Urbanization has destroyed much of the recogniz-able Civil War sites in Missouri where once gallantConfederates battled the Federal invaders. Onlythe most devout researcher or historian can point tothese places and recall the battles and bloodshedthat marked these spots.

One such famous place was called the "BIue Cut"located on the lndependence to Harrisonville road.The lndependence-to-Harrisonville road ran northto south and offered two prime ambush sites. Thefirst, the "Blue Cut" was six miles south of lnde-pendence on the lndependence to Harisonvilleroad now named Lee's Summit road. Steep rockoutcroppings lined each side 6f the cut making agood spot for the guerrillas to hide behind and fireupon any passing enemy soldiers. A telegraph linewas strung along the roadway between the twotowns, and the road also served to connect thestage lines which brought the news from as faraway as St. Louis. The Little Blue River ran parallelto the road on the west. The surrounding terrainwas wild, but some cultivation had begun in the bot-tomland, and here and there were some gristmills.The fe(ile valley and rolling hills marked an areathat was superbly suited for hideaways and am-bushes. Dense vegetation lay all along the river-banks along with the line of rock outcroppings thatinundated the surrounding hills.

The second site named "Manasseth Gap" was 15miles from lndependence also on the old lndepend-ence to Harrisonville road now known as 291 High-way. Urbanization and new highway developmentshave now erased this site. At this spot the roadpassed between two embankments. The cut wasabout fifty yards wide and thirty feet high with bothsides lined with heavy woods. lt otfered both goodobservation and a good field of fire. The enemywould be helpless in the killing zone, but the guerril-las would be protected behind the terrain features.

Historians Corner, Paul R Petersen

*o?,i:ry Paul is the Author of Quantrill of Missouri, Quantrill in Texas, Quantrill at Lawrence and-.']r€ Lost Souls of the Lost Township. Petersen is a retired U.S. Marine Corps master ser-

, ,t,# geant and a highly decorated infantry combat veteran of the Vietnam War, Operationtr€ Desert Storm, and Operation lraqi Freedom. He is a member of the William Clarke

Quantrill Society, the James-Younger Gang Association, the Sons of the AmericanRevolution, and the Jackson County and Missouri State Historical Societies.

The Blue Cut - Guerrilla Ambush Site

After guerrilla Colonel William Clarke Quantrill,sskirmish with the Federals at the Tate House onMarch 23, 1862 and the Clark House fight a weeklater, the Federals believed that Quantrill and hismen were desperate and without horses. On bothoccasions the Federals had completely sur-rounded the guerrillas but they had bravely foughttheir way out of the Federal cordon. The Federalsnow considered themselves the hounds with thefox at bay. Federal Major Albert P. Peabody, Com-pany D, of the 1st Missouri State Militia circulateda report that Quantrill's guerrillas were disorgan-ized and on the run. He called for assistance fromthe other area outposts to bring in Quantrill andthe remainder of his band. For this reason, theFederals concentrated in the Blue Hills of JacksonCounty with a vengeance.

The Missouri militia were held in the same vein asKansas Jayhawkers. They were adept at plunder-ing and murder on a vast scale. Given cadeblanche to operate at will against the civilian com-munity Peabody's forces scoured the countrysideand exhibited a cruelty toward noncombatants un-paralleled in history. Old men and young boyswere murdered, women were raped, and homeswent up in flames.

Feeling frustrated at being outgunned and out-foxed by the wily guerrilla chief, Peabody satisfiedhimself by burning every building of any Southernsympathizers living along the border. Union forceslooking for Quantrill burned guerrilla Frank Smith'shome in Blue Springs. As they were leaving theSmith home, they were fired on by the two Smithboys, who managed to kill at least two Federals.Half a mile away, Warren Welch and another guer-rilla also fired on the Federals and killed six ofthem and one of their horses.

Paul Petersen continued from page 6...Jeremiah Blythe, a local farmer and relative ofguerrilla Cole Younger, owned a farm ten milessouth of lndependence on the old lndependence toHarrisonville road. Here Younger had a camp onthe east fork of the Little Blue River just across thevalley of the Little BIue from the Reuben Harrisfarm. Peabody, now the commander at lndepend-ence, sent a scouting party of seventy-five men tofind Younger or to get the residents to revealwhere he might be found.

Blythe was warned that the Federals were coming.He kept away from his house that day, but the Un-ion troops did find his wife and son, twelve-year-oldTheodore at home. They took the boy to the barnand threatened to hang him if he did not tell themwhat they wanted to know. Young Blythe was notintimidated. He occupied them with conversationfor several minutes until he saw an opportunity toescape back to the house. When he made a dashfor the house, the Federals fired at him. Once in-side he grabbed a pistol and made a mad runthrough the back door to the safety of some nearbytimber but was mortally wounded before he couldget through the yard and past the garden fence. Herolled himself over as the Federals rushed towardhim, and he killed the first one to come near him.His second shot mortally wounded a second man,and his third shot wounded another. Before hecould fire a fourth time, seventeen bullets piercedhis body.

The Federals headed back to lndependence. Anold black man belonging to neighbor William Moorewas on an errand at Blythe's house at the time andwitnessed the bloody deed. Afraid for his life, heran into the brush. There he came unawares uponQuantrill, Younger, William Haller, George Todd,and eleven other men. Noticing the great excite-ment of the black man, they coaxed the story fromhim. There was yet time for an ambuscade at theBlue Cut. Quantrill stationed men at each end ofthe passageway and some atop either side toguard the likely avenues of approach in case theenemy attempted to outflank them. The guerrillaslay on their bellies, behind the rocks or small treeswith their weapons held at the ready. The enemywould be helpless in the killing zone, but the guer-rillas would be protected behind the terrain fea-tures.

It seemed like an eternity before the enemy ap-peared. After a few minutes, tense, nervous mus-cles began to tighten. Weapons once locked firmlyon target now began to weave perceptibly. Quan-trill sensing their anxiousness spoke low in an al-most inaudible whisper, "Steady boys! Get ready."Quantrill's calm, soothing voice brought them backon task. Steel muzzles inched forward and firmlyIocked on the arriving targets. On command, morethan a dozen pistols, rifles, and shotguns belchedleaden death on the unsuspecting soldiers in thebushy defile. Of the seventy-five Federals sent af-ter Quantrill over sixty were killed while five werewounded and five barely managed to escape backto lndependence. This fatal point of the Blue Cutwas aftenryard known as the "slaughter Pen."

Another fight occurred at the Blue Cut inJune 1862. Lieutenant Cole Younger was orderedby Quantrill to take a detail of twenty-five men andambush a detachment of Federals under twenty-one year old Captain William A. Long, Company A,2nd Battalion, Missouri State Militia. Long wasfrom Jackson County and had been a sergeant inCo B before becoming an officer. His unit had onlyrecently been organized in Harrisonville during thespring of 1862. Younger had learned that amongLong's men was a former guerrilla by the name ofShoat, who had enlisted under Quantrill a fewmonths previously and then deserted, carryingwith him valuable information. Younger was anx-ious to kill him.

At three o'clock in the afternoon of June 12,the unsuspecting Federals rode into the cut notrealizing any danger. The guerrillas fought fromthe summit of the cut and it was therefore impossi-ble for the Federals to reach them. After fifteenminutes of desperate fighting, the Federals brokeand ran. Younger ordered a pursuit. CaptainLong's horse was shot from under him and Shoatwas shot in the back and died a few minutes later.The guerrillas took ten prisoners then releasedthem on parole. The history of the 2nd Battalion,MSM, lists 3 officers and 48 enlisted men killedduring the war of which twenty-seven were killedand wounded during this particular skirmish, whilethe guerrillas suffered the loss of only three menkilled and five wounded.

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Paul Petersen continued from page 7..There has been much speculation and disagreement on the exact locations of the "Blue Cut" and"Manasseth Gap" but no other assumptions correspond completely with the postwar accounts of the guerril-las who fought there and with the terrain features that still exist today.

Ref: J. W. Buel, The Border Outlaws. Historical Pub. Co. 1881, pg 26-2g, 43.Paul R. Petersen, Quantrill of Missouri, Cumberland House Pub.2003, pg 124.

Here are photos ofBlue Cut. I believe this is looking north. This location is about 2 rniles south of 40Highway on Lees Summit Rd. It's south of Space Center drive and north of Harding drive. Check itout on Google Maps or Earth. Still a good spot for an ambushl Photos courtesy of Paul Petersen.

Article by Pau! R. Petersen

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