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William Quantrill's Confederate guerrillas raided Lawrence, Kansas at dawn, syst
1863 Event

August 21

Quantrill Burns Lawrence: Civil War's Worst Raid

William Quantrill's Confederate guerrillas raided Lawrence, Kansas at dawn, systematically executing approximately 150 unarmed men and boys and burning the town to the ground. The massacre represented the worst atrocity of the Civil War's brutal border conflict and provoked Union reprisals that depopulated four Missouri counties.

August 21, 1863

163 years ago

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