August 25, 1863

— Forced Evacuation and Burning of Bates County —

By 1863 the Union Army's inability to control Confederate Guerrilla activity in western Missouri exploded. On August 25, 1863, Union General Thomas Ewing issued Order No. 11 four days after Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, Kansas. Residents in Bates County, and parts of Cass, Jackson and Vernon Counties, were forced to evacuate in an effort to disrupt Confederate supply lines of food, horses, and shelter.

The entire population of Bates County was banished. Union soldiers torched homes and towns. Fire consumed the land. Residents became refugees regardless of allegiances. Hardships inflicted upon civilians were stern and merciless.

Official county business was not conducted again until 1866. Only about one-third of the residents returned. Awaiting them was total devastation and tax bills for three years' delinquent property taxes. The land of those who did not return was forfeited and sold to new settlers, many being from northern states. Bates County was changed forever.

Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham, a Union officer, memorialized the cruelty of Order No. 11 in his 1868 painting, "Martial Law." The people who endured the dark days of Order No. 11 have not been forgotten. Their stories and sacrifices continue to be remembered.

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Show me all markers in:  Butler, MO  |  Bates County  |  64730  |  Missouri  |  United States of America

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