ABOUT THIS BOOK

Most Civil War historians now agree that the guerrilla conflict shaped the entire war in significant ways. Some of these “bushwhackers”—Nathan Bedford Forrest, William Clarke Quantrill, John Singleton Mosby—have become quite infamous. Illiterate Sam Hildebrand, one of Missouri’s most notorious guerrillas—often compared to “Rob Roy,” and the subject of dime novels—was one of the few to survive the war and have his story taken down and published. Shortly after this he was killed in a barroom brawl. “I make no apology to mankind for my acts of retaliation; I make no whining appeal to the world for sympathy. I sought revenge and I found it; the key of hell was not suffered to rust in the lock while I was on the war path.” —Sam Hildebrand Hildebrand’s reign of terror gave the Union army fits and kept much of the Trans-Mississippi, especially Missouri, roiling in the 1860s. Over seven years of fighting he and his men killed dozens of soldiers and civilians, whites and blacks; he claimed to have killed nearly one hundred himself. He was accused of many heinous acts. The historical significance of Hildebrand’s story is substantial, but his bloody tale is eminently readable and stands quite well on its own as a cold-blooded portrait of a violent time in American history. Like the nightmarish and depraved world of the Kid in Cormac McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian, Hildebrand’s world is truly ruthless and his story is brutally descriptive in its coolly detached rendering of one man’s personal war. Published in 1870, Hildebrand’s autobiography has long been out of print and has been a rare and highly prized acquisition among Civil War

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Author/historian Kirby Ross is the recipient of a Kansas Governor’s Proclamation for his first book, The True Life Wild West Memoir of a Bush-popping Cow Waddy. He is a feature writer for the online magazine CivilWarStLouis.com and lives in Kirwin, Kansas.

REVIEWS

“A superb modern edition of a rare 1870 imprint . . . a vivid impression of a boastfully murderous mentality unique in Civil War historiography.” Michael Fellman, author of The Making of Robert E. Lee and Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War “This is a must book for all interested in separating the fact from fiction regarding Civil War guerrilla warfare and those who waged it.” Albert Castel, author of William Clarke Quantrill: His Life and Times “An exciting ‘read’ combined with the truth behind Hildebrand’s story.” —Robert R. Mackey, author of The Uncivil War: Irregular Warfare in the Upper South, 1861–1865

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Series Editor's Preface	000
Acknowledgements	000
Introduction	000
Editors' Preface 1870	000
Chapter One: Yankee Fiction	000
Chapter Two: Early History of the Hildebrand Family	000
Chapter Three: Determination to Take No Part in the War	000
Chapter Four: McIlvaine's Vigilance Mob	000
Chapter Five: His House at Flat Woods Attacked by Eighty Soldiers	000
Chapter Six: Interview with Gen. Jeff. Thompson	000
Chapter Seven: Trip to Missouri	000
Chapter Eight: Vigilance Mob Drives His Mother from Home	000
Chapter Nine: Trip with Burlap and Cato	000
Chapter Ten: Trip with Two Men	000
Chapter Eleven: Another Trip to Missouri	000
Chapter Twelve: Trip with Three Men	000
Chapter Thirteen: The Militia Mob Robs the Hildebrand Estate	000
Chapter Fourteen: Federal Cruelties	000
Chapter Fifteen: Started Alone	000
Chapter Sixteen: Started to Bloomfield with Three Men	000
Chapter Seventeen: Put in a Crop	000
Chapter Eighteen: Took Seven Men	000
Chapter Nineteen: Took Eight Men	000
Chapter Twenty: Trip to Hamburg with Fifteen Men	000
Chapter Twenty-one: Started with Six Men for Springfield, Missouri	000
Chapter Twenty-two: Started with Four Men	000
Chapter Twenty-three: Took Ten Men	000
Chapter Twenty-four: Took Fifteen Men	000
Chapter Twenty-five: Put in a Crop	000
Chapter Twenty-six: Started to St. Francois County, Missouri	000
Chapter Twenty-seven: Started with Nine Men to St. Francois County	000
Chapter Twenty-eight: Capt. John, with a Company of Federal, Burns the Headquarters in Green County, Arkansas	000 [or just make this Capt. John]
Chapter Twenty-nine: Took a Raid into Missouri with Four Men	000
Chapter Thirty: Commanded the Advance Guard in Price's Raid	000
Chapter Thirty-one: Selected Three Men and Went to Missouri to Avenge the Death of Rev. William Polk	000 [or just make this Selected Three Men]
Chapter Thirty-two: Started with Eight Men on a Trip to Arkansas River	000
Chapter Thirty-three: Gloomy Prospects for the South	000
Chapter Thirty-four: Started to Missouri with Four Men	000
Chapter Thirty-five: Trip to Missouri with Four Men	000
Chapter Thirty-six: Imprisoned in Jacksonport Jail	000
Chapter Thirty-seven: Military Operations for His Capture	000
Bibliography	000
Index	000

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