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Quantrell's Youngest Raider Patient At Baptist Hospital.

We hope you'll enjoy this article about the explots of James Shaw Millikin, Quantrell's "Youngest Raider." It was originally published in an unknown newspaper on July 29Th, 1926, but has been lost the annuals of time for more than eighty years. Numerous members of Quantrill's band joined the Masonic order. Among them was James Shaw Millikin, whom in 1926 claimed to be one of last two surviving members of Quantrill's band. Please note this is an exact translation no attempt was made to correct spelling, grammatical or factual errors.

J.S. Millikin, Louisiana Planter, Joined Missouri Minute Men, Confederate Dare-Devils, When He Was Lad of 13, Back in ‘61. By Eugene Travis 07/29/29


Quantrell’s youngest guerrilla sat on the side of his bed at the Baptist Hospital last night and lived again, in reminiscence, the thrilling, tragic, tumultuous days of ‘61 and later years of the Civil War when the dashing, dare-devil raiders of the Confederacy swept through Kansas, killing, burning and looting, and smashing the morale of Yankee garrisons.

He is J.S. Millikin, 78, a gray-haired veteran and old-fashioned gentleman of ante-bellum days. His home is Millikin, La., near the Arkansas line, where he operates a plantation. His lands take in around 10,000 acres of which 2500 acres are in cultivation. The town was named after his father, Richard M. Millikin, who was one of the largest slave-owners of the period.

Mr. Millikin came to Memphis for a operation on his right eye performed by Dr. E.C. Ellett, and will return to Louisiana in a few days.

He has a daughter in Memphis, Dr. Marie M. Lomg, director of the division of child hygiene, city health department, and who lives at 15 South Idelwild.

He is one of two survivors of Quantrell’s famous raiders, the other living veteran being Lieut. Jason W. James, a retired ranch-man, whose home is in Rosewell, N.M.

How did he happen to join Quantrell’s guerrillas and go a-raiding?

There was a twinkle in his kindly eye as he told why.

“Well”, and he chuckled, “the regular Confederate regiments didn’t carry along any wet nurses, so they said they couldn’t take me. You see, I was not quite 13 years old when the War broke out”.

“Oh, I joined four or five different Confederate companies. But they just used me as bait to enlist older boys, and when they started away to the front I got the can, as you fellows say now days."

"I got tired of being used as a tool to shame the older boys into going to war, and finally ran away and got into one of Quantrell’s companies commanded by Capt. Joe Lee. He died some time ago in Rosewell, where he was mayor and an outstanding citizen."

“Now, the Yankees called us guerrillas. They called us a lot of other things which wouldn’t do to mention in polite company. Jason James, from whom I hear occasionally, was lieutenant. There was Kit Dalton, who died some time ago in Memphis and who became an outlaw after the war. Cole Younger and Frank James also were members of my outfit. Jesse James didn’t join us until near the close of the war. These men, I'm sorry about it, turned desperado."

Quantrell’s Raiders were organized in Jackson County, Mo., in 1861, according to history, and served the Confederacy independent of the regular southern troops. They were of inestimable value to Confderate commanders in scouting, obtaining information as to the strength of enemy garrisons and performing other perilous missions.

Connelly’s history, from the federal viewpoint, is partisan and denunciatory in reciting the alleged “atrocities” of Qunatrell’s raiders. But even this history admits “that such another body of men never were seen on horseback”.

“The Yankees said we killed 10,000 people in that memorable raid on Lawrence, Kansas, in 1863”, observed Mr. Millikin.

“How many of the enemy were killed?” he was asked.

“Around 1,000, I should judge”, he replied. “That included Yankee troops and enemy citizens. Of course we laid the town low in ashes. I suppose the population was 2000 to 2500 at the time. Quantrell’s force consisted of 300 men, but we were joined by about 50 Confederate soldiers.”

History tells of 27 Kansas towns attacked and burned by Quantrell’s men.

Details Lawrence Raid!

The Lawrence raid makes up one of the most thrilling and vivid chapters of the Civil War.

Our information, as reported back by scouts, was that 7,000 troops barred our entrance to the town, Mr. Millikin said.

"The town proper was garrisoned by two negro regiments, and these were supplemented by 600 “Red Legs”, as Jim Lane’s cavalry of Kansas “Jayhawkers” were dubbed. Lawrence was a citadel of freestaters, and the color line was drawn as closely as a lot of other people in Kansas thought. Even before the war the town was attacked and a hotel burned by indignant citizens."

“I don’t know what became of the 7,000 Federal troops, the two regiments of negros and Jim Lane’s “Red Legs”. They left in a hury and there was little choice of direction, except they did not run our way. They did a lot of damage to fences and young shrubbery”.

Mr. Millikin was the youngest guerrilla in the Quantrell band and didn’t weigh 75 pounds.

The guerrilla cavalrymen rode the finest mounts and carried the best of equipment.

“Who financed your command in the purchase of this splendid equipment?” he was asked.

“Well, we didn’t raid 27 towns for nothing,” he answered. “We hit up a few banks to say nothing of stores and what we got off the Yankee sympathizers.  Money? We had plenty of money. We never stole a horse from a Confderate family. We bought some animals. I paid $4,500 for my mount, and I saw Capt Lee buy a fine animal and pay $7,500.00 in cash. Of course, we took the pick of animals captured from the enemy, or seized on the farms of Yankee sympathizers."

“We played a winning game all the way through. We would rendezvous around a town garrisoned by enemy troops and watch for small scouting bodies. These scouting bodies seldom ever returned to their command. We not only cut them off, we cut them down. "

Took No Prisoners!

“How many prisoners did we capture? Narry a one. We never asked quarter, we never gave it. It was war to the death."

“I want to impress upon you, however, that we went out of the war stranded. None of Quantrell’s men profited, in private gain, by the raids. We found many Confederate families in distress, and to these we gave money without stint. Money we obtained in raids was divided equally among the members of the band, and what they didn’t give away was expended in the purchase of equipment and food. No Confederate family ever was preyed upon. They were paid liberally for what they could spare.”

Mr. Millikin was asked about another chapter in history -- the notable attack on a garrison near Lake Providence, La., garrisoned by one negro regiment and 60 white federal troops.

“There were 80 raiders in our party at that time,” he explained.

“I don’t believe many negro troops escaped and certainly the 60 white troops went down. The negros cultivated a large plantation and supplied the federal army with rations. We seized 1,000 tents and a vast quanity of food and feedstuffs to say nothing of farming implements. We turned these over to regular Confederate commands. It was here that we captured some fine mounts.”

Still another lurid chapter was the fight at Centralia, Ill. Six miles above and six miles below Centralia were strong bodies of federal troops. One command of more than 500 literally was wiped out.

“Billy Anderson headed 40 men from our outfit to go into Centralia from our hiding place,” said Mr. Millikin.

“He was going to the blacksmith shop there to have some horses shod. There was an equal number of Yankee troops stationed at Centralia. Our boys had dismounted and the horse were being shod when the enemy soldiers mobilized and attacked. We lost two men, but Anderson’s boys shot their way out."

A federal major by the name of Johnson led a command of 500 or more into Centralia to defend the town from further attack.

He was warned to let Billy Anderson alone.

“We know him”, citizens told the federal officer. “Let him go, or he’ll be back and burn the town.”

“No gang of 40 men is going to run roughshod over this town,: the federal officer said."

Centralia’s Lurid Battle!

“He pursued Billy Anderson’s 38 survivors. The latter were afraid of being hemmed by the enemy. "

Meantime, however, they had been joined by about 40 other raiders from our outfit.

Major Johnson pursued them in a woodland, but he did not attempt to enter, halting his men on the prairie. They did something there contrary to military tactics --- they dismounted and waited out there in the open.

“Billy Anderson tired of waiting. He gave orders for an attack. In an exchange of shots we had lost two more men, leaving us 76. Well, sir, we went out those woods like a streak, single file, and using pistols. Johnson’s men were panic-stricken by the unexpected --- they yelling, and shouting and shooting. They were uncounted. Morale? None. They simply fled, pell-mell, in every direction. I don’t believe one escaped.”

When the United States entered the World War, Mr Millikin telegraphed to the adjutant-general at Washington and to President Woodrow Wilson, offering his services in any capacity.

Senator Ransdall of Louisiana, also telegraphed the president asking him to accept the services of Mr. Millikin.

“The president wired me his thanks and said he would use me when opportunity offered,” said Mr. Millikin.

”But I never heard any more. Guess they thought I was to old."

Quantrell’ was wounded near Louisville just before the close of the war and died in a Louisville hospital, according to Mr. Millikin.

“Just as soon as my eyesight improves, I’m going up to Centralia,” said Mr. Millikin. “They tell me they have a large and beautiful federal cemetery in that town. I want to see how it looks."

Special thanks to Emory Cantey for taking the time to transcribe the original article.

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