Anyone know anything about this MO Guerrilla who during the civil war lost one of his sisters and was supposed to ride into battle foaming at the mouth?

bloody bill anderson civil war - Google Search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=bloody+bill+anderson+civil+war)

If you compare the sectarian bloodshed in Iraq with the sectarian bloodshed of the Kansas and Missouri territories then Bill Anderson was the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi of his time. Yes there are reports of him crying and frothing at the mouth during battle .He also carried a silk cord which he knotted with every killing .It is also rumored that he took scalpes.

Before the conflict began he was just a criminal ;stealing horses and committing other crimes. His father had left the family to prospect gold so Bill and his brother had to provide for themselves and their family as best they could. When his father returned from his failed enterprise they moved from Missouri to Kansas.

Kansas was in the middle of a vicious and bloody debate because Congress had decided that the folks of Kansas and Nebraska could decide for themselves if they were to be free or slave states when they entered the union. So ,people from both sides of the debate flocked to Kansas to help the folks decide. Nebraska was solidly free-soil but if they could convince Kansas to enter as a slave state then the delicate balance of free and slave states could be maintained.

Open conflicts and killings quickly developed. The Andersons took part . His father was killed by a pro-unionist (possibly for horse stealing ) and Bill Anderson tracked down his killer and took his revenge. Bill and his brother joined up with Quantrill's Raiders.

Frustrated at stopping the Quantrill's terrorists the government began arresting family members of the raiders. Bills 2 sisters were detained in a building that union soldiers in an attempt to make more room for detainment had structurally weakened it's structure. The building collapsed killing one of Bill's sisters and crippling the other .

The raiders went ballistic . They attacked Lawrence Kansas ,a free soil (Jayhawks) stronghold . They sacked the city and massacred about 200 civilians.

After that Anderson split from Quantrill's Raiders because he wanted to notch up the terrorism while Quantrill wanted to conduct himself with a more civilized brand of warfare .

Anderson recruited like minded ruffians like the James brothers and attacked Centralia Missouri .His men pillaged ,raped ,plundered ,and murdered residents of the town . They captured a train that had 26 Union soldiers in it. Anderson personally executed them ;except Sgt. Thomas M. Goodman who was held hostage until he escaped .

Union Major A.V.E. Johnston of the 39th Missouri Infantry Volunteers set out in pursuit but was defeated in battle . 120 mounted infantrymen were killed .They were decapitated and mutilated by some of the guerrillas.

Union militia Colonel Samuel P. Cox took charge of tracking down Anderson's band. October 26, 1864 he battled Anderson. Anderson was shot twice in the head during the battle . His body was put on display .

For more on Bill Anderson read :Amazon.com: Bloody Bill Anderson: The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War Guerrilla: Books: Albert E. Castel (http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Bill-Anderson-Savage-Guerrilla/dp/081171506X)