George W. Maddox was born in Missouri in 1831; in the 1860 census he is listed as a farmer residing in Big Cedar, Jackson County, Missouri. In January 1862, Maddox, along with Fletch Taylor and others, joined William C. Quantrill’s band as some of the guerrilla chieftain’s earliest recruits. Maddox participated in actions at Pleasant Hill, Missouri, July 11, 1862; Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863; Baxter Springs, Kansas, October 6, 1863 and Centralia, Missouri, September 27, 1864. At Pleasant Hill his horse was shot out from under him and he was wounded in both lungs. During the raid on Lawrence, Maddox served as Quantrill’s main scout.
On November 18, 1863, a Douglas County, Kansas grand jury issued indictments against Maddox and others involved in the Lawrence raid. After the war, he was apprehended and transferred to Lawrence authorities on February 8, 1866. His trial was moved to Ottawa, Kansas on a change of venue, where he was acquitted. Before anyone realized what was happening, Maddox escaped out of the back of the courthouse where his wife was waiting with a horse, and they made their way back to Missouri. George Maddox was the only guerrilla to stand trial for the Lawrence raid. Moving to Nevada, Missouri after the war, Maddox worked for the railroad. In 1897, he became a guard at the Missouri State Penitentiary at Jefferson City, Missouri.
Maddox reportedly died in Arkansas on January 4, 1901, and was buried by ex-Confederates.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30215
