William T. Anderson - Raid On Centralia

Raid On Centralia

On the morning of September 26, Anderson left his camp with about 75 men to scout for Union forces. They soon arrived at the small town of Centralia and proceeded to loot it, robbing people and searching the town for valuables. They found a large supply of whiskey and all began drinking. Anderson retreated into the lobby of the town hotel to drink and rest. A stagecoach soon arrived, and Anderson's men robbed the passengers, including Congressman James S. Rollins and a plainclothes sheriff. The two were prominent Unionists, and hid their identities from the guerrillas. As the guerrillas robbed the stagecoach passengers, a train arrived. The guerrillas blocked the railroad, forcing the train to stop. Anderson's men quickly took control of the train, which included 23 off-duty Union soldiers as passengers. This was the first capture of a Union passenger train in the war.

Anderson ordered his men not to harass the women on the train, but the guerrillas robbed all of the men, finding over $9,000 and taking the soldiers' uniforms. Anderson forced the captured Union soldiers to form a line and announced that he would keep one for a prisoner exchange, but would execute the rest. He addressed the prisoners, castigating them for the treatment of guerrillas by Union troops. After selecting a sergeant for a potential prisoner swap, Anderson's men shot the rest. Anderson gave the civilian hostages permission to leave but warned them not to put out fires or move bodies. Although he was alerted of the congressman's presence in the town, he opted not to search for him. The guerrillas set the passenger train on fire and derailed an approaching freight train. Anderson's band then rode back to their camp, taking a large amount of looted goods.