Men surrendered, being told they would be treated as prisoners of war, only to be gunned down in cold blood. The brutality of the way they killed one another and mutilated the bodies of their victims is shocking. Anybody who thinks of war as a glorious adventure should read this book and see how ugly it can become. The book is well-researched, and filled with first-hand accounts of what went on there. Both sides had their share of psychopaths who used the war to justify robbery, rape and murder.Įach side committed attrocities, which were used as justification for the attrocities committed by the other side. From the shocking, sensational massacres at Lawrence, Baxter Springs, and Centralia to the silent terror of a woman at home alone in the Aburnt district, Black Flag is a horrifying day-by-day account of life, death and war, told with unforgettable immediacy.Įvery time I read about the guerrilla warfare in Kansas and Missouri I'm amazed that they were ever able to settle the region again. Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, soldiers and civilians, scouts, spies, runaway slaves, the generals and the guerrillas―all step forward to tell of their terrifying ordeals.
Filled with dramatic detail, Black Flag reveals war at its very worst, told in the words of the participants themselves. Drawing from a wide array of contemporary documents―including diaries, letters, and first-hand newspaper accounts―Thomas Goodrich presents a hair-raising report of life in this merciless guerrilla war. Yet in the great national tragedy of the Civil War, this savage warfare has seemed a minor episode. It was here also that some of the greatest atrocities in American history occurred. Thousands died, millions of dollars of property was lost, entire populations were violently uprooted.
Black Flag is a highly recommended book that transports the reader to the towns and dusty highways of Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War." ―Kansas Historyįrom 1861 to 1865, the region along the Missouri-Kansas border was the scene of unbelievable death and destruction. " well written and compelling account of an aspect of the Civil War which has not received sufficient attention." ―Southern Historian This study truly shows the horrible cost inherent in any civil war." ―Civil War Courier "What Sherman did in Georgia and Sheridan in the Valley pales in comparison. " thorough and comprehensive study of this tragic, almost forgotten episode of American history." ―History
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