Isn't that strange. Cole Younger visiting William C. Anderson in 1907 you say? And " came away convinced that Brown County's Bill Anderson was the one and only Bill Anderson of Quantrill's Guerrillas that he'd served with during the Civil War ". Hmm.
Especially strange in view of his well documented visit to Richmond, MO in
1908, where he arranged an elaborate belated funeral for
William T. Anderson, under whom he had served as a soldier, and had " known and loved ".
It was reported by the Richmond Missourian, Thursday June 11, 1908.....
“YOUNGER HERE. Cole Younger And Jim Cummins Meet Here — The Cole Younger Carnival In Full Blast! Shows to Run All Of The Week. Under Auspicies Of The Red Men. The Cole Younger Shows, under the personal charge of Col. Lew Nichols and Cole Younger, arrived here Sunday afternoon. The seven or eight cars were loaded with tents and paraphernalia and crowded with show mysteries. Three private sleeping cars housed the show folks.
“Early Monday the tents began to “go up” around the Square and in the Stone lot. Monday night the attractions were in full blast. On Monday afternoon however, the first event of the week occurred. When the cars of the Greater Nichols Amusement Company rolled into town, and Cole Younger knew that he had reached Richmond, he helped to put into execution a resolve that he had doubtless formulated long ago — to help decorate the grave of his friend and loyal companion in arms — Capt. Bill Anderson. A remarkable coincidence was the fact that Jim Cummins, another old comrade and soldier was here. Jim Cummins was better acquainted here and managed the details of the joint tribute of respect for other days.
“Monday afternoon, the band of the amusement company struck up a funeral march and with the solemn tread bowed heads, Cole Younger, Jim Cummins, representatives of the amusement company and others made their way to the old cemetery north of town. The grave had already been beautifully decorated with flowers.
“Arriving at the old cemetery, the crowd gathered around Cole Younger while he, in a reminiscent yet with a reverent way, addressed them in a few short sentences.
“He said that as a soldier, prior to 1863, he had known and served with Capt. Bill Anderson as a solider, that he was a fearless man, standing back for nothing in the performance of his duty as he conceived it. As such, Mr. Younger said he knew and loved him. He (Mr. Younger), knew personally nothing of his work in 1864 north of the river — but that up to that time he was a conscientious man and a brave soldier.
“Mr. Younger was followed by Honorable James L. Farris, son of the late Captain J.L. Farris of the Confederate Army. He spoke for some 20 minutes, paying high tribute to the power of endurance, courage and daring of the dead soldier. In a masterly way, he drew attention to the fact that the war had not been in vain; that the conditions and circumstances of the time of Capt. Bill Anderson demanded just such a man as he; that if he went to extremes, it was because it was the inevitable and necessary result of war — which Sherman properly and aptly called ‘Hell.’
“He saw it that it was time to cover the dust of the hero with the flowers of affection and honor. To conclude, Cole Younger cleared up a misunderstanding. He made it plain that at the time of his death Capt. Bill Anderson was acting under orders direct from General Sterling Price. That he had heard for some years before he knew it. In 1866 he said that he stayed all night at the home of Governor King here in Ray County. Governor King told Mr. Younger that he recognized the handwriting of General McClain in the order found in Captain Bill Anderson’s pockets. General McClain was an Adjutant of General Price.
“In the calm light of history, the deeds done by Anderson do not meet the same sort of condemnation that the hasty judgment of a strenuous and perilous time accorded him. At the conclusion of the exercises, ‘taps’ was sounded and the company withdrew.”
“Capt. Bill Anderson was killed in November 1864 and his body brought to Richmond for burial. He was killed at a crossroads fight near Albany, about a mile and a half north of Orrick, this county.”
The rest of the article tells about the acts that were part of the carnival show. It was called “the cleanest street fair” that was ever seen in Richmond. The balloon ascension was thrilling in the extreme as Lucy May Colton, the “aeronautess” had nerve to burn when she jumped from the clouds and came down head first in a way that thrilled and chilled the old timers.
The Great Colton did a 85-foot jump from the top of a ladder in the courthouse yard and landed in a net.
The final paragraph summed it up as follows: “The Red Man managed the shows well and deserves more money than they got out of it. The wet weather and the flooded river kept business away. But the Red Man made friends with their politeness and square dealing. The Missourian expects crowds here for the remainder of the shows, which close on Saturday night.”
https://www.richmond-dailynews.com/...ounger-saw-to-proper-funeral-for-bloody-bill/
Now... why would Cole Younger go to such lengths to make sure William T. Anderson, in Richmond, Missouri had such an elaborate, proper funeral...if he believed William C. Anderson of Brown County, Texas was really the Bloody Bill he had served with in the Civil War?
Makes no sense, TJ.
Me thinks you're getting a little windy now, Snooker.
Ya see, you're assuming a postcard photo of Cole's carnival appearance in Brady, TX must be proof that Cole actually visited William C., and claimed he was the real Bloody Bill. You do know what happens when you Assume...right?
Where is your documentation that Cole Younger did in fact visit William C. in Brown County, TX? Where is your documentation that Cole Younger did indeed identify William C. as the Bloody Bill he had served with in the Civil War? Where are these " historical accounts "? Let me guess....someone wrote it in a dime novel...or worse, on a pulp fiction site...or you heard someone say it on a forum.... and it fit your theory so you accepted it as gospel, without doing your due diligence.
Confirmation Bias is a difficult thing to discipline yourself against, but it can be done. Wishful thinking is not documentation, ambiguous evidence made to fit your theory is not documentation. How are you ever going to arrive at the TRUTH....if everything has to fit your preconceived notions?
Tell the REAL story....stop CREATING your own story out of bits and pieces of unrelated, unverifiable excerpts and assumptions. No One is ever going to take your theory seriously until you do.
Credibility rests on a foundation of Real Documentation. Demonstrable Facts. Not straws grasped in desperation to prove a point.
