horse
after the October 1864 ambush.
c. Promote our group on all historical and genealogical websites
you participate on. Always keep in mind that we will need interested
and credentialed professionals, from numerous fields, to donate their
time and expertise to our investigation as we move forward. You can
use our group's Invite feature to personally invite people to join us
in this worthy research.
9. Document and record as much as possible information about Colonel
William C. Anderson's life after the Civil War.
a. Determine who Bill Anderson's closest associates were during
the 60 years he lived in Brown County, Texas.
b. Document important events in Brown County and Brownwood history
and learn the parts Colonel Anderson played in these events.
c. Examine Bill Anderson's participation with Jesse James and
other significant people after the Civil War.
10. Conduct and encourage DNA tests to prove, once and for all time,
that Colonel William C. Anderson was Bloody Bill Anderson.
a. Compile a list of as many relatives of the historically-
accepted Bloody Bill Anderson as possible.
b. List as many confirmed living descendants of Brown County's
William C. Anderson as possible.
c. Screen willing descendants and verify that they are legitimate
bloodline relatives. There will be absolutely no room for error in
this crucial phase of our investigation.
d. Locate, contact and persuade the responsible government
agencies and credentialed historical organizations to conduct an
exhumation of the grave, at Richmond, Missouri, and strongly
encourage them to prove or disprove the traditionalists' belief that
the grave contains the body of "Capt. William T. Anderson".

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

~Jay~

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