By Kathy Feist
General Order No. 11 was an evil. The scorched land it left behind, a hell on earth.
On August 25, 1863, 25,000 Missouri residents in Jackson, Cass, Bates and part of Vernon counties were ordered to leave their homes. Properties were plundered, crops seized and homes, barns and structures burned to the ground.
The area was given the name the “Burnt District.” The only structures left standing were stone chimneys.
General Order No. 11 issued by Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing Jr. was the Union’s response to William Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, which left 120 people dead and most of the town in ashes. The government order gave Confederate sympathizers 15 days to evacuate.
“Most of the men were off fighting or had already died, so a lot of [evacuees] were the wives and mothers leading their children and, sometimes elderly people, to find somewhere else to live,” says author Tom Owens. “It was a measure that our government took against its citizens who, for the most part, had not committed any crimes, had not broken any law.”
“It seemed like a very compelling story worth telling,” he recalls.
Owens, who is a south Kansas City resident and docent at the Wornall/Majors House, began telling that story in the form of a historical novel. In January, his debut novel The Chimney” was published by Credo House Publishers.
The Chimney follows the life of Jane Duncan and her children who endure violent fighting between pro-Confederate guerrilla fighters and Union forces on their farm in Bates County. The story begins in 1860, prior to the start of the country’s Civil War. By then the Duncan family had become accustomed to fighting as pro- and anti-slavery proponents battled for the soul of the Kansas Territory. In January 1861, Kansas was admitted into the Union as a free state. But rather than putting an end to the dispute, it escalated. By April, the country was at war.
Though Jane, a widow, wishes to remain nonpartisan and tend to her children and farmstead, she and her family become the victims of the political upheaval, eventually forced to leave their home as part of the General Order No. 11.
Owens retells the historical events through conversations among the story’s characters as opposed to paragraphs filled with fact-filled narrative. This tact keeps the story moving as well as engages the imagination.
“I think history is shared or taught best through stories,” says Owens.
Part of Owen’s story grows not just from recorded research, but also from his own back yard.
Owens’ family farm is located in Bates County along Walnut Creek where the Duncan farmstead is situated in the story. Other nearby landmarks include the Marais des Cygnes River and the historic Kansas town known as Trading Post just off 69 Hwy. Both were the site of the 1858 Marais des Cygnes Massacre, where 11 freestate settlers in the small town were marched to the river and shot by neighboring Missouri ruffians. Weeks later John Brown moved to Trading Post, built a fort and led a vengeful raid into Missouri.
“As I was learning about the conflict, I’d look out across the land, and think ‘What happened here?’ This wasn’t just a peaceful river running through here,” Owens says.
About 30 miles to the north of Owens’ property is a solitary limestone chimney near Harrisonville that serves as a historic monument to the “Burnt District.”
Owens clarifies that the Harrison monument was not his inspiration. Rather the symbolism of the chimney serves a distinctive part of the Duncans’ journey.
“The chimney survived the burning of the cabin that stood around it,” he explains. “It is a symbol of fortitude and resilience of the Duncan family. No matter how much hardship and turmoil they had to endure, they looked down inside themselves and found the strength to continue.”
The Chimney is Owens’ first book in a trilogy. Its sequel The Great Wide Open is due to come out in August. Both books can be ordered through Amazon.com.
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