Gallery: Major Guerrilla Warfare Actions
James H. Lane
James Lane was born on June 22, 1814, on the Ohio River. He moved to the Kansas Territory in April 1855 and took an active role in territorial politics. Lane became a U.S. senator when Kansas entered the Union in 1861. President Lincoln appointed Lane a brigadier general of volunteers in 1861, and through various means, he managed to hold both his military appointment and his Senate seat simultaneously.
Lane’s military actions along the Missouri / Kansas border were often questionable. Lane had a history of violence, as he shot and killed a neighbor over a boundary dispute in 1858. Senator James H. Lane recruited a brigade of Kansans for federal service in the summer of 1861. He then led his men into Missouri burning buildings, stealing property and liberating slaves. Reports indicate more than 300 African Americans were freed, and many served as cooks, teamsters and even soldiers.
By late September 1861, Lane planned to strike the town of Osceola, Missouri on the Osage River, a commercial center and reputed supply depot for the Missouri State Guard. On the morning of September 22, Lane’s men entered Osceola with little difficulty. What occurred next has been hotly debated since 1861. Some claim that Lane’s drunken soldiers looted and burned the town, took personal loot, and shot a number of innocent civilians. Others argue that Osceola was a legitimate military target, but admit some theft and destruction of private property.
Lane’s men seized barrels of brandy, 3,000 sacks of flour, 500 pounds of sugar and molasses, 50 sacks of coffee, bacon and other equipment. Lane left Osceola with 350 horses and mules, 400 cattle and 200 slaves. The estimated damages were evaluated at one million dollars.
Over the years stories of James Lane’s ruthlessness and violent acts grew and be became feared throughout the border region. Lane was the target of William C. Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863, but he was able to elude the guerrillas. After the war, Lane seemed to suffer from psychological stress. James Lane shot himself in the head on July 1, 1866; he died ten days later and was buried in Lawrence, Kansas.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31710
