Opinion

No Man's Land

Sunday, August 27, 2006

On Aug. 25, 1863, four days after the very successful destruction of Lawrence, the Abolitionist Capitol of Kansas, Order No. 11 was signed by Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Ewing and issued in the Union Military District of the Border as an immediate severe reprisal to Quantrill's Raid. This order became infamous and is despised by Missourians to this day, because it introduced the concept of and inflicted total war on the civilians and their property in Jackson, Cass, Bates and Northern Vernon counties of Missouri. All of this area except for the towns permanently occupied by Union forces soon become a "No Man's Land!"

The definition and military connotation of a "No Man's Land" is "the area, usually a wasteland, on a battlefield separating the combatants." The entire area encompassing the previously mentioned counties of Western Missouri soon became a wasteland with the complete destruction of all of the civilian homes, barns, mills, shops, crops, fences, and anything else that could aid the enemy. The devastation was so complete it was said that "A crow would have to pack its lunch when flying across any part of it." Eviction, however, was not immediate; all of the civilians were given 15 days to vacate their homes and leave the district. The vacated area was also to be a "Buffer Zone" between Kansas and "Occupied Missouri," which would help keep soldiers and civilians from each state from entering the other state, because they hated each other so much that they were fond of killing each other! In retrospect, General Order No. 11 was a much harsher version of General Order No. 10 that had been issued on Aug. 18, 1863. Since the beginning of the Civil War, the despotic Union enforcement of martial law in Missouri had become progressively harsher because the civilian support and supply of the Confederate guerillas and their respective operations had not been eradicated! Therefore, it was just a matter of time before the concept of total war became a reality. It appears that Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence was "the last straw" which accelerated the implementation of total war in Jackson, Cass, Bates and Northern Vernon counties, Mo.

General Order No. 11 reads as follows:

HDQRS. District of the Border, Kansas City, Mo., Aug. 25, 1863.

I. All persons living in Jackson, Cass and Bates counties, Missouri and in that part of Vernon included in this district, except those living within 1 mile of the limits of Independence, Hickman Mills, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville & except those in that part of Kaw Township, Jackson County, north of Brush Creek and west of the Big blue, are hereby ordered to remove from their places of residence within 15 days from the date thereof. Those who within that time, establish their loyalty to the satisfaction of the Commanding Officer of the military station nearest their present places of residence will receive from him certificates stating the fact of their loyalty and the names of the witnesses by whom it can be shown. All who receive such certificates will be permitted to remove to any military station in this district or to any part of the State of Kansas, except those counties on the eastern border of the State. ALL OTHERS SHALL REMOVE OUT OF THIS DISTRICT. Officers commanding companies and detachments serving in the counties names will see that this paragraph is promptly obeyed.

II. All grain and hay in the field or under shelter in the district from which the inhabitants are required to remove within reach of military stations after the 9th day of September next will be taken to such stations and turned over to the proper officers there & report of the amount so turned over made to district headquarters, specifying the names of all loyal owners and the amount of such produce taken from them all grain and hay found in such district after the 9th day of September next not convenient to such stations will be destroyed.

III. The provisions of General Orders No. 10, from these headquarters will be at once vigorously executed by officers commanding the parts of the district and at the stations not subject to the operation of paragraph I of this order and especially in the towns of Independence, Westport and Kansas City.

IV. Paragraph III, Gen. Orders. No. 10, is REVOKED as to all who have borne arms against the [U.S.] government in this district since the 21st day of August 1863.

By Order of Brigadier-General Ewing." As a postscript, Caleb Bingham, the nationally known 19th century artist from Independence, Mo., was so infuriated and disgusted with this order that his painting entitled "Order No. 11" that depicted the enforcement of same became very popular then and still is today, especially in Missouri!