The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

Archaeology and Order No. 11

The current issue of ARCHAEOLOGY (March/April 2010), Pp. 20-25, has an article by Heather Pringle, "Digging the Scorched Earth." This is an account of Pringle's archaeology work in Bates County, Missouri, and her attempt to explore a house destroyed in the "Burnt District" under Ewing's Order No. 11.

Pringle's article has some inherent flaws, in that she admits that she is no student of the Civil War. Consequently she failed to understand that the "Burnt District" came about from two years of intense warfare between Federals and Confederates BEFORE the issuing of Order No. 11. The dig site could have been destroyed anytime between 1861 and 1864.

Pringle also fails to understand the dynamics of farming counties, stating that the reason that Bates County has a population of only 43,400 compared to nearby Kansas City's population of 1 million+ is directly because of Order No. 11.

A final minor point (except to me!) is that Pringle repeats the almost standard statement nowdays that Quantrill's strike force at Lawrence numbered 450 men. Virtually all sources at the time or close to it--both Partisan Ranger and Union--state that Quantrill's command numbered at right at 300.

All-in-all, however, Pringle's article is an interesting one, and worth the time for those interested to pick up a copy of the magazine at the newstand.

JAMES D. DREES

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