About Belton

Order No. 11

Order No. 11
Following the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas in 1863 by Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War, the Union Commander in Kansas City, Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing, issued the infamous Order No. 11. It decreed the depopulation within 15 days of an area 30 miles wide and 100 miles long south of the Missouri River on the western border of Missouri. The order affected 20,000 persons who had to salvage what they could of clothing, personal belongings and livestock, to make a hasty move. Plundering and devastation followed. Union soldiers confiscated horses and wagons. Looting was rampant and torches were set to fields and homes. The area came to be known as the "Burnt District" and for 18 months was largely uninhabited.