Tales from Tennessee and Beyond: The Centralia Massacre

The Centralia, Missouri Massacre occurred on September 27, 1864. William "Bloody Bill" Anderson, and twenty-four other men, including Jesse James, rode into town, and completely sacked it. The men were dressed in Union military uniforms, that they had stolen. When they reached the town, they set to work tearing up railroad tracks. They then looted the rest of the town. These men took everything that was valuable. It is reported that they even drank their whiskey from boots, which they had stolen. Anderson and his men then blocked the railroad to prevent the oncoming train from passing through town. The engineer thought nothing was out of place, since the guerrillas were wearing Union uniforms. Once the train stopped, the guerrillas converged onto the train. There were 125 passengers in all, with twenty-three of them being Union soldiers. Anderson and his men ordered the soldiers off the train, and told them to take off their uniforms. The soldiers were then lined up along a wall. Anderson ordered the leader of the unit to step forward. Sergeant Thomas Goodman did so, Anderson ignored him completely, and he and his men commenced shooting the soldiers. Once they were dead, the soldiers were maimed and scalped. The locomotive was set on fire and sent down the tracks toward Sturgeon, Missouri. The guerrillas then set fire to the depot. Goodman was taken prisoner by Anderson, but later escaped as the men were crossing the Missouri River. Union Major A.V.E. Johnston pursued the guerrillas, but he and his band were unsuccessful. The guerrillas engaged them in a battle, and Johnston was shot by Jesse James. The events surrounding Centralia, Missouri, proves that the Missouri-Kansas area during the Civil War, was a hot bed for guerrilla warfare.