Missouri–Kansas Guerrilla War and General Order No. 11

The Missouri–Kansas border had experienced political and paramilitary violence before the Civil War. During the conflict, irregular Confederate bands, Union militia and local vigilantes fought through ambush, reprisal and attacks on civilians.

William Quantrill’s force attacked Lawrence, Kansas, in August 1863, killing many male residents. Union authorities responded with General Order No. 11, requiring most rural inhabitants of four Missouri counties to leave, producing displacement, destroyed farms and enduring bitterness.

Juliet’s Moon places a fictional girl amid this unstable frontier, where uniforms do not reliably distinguish soldier from raider and families can be punished for alleged loyalties.