MAIL ORDER ROSLYN—Stagecoach from Lawrence, Kansas

          Located in eastern Kansas between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers, Lawrence was founded in May 1854 by the New England Emigrant Aid Company. It was named for Amos Adams Lawrence, a Republican abolitionist originally from Massachusetts, who offered financial aid and support for the settlement. With its abolitionist leanings, Lawrence was site of several conflicts prior to the American Civil War. 

          On August 21, 1863, Lawrence was attacked and destroyed by William Quantrill and hundreds of his irregular Confederate raiders. The town was targeted because of its long-time support of abolition and its reputation as a center for the Jayhawkers (also known as “Red-legs” because of the red leggings the men wore) who were free-state militia and vigilante groups led by Gen. James Lane. Jayhawkers, whose reputation was on par with the Confederate-supporting bushwhackers, were known for attacking plantations in pro-slavery Missouri’s western counties.  

          Quantrill himself said that his motivation for the attack was "to plunder, and destroy the town in retaliation for Osceola." Osceola was attacked by the Jayhawkers in 1861. Led by Senator James H. Lane. Osceola was plundered and nine men were executed.

          Charles L Robinson, the first Governor of Kansas and an eyewitness to the raid on Lawrence, also characterized the attack as an act of vengeance: "Before this raid the entire border counties of Missouri had experienced more terrible outrages than ever the Quantrill raid at Lawrence... There was no burning of feet and torture by hanging in Lawrence as there was in Missouri, neither were women and children outraged."

          One of the objectives of Quantrill’s raid was to capture James Lane who was by then a Brigadier General in the Union Army. The raiders did not find Lane who hid during the attack—some sources claim in a cornfield, others in a ditch. However, the raiders did burn most of the houses and businesses in Lawrence. Between 150 and 200 civilian men and boys were rounded up and murdered.

1867 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas

          Mail Order Roslyn is set in 1866 after the Civil War. Although none of the story takes place in Lawrence, Kansas, some of the characters—active in the story or part of the backstory—were affected by Quantrill’s raid. Roslyn had been living in Lawrence, Kansas when she first boarded the Kansas Stage Company stagecoach prior to the beginning of the story.

          For a chance to win one of two prizes—first prize, a $10 Amazon gift card; second prize, two Zina Abbott ebooks of the winner’s choice—complete the Rafflecopter below no later than Friday, May 1, 2020. The answer to one of the questions on the Rafflecopter is found in this blog post. Return tomorrow for another post with another answer for the Rafflecopter.

          Mail Order Roslyn is not on preorder, and there is a reason I am not yet sharing the book description. It is scheduled to be published later this week. When it is available, I will notify my readers through my newsletter and this blog, plus the Mail-Order Brides Romance Readers group on Facebook.

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(Starts 4/29/20)