Editing History of Missouri (section)

===Later battles and guerrilla warfare in Missouri===
[[File:NPS CW at a Glance Western 1864.jpg|thumb|400px|Price's Raid in the Western Theater, 1864]]
In 1864 Sterling Price plotted to attack Missouri, launching his [[Price's Raid|1864 raid on the state]]. Striking in the southeastern portion of the state, Price moved north, and attempted to capture [[Battle of Fort Davidson|Fort Davidson]] but failed. Next, Price sought to attack St. Louis but found it too heavily fortified. He then broke west in a parallel course with the Missouri River. The Federals attempted to retard Price's advance through both minor and substantial skirmishing such as at [[Battle of Glasgow, Missouri|Glasgow]] and [[battle of Lexington II|Lexington]]. Price made his way to the extreme western portion of the state, taking part in a series of bitter battles at the [[battle of Little Blue River|Little Blue]], [[battle of Independence II|Independence]], and [[battle of Byram's Ford|Byram's Ford]]. His Missouri campaign culminated in the [[battle of Westport]] in which over 30,000 troops fought, leading to the defeat of the Southern army. The Missourians retreated through [[Kansas]] and [[Oklahoma]] into Arkansas, where they stayed for the remainder of the war.
In 1865, Missouri abolished slavery, doing so before the adoption of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]], by an ordinance of immediate emancipation. Missouri adopted a new constitution, one that denied voting rights and had prohibitions against certain occupations for former Confederacy supporters.

Besides organized military conflict, Missouri was beset by [[guerrilla warfare]]. In such a bitterly divided state, neighbors frequently used the excuse of war to settle personal grudges and took up arms against neighbors. Roving [[insurgent]] bands such as [[Quantrill's Raiders]] and the supporters of [[Bloody Bill Anderson]] terrorized the countryside, striking both military installations and civilian settlements. Because of the widespread guerrilla conflict, and support by citizens in border counties, Federal leaders issued [[General Order № 11 (1863)|General Order No. 11]] in 1863, and evacuated areas of Jackson, Cass, and Bates counties. They forced the residents out to reduce support for the guerrillas. Union cavalry could sweep through and track down Confederate guerrillas, who no longer had places to hide and people and infrastructure to support them. On short notice, the army forced almost 20,000 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly, to leave their homes. Many never returned, and the affected counties were economically devastated for years after the end of the war. Families passed stories of their bitter experiences down through several generations.<ref name="bohl44-51">Bohl (2004), 44–51.</ref>

Western Missouri was the scene of brutal guerrilla warfare during the Civil War, and some marauding units became organized criminal gangs after the war. In 1882, the bank robber and ex-Confederate guerrilla [[Jesse James]] was killed in [[Saint Joseph, Missouri|Saint Joseph]]. Vigilante groups appeared in remote areas where law enforcement was weak, to deal with the lawlessness left over from the guerrilla warfare phase. For example, the [[Bald Knobbers]] were the term for several law-and-order vigilante groups in the Ozarks. In some cases, they too turned to illegal gang activity.<ref name="ingenthron">Ingenthron (1988).</ref>