William Clarke Quantrill

The man standing to the left in the picture with the four gentlemen is my Great Grandfather's brother, James S. Millikin. I learned from a Louisiana history book that he rode with Quantrill's bushwhackers and was present at the burning of Lawrence, Kansas. That was hard for me to believe as he was very young at the time. But, for my Hist 220 class I've been reading a book about Quantrill and his exploits and apparently it was common for him to recruit young teenage boys. Most of Quantrill's raids occurred in Missouri and Kansas, but apparently he ventured into Louisiana at some time for the purpose of recruiting. James S. Millikin also slept between the James boys at times. I chose to read about Quantrill because I wanted to know why he committed the atrocities he was famous for.
It seems he was a young man with big dreams and plans gone awry. Feeling like a failure, he got in with the wrong crowd and eventually took up their ways becoming their leader. This is such a familiar story even in our day. From other histories I've read, West Carroll Parish was a favorite place for Frank and Jesse James to lay low for awhile.