America's Civil War: Guerrilla Leader William Clarke Quantrill's Last Raid in Kentucky

On May 30, 1865, William Clarke Quantrill, criminal and Confederate bushwhacker, died at the age of 27. From the article:

"Standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, young Quantrill had a slight frame, reddish hair and cold, steel-blue eyes. One historian described him as ‘bold and physically courageous [but] a sham and almost completely amoral.’ Quantrill honed his violent nature while living with thieves, murderers and brigands in Kansas. When the Civil War erupted, Quantrill–who had already committed several brutal murders–eagerly fought with the Confederate army at Wilson’s Creek and Lexington, Mo. By Christmas 1861, however, the 24-year-old Quantrill had organized a small band of pro-Confederate guerrillas to fight and kill Union soldiers and pro-Northern civilians whenever and wherever the opportunity arose.

As the guerrilla band gained notoriety, the group expanded in number. Quantrill, who was rapidly becoming infamous for murder, robbery and the mutilation of the dead, masterminded the August 21, 1863, massacre at Lawrence, Kan., in which 150 men and boys were brutally slain. Two weeks later, the band perpetrated another slaughter at Baxter Springs, Kan., where the bushwhackers attacked a Union headquarters train. The merciless guerrillas killed 98 Federals and lost only six of their own men. It was later reported that the guerrillas had mutilated the dead bluecoats."