General Order No. 11 (1863) - Implementation of The Order

Implementation of The Order

Order No. 11 was not only intended to retard pro-Southern depredations, but renegade pro-Union activity, as well. Ewing not only had his hands full with Confederate raiders; he equally had troubles with Unionist Jayhawkers, led by radical Kansas Senator James Lane. There was immense anger sweeping Kansas following Quantrill's raid. Convinced that Ewing was not retaliating sufficiently against Missourians, Lane threatened to lead a Kansas force into Missouri, laying waste to the four counties named in Ewing's decree, and more. On September 9, 1863, Lane gathered nearly a thousand Kansans at Paola, Kansas, and marched towards Westport, Missouri, with an eye towards destruction of that pro-slavery town. Ewing sent several companies of his old Eleventh Kansas Infantry (now mounted as cavalry) to stop Lane's advance—by force, if necessary. Faced with this superior Federal force, Lane ultimately backed down. Order No. 11 was partially intended to demonstrate that the Union forces intended to act forcefully against Quantrill and other bushwhackers, thus rendering vigilante actions (such as the one contemplated by Lane) unnecessary—and thereby preventing their occurrence, which Ewing was determined at all costs to do.

Ewing ordered his troops not to engage in looting or other depredations, but he was ultimately unable to control them. Most were Kansas volunteers, who regarded all Missourians as "rebels" to be punished, even though many residents of the four counties named in Ewing's orders were pro-Union or neutralist in sentiment. Animals and farm property were stolen or destroyed; houses, barns and outbuildings were burned to the ground. Some civilians were even summarily executed—a few as old as seventy years of age. Ewing's four counties became a devastated "no man's land," with only charred chimneys and burnt stubble showing where homes and thriving communities had once stood, earning the sobriquet "The Burnt District." There are very few remaining antebellum homes in this area due to the Order.

Ironically, Ewing's order had the opposite military effect from what he intended: instead of eliminating the guerrillas, it gave them immediate and practically unlimited access to supplies. For instance, the Bushwhackers were able to help themselves to abandoned chickens, hogs and cattle, left behind when their owners were forced to flee. Smokehouses were sometimes found to contain hams and bacon, while barns often hold feed for horses. Although Federal troops ultimately burned most of the outlying farms and houses, they were unable to prevent Confederates from initially acquiring vast amounts of food and other useful material from abandoned dwellings.