by keifermiller

The second time the town was attacked in a decade.

Around 450 guerillas arrived on the outskirts of Lawrence shortly after 5 A.M. A small squad was dispatched to the summit of Mount Oread to serve as lookouts, and the remainder rode into town. Their initial focus was the Eldridge Hotel, a large brick structure located on the highest point in Lawrence. After gaining control of the hotel, which then served as Quantrill's headquarters during the raid, Quantrill's force broke into smaller groups that fanned out throughout the town. Over a four-hour period, the raiders pillaged and set fire to the town and killed much of its adult male population. Quantrill's men burned to the ground a quarter of the buildings in Lawrence, including all but two businesses. They looted most of the banks and stores and killed about 150 men and boys.[22] According to an 1897 account, among the dead were 18 of 23 unmustered army recruits.[23] By 9 a.m., the raiders were on their way out of town, evading the few units that came in pursuit, and eventually splitting up so as to avoid Union pursuit of a unified column into Missouri.