William T. Anderson

William T. Anderson a.k.a "Bloody Bill" (1840-October 26, 1864) was a confederate soldier and guerrilla leader of the American Civil war. He was a native of Missouri.

Anderson grew in a relatively distinguished family, which included two brothers and three sisters. His father, Bill , was a hat maker and a charter member of the I.O.O.F. His mother was a homemaker.

In 1850, his father moved to California, lured by dreams of finding gold there. At the age of ten, Anderson found himself in the position of one of his family's leaders, the others being his two brothers.

After Bill Anderson returned from California, the Anderson family's Southern ideals convinced them to move to Agnes City, Kansas , in 1857.

Bill Anderson Sr. was killed in 1862 by neighbors who identified with the North's cause. Enraged, Anderson and his brother, Jim , joined the famed Quantrill's Partisan Rangers to fight against the North. Union authorities decided, in 1863, to arrest all individuals who were involved with the Quantrill group, their friends and family members.

Anderson's sisters, Mary and Josephine, were imprisoned in a Kansas City hotel. On August 14 of the same year, tragedy struck once again; when a fire brought the hotel down, with Josephine dying and Mary suffering several burns.

William T. Anderson then began killing Union soldiers, sending an uncertain number of men to their graves. He became infamous; people started nicknaming him "Bloody Bill" during this period of his life.

On October 26, 1864, Anderson was killed during a battle: his horse was shot, causing Anderson to fall off the animal. Anderson died immediately when he suffered a blow to his head.

Rumors and myths

It is believed that Anderson belonged to the Missouri State Guard at some time of his life, but no records have proven that to be a fact.

Partly because of the day in which he died (October 26), a small number of people around the United States' south believe that William T. Anderson's ghost makes yearly appearances, around Halloween time. Those who believe that myth think that Anderson wants revenge for the way in which he and members of his family died. The 2004 low budget movie, "The Legend of Bloody Bill ", is based on that particular myth.