Ol' Kentuck
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- Jun 12, 2018
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Fer those hunting treasure legends around Brownwood, Texas....
The Brownwood Bloody Bill Myth
" The Myth that Bloody Bill Anderson had survived the war and was living in Brownwood Texas originated in 1924, after a young Brownwood reporter named Henry Clay Fuller spent several hours talking with an 84 year old William C. Anderson in his home on Salt Creek.
Fuller’s resulting news article in the Brownwood Bulletin described Anderson’s claim to be the notorious Civil War Guerrilla, William “Bloody Bill” Anderson of Quantrill fame, and his fictitious escape from the Ray County ambush near Orrick, Missouri where history maintains Bloody Bill Anderson was killed in 1864. Variations of the article were sold by Fuller and published in newspapers throughout Texas, instantly becoming controversial.
A review of the various Fuller articles reveals that Anderson’s account frequently changed, and a comparison with credible documented records show the young reporter’s colorful imagination at work.
Yet, based solely on an old man’s tale and a young man’s imagination, a Conspiracy was born. "
" The Truth, however, reveals it was a stillbirth. Brownwood William C. Anderson was not the Bloody Bill Anderson of Quantrill fame, but he did have a bloody episode in his past to hide. "
The Brownwood Bloody Bill Myth
The Brownwood Bloody Bill Myth
" The Myth that Bloody Bill Anderson had survived the war and was living in Brownwood Texas originated in 1924, after a young Brownwood reporter named Henry Clay Fuller spent several hours talking with an 84 year old William C. Anderson in his home on Salt Creek.
Fuller’s resulting news article in the Brownwood Bulletin described Anderson’s claim to be the notorious Civil War Guerrilla, William “Bloody Bill” Anderson of Quantrill fame, and his fictitious escape from the Ray County ambush near Orrick, Missouri where history maintains Bloody Bill Anderson was killed in 1864. Variations of the article were sold by Fuller and published in newspapers throughout Texas, instantly becoming controversial.
A review of the various Fuller articles reveals that Anderson’s account frequently changed, and a comparison with credible documented records show the young reporter’s colorful imagination at work.
Yet, based solely on an old man’s tale and a young man’s imagination, a Conspiracy was born. "
" The Truth, however, reveals it was a stillbirth. Brownwood William C. Anderson was not the Bloody Bill Anderson of Quantrill fame, but he did have a bloody episode in his past to hide. "
The Brownwood Bloody Bill Myth
