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This project is set up for those who participated in and those that survived Quantrill's raid.
When the Kansas Territory was opened to settlement in 1854, abolitionists from New England rushed to the area in an effort to keep the territory from becoming pro slavery. Lawrence, Kansas was founded by the anti-slavery Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Society which was formed in 1854 and aided many emigrants to Kansas and Nebraska. Lawrence wasn't just a destination, but also a center from which the emigrants proceeded. Lawrence grew into an important stop on the Underground Railroad and Kansas Jayhawkers fought several times with pro slavery Bushwhackers from Missouri. One significant local clash was in 1856. Others were further south and involved people like John Brown and his family in places like Osawatomie.
The conflict intensified with the start of the Civil War, when Kansas became a free state.
The most famous of these battles was on August 21, 1863, when William Quantrill (a former Lawrence school teacher) led 400 Missouri men into Lawrence. They were intent on burning every house and killing every man. Around 200 men were killed that day.
Source: http://www.kansastravel.org/quantrillslawrenceraid.htm
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