Sacking of Osceola

Sacking of Osceola
Part of American Civil War
LocationOsceola, Missouri
DateSeptember 23, 1861
TargetCitizens of Osceola
Attack type
War crime, looting, extrajudicial killings of civilians, state-sponsored terrorism
Deaths9[1]
PerpetratorsPro-Union Jayhawkers

The sacking of Osceola was a Kansas Jayhawker initiative on September 23, 1861, to push out pro-slavery Southerners at Osceola, Missouri. It was not authorized by Union military authorities but was the work of an informal group of anti-slavery Kansas "Jayhawkers".[2] The town of 2,077 people was plundered and burned to the ground, 200 slaves were freed and nine local citizens were court-martialed and executed.[3]

  1. ^ Sunderwith, Richard (2013). The Burning of Osceola, Missouri.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Spurgeon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "State of Missouri Table No. 1 - Population by Age and Sex" (PDF). US Census.