The exact identity of the leader of the men who stopped and raided the "Marcella," is not clear even today, and I should not have asserted Bill Anderson did it without at least using a qualifier. In my 1863 book I at least said this was probably Anderson since he operated in this part of Lafayette County so much. I would add that attacking riverboats was his specialty during 1864, but this was not yet a practice of his during 1863--of course raiding the "Marcella on the night of 16 and 17 September may have been his first time.

Some of the controversy of who led this raid on the vessel was clouded badly by the Union provost marshal apparatus. The 1886 Livingston County History on page 802 talks about a big roundup the PM's office made in December 1863 in which they arrested about 30 men from Ray, Carroll, and Livingston Counties "for thieving and robberty" who were mostly radical northerners and ex-militia members. The 1864 investigation in the conduct and management of the militia for the MO General Assembly concluded from testimony of two men among those 30 arrests who said that the real culprits of the "Marcella" attack were men who resided in Kansas, which tended to point to the Anderson brothers since they lived in Kansas at the start of the war. However, the PM investigation drew different conclusions about that "residing in Kansas" business and pointed to Swain and Hoyt of the Kansas Reg Legs. Yeah, right! Also in PM records is the testimony of Marsh Grand, first mate on the "Marcella" that night who testified that "M. L. Belt" led the raiders. This would be Mark L. Belt identified in Eakin and Hale's "Branded As Rebels," on page 23 as a lieutenant in Dave Poole's band, and who attended Quantrill reunions after the war. This would also tend to point to Confederate Quartermaster Sergeant Marcus L. Belt of Company E, 12th Missouri Cavalry in Shelby's Brigade. That guy evidently deserted in Arkansas during January 1863. Of the various PM conclusions, this testimony from the first mate of the vessel is probably the strongest and does tend to point towards Poole's band.

I still wouldn't rule out Bill Anderson, but I cannot say that with any authority. I cannot find a single account that states where Bill Anderson was staying during September 1863, while all of Quantrill's groups were on "lock-down" during the continuing Union dragnet.

I have no problem with the "Marcella" raiders also being at Lawrence, too. I don't see the problem with that, as the relative distance is not that great. Quantrill's runners did a thorough job of sweeping through a number of west-central Missouir counties just a few days prior to the start of the raid, and the response to his summons was fantastic.

You mentioned that if this was the work of Poole that he raided about the middle of July, then middle of August, then middle of September. We can say this is standard Quantrill practice, as he was strict about dispersal after a raid or skirmish with a set time and place for rendezvous several days off into the future. If this was Poole, maybe he had a longer wait period after dispersal.

This is an interesting problem, which sounds like something a doctor would say meaning he doesn't have a definite answer.

Bruce