John and Keith,

You ask if there was one Federal sweep of the Jackson County area in which over 30 more-or-less unarmed men were killed on the auspices of a dragnet for guerrillas. Yes, there was one, although it was elongated and probably lasted for several weeks. The one I have in mind was the combined Federal operation mostly in Jackson County during late August and September 1863 ostensibly to hunt down and kill Quantrill's Lawrence raiders. This extended Union operation using Colorado, Missouri, and Kansas troops became a vengeance raid against those who killed all those men and boys in Lawrence. Some of the northern officers involved spoke of killing up to 100 "guerrillas," in what they considered to be a successful campaign. This operation continued through the enforcement of General Orders Number 11.

A key factor in verifying this was the Union military operation to which Bingham refers would be the date he wrote "...more than thirty of whom, in one raid, were murdered in cold blood." When did he write this?

By the way, the identity of the nearly 100 men killed in this large-scale counter-guerrilla sweep has been obscured by the G.O. Number 11 forced evacuations. I believe these 100-or-so men were a combination of:
1) Andy Blunt's about 100 neophyte bushwhackers from Saline County he brought to Quantrill at the end of July;
2) Confederate recruits from Clay and Ray Counties under Colonel John D. Holt who took part in the Lawrence Raid;, and
3) local unarmed farmers who vengeful Union troopers killed because they "seemed suspicious."

If Bingham was keeping track of the number of local civilians killed in such Union operations in Jackson County, he could easily have found 30 men killed more-or-less unarmed in a part of this extended operation.

This is the only one that I think would have produced 30 dead in one Federal operation. See pages 219-228 in my 1863 book about sources and details for my claim.

Bruce Nichols