Scattered to the Four Winds: General Order No. 11 and Martial Law in Jackson County, Missouri, 1863

The Civil War in Missouri--and particularly in Jackson County--was an "uncivil affair" that climaxed during the summer of 1863 with "Order No. 11," one of the most drastic military measures ever imposed upon a civilian population in American History to that date. This sesquicentennial publication commemorates that 1863 event rarely mentioned in U.S. history books. From the adoption of the Kansas-Nebraska Act on May 30, 1854, through the imposition of martial law on August 25, 1863, Jackson County experienced almost persistent turmoil, toil and tribulation. This book attempts to weave the story of those who directly or indirectly issued, enforced, opposed or experienced "Order No. 11." It considers the sensitive balance between the police powers of United States to preserve and protect the country against the fundamental substantive civil rights of its citizens, which are ever-present in today's modern American society faced with national and international terrorism. When William Quantrill and his guerrillas raided Lawrence, Kansas, leaving some two hundred people dead, the Federal government took drastic measures. The retaliatory sanctions imposed would prove to touch the heart and soul of everyone—loyal or disloyal. "Order No. 11" was a military war measure imposed against everyone, especially women, children and the elderly—or to use today's nomenclature, a war against non-combatants. The supporters of Order No. 11 insisted it was issued out of military necessity while its antagonists considered it the greatest deprivation of civil rights ever witnessed in the United States. "Scattered to the Four Winds" tells the true stories of those victimized by the Civil War along the borders of Missouri and Kansas. This is the story of Order No. 11—Martial Law in Jackson County.