[Bull Snipe]

Do your sources mention Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson when discussing the fighting in Missouri and Kansas.

[robowombat]

Yes. The border zone, however, is far from NE Missouri. Monahan while old spends about 100 pages setting the context. Inside War is fascinating effort to examine the anatomy and taxonomy of a guerrilla/counter-guerilla war. For Quantrill the best is The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantrill And His Confederate Raiders by Edward E. Leslie. I would guess if your read all four of these it would be a good start to understand this wretched chapter in WBTS history. Plenty of cheap copies on the net.