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John McCorkle

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• I want you to open your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 12 today. Psalm 12. There's a number of messages that I have been working on and I have not finished yet, but I did finish this message on John McCorkle, Quantrill's faithful scout. I want to bring some messages on some of these men that probably most of us have never heard of in our entire life, because there are numerous biblical principles that can be learned and illustrated very clearly for us in a historical setting. But look in Psalm 12, if you would please, and verse 1. Psalm 12, verse 1, David prays, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men." So David is surrounded by a lot of wicked, and he continues to speak about the wicked in the rest of the verses in Psalm 12. But he cries in this prayer and he says, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth." And then he says, "The faithful fail from among the children of men."

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• Now, I realize the word "faithful" there could also be applied to God's people because we are called faithful and chosen in Revelation chapter 17. But it can also refer just simply to faithful people as well. So one of the cries is, "Lord, please help us, because not only are the godly ceasing, but the faithful are failing from among the children of men." The Bible declares in Proverbs 20 and verse 6, "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" In other words, God is saying that a real faithful man is a rare find. Scripture tells us over and over in the Bible that one of the attributes that is admired by God is the attribute of faithfulness, because God Himself is faithful. In fact, that is one of the names given to us in the Bible concerning God in Deuteronomy 7 and verse 9. He is called the faithful God. Over and over, God is the faithful God. So as we're reminded then of God's faithfulness, it should be no surprise to us to find in 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 2 a passage that goes like this.

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• "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." So whatever God gives us a stewardship over, God expects us to be faithful in. There are many illustrations of this in the Bible. Now, the Bible tells us in Numbers 12 and verse 7, that Moses was faithful in all his house. When you study the life of John McCorkle, you will find that John McCorkle likewise was faithful to Quantrill. Now, John McCorkle was a very unique man. Not only did he have a biblical name, John, he had a brother by the name of Jabez, which also was a biblical name. And both John and Jabez rode with Quantrill. John McCorkle was born on December the 12th, 1838, in Andrew County, Missouri.

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• At the age of 22, he joined the Missouri State Guard and served under General Sterling Price, a Confederate general. But things did not go well for General Price. And so General Price then had to begin retreating, and when Price began retreating, then John McCorkle, along with a number of others, then left Price, and he went back home and tried to live a peaceable life. In other words, McCorkle and some of these other people just simply wanted to be left alone.

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• He endeavored to support himself through farming. I mean, he was raised on a farm, and back then, that certainly was an agricultural area. But through a long series of events, particularly the constant harassment by federal soldiers, McCorkle was forced to make a choice. He had been robbed, persecuted, and arrested by federal officers. You say, why was he arrested? Well, he was arrested because he was overheard singing a Southern song.

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• And that, of course, was enough to prove someone disloyal in those days. Hence, he was arrested. And therefore, he was told that he must join the State Guard and fight for the North. Well, he got out of jail. And although he was told he must join the State Guard and fight for the North, he held Southern sympathies and Southern views. And he was certainly not going to go contrary to his convictions. And so he was still kind of undecided as to what he was going to do, try to just stay at home and suffer things through or to go fight. And the choice was actually made for him when he was threatened that if he did not join and fight for the Union Army, that his cousin, Molly Wigginton, a young woman, would be arrested because he would not do what they wanted him to do.

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• And so he then, on August 11, 1862, went and joined Quantrill's raiders. Now, McCorkle was at the battles of Baxter Springs, Centralia, Fayette, and many other battles. He was also with Quantrill at the payback of Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863. John McCorkle was one of the few men who possessed a long-range rifle. And so he was used not just only as a scout, but as a sniper as well.

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• He was soon given additional reasons to fight feverishly for the South. Two of the young women who were killed in the collapse of the jail in Kansas City, Missouri were his sister, Charity McCorkle Kerr, and his sister-in-law, Nannie Harris McCorkle. I find it amazing as I read and study some of these history books that the hardened life that these men endured. And John McCorkle, like most Confederates, was indeed a hardened man, and not simply hardened from the fighting, but hardened from living the life of a guerrilla. He seldom bathed.

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• He took a vow not to cut his hair or trim his beard until the war was over. Yet he was constantly entertained in homes, and many of the young women thought he was quite handsome. He was also plagued by graybacks, like most Southern soldiers and Northern soldiers as well. You know what graybacks were? Lice. He had lice. And you're going to find why in just a moment.

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• It is understandable because according to his own words, listen to this, after the war was over and he was paroled, and he spent the night in a house, in a bed, hear his exact words, that that was the first time I'd slept all night in a house in three years. Today you and I cannot conceive of sleeping outdoors and sleeping in barns and sleeping in tents and in caves for three years straight. And yet that's exactly what he did.

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• Now there's a humorous and yet enlightening aspect of his long hair and relationship to his friend Henry Brookings. Because John McCorkle had made the vow not to cut his hair or trim his beard until after the war was over. Well, Brookings had made the same agreement, had taken the same vow, and they had done that together. But when General Sterling Price retreated and McCorkle went home, Henry Brookings went south with General Sterling Price. Well, after a year or so, Sterling Price was back in the area and Henry Brookings came back with him. Well, when McCorkle saw Henry Brookings, his hair was neatly trimmed, he had no beard except for a mustache. And when McCorkle realized it was Henry Brookings, he walked up to him and caught him by the mustache and said, "Henry, you lied to me. Where is your hair and where is your beard?" And then Henry responded with these words, listen carefully. Henry said, "They would not let us wear long hair in the South. If we would not have it trimmed, they would throw us down and cut it off for us."

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• Now remember, he had gone south like into Texas, into Louisiana. Interestingly enough, the South even back then was known as the Bible Belt and did not appreciate long hair even in the 1860s. 1 Corinthians 11:14 asks, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" We're just helping Brookings and some of the others live a shameless life in that respect, you know.

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• So he said if we didn't trim it, they'd throw us down and cut it all for us. Well, the interesting thing is about Quantrill and his men, they all had federal uniforms and many times they wore these federal uniforms and they did so for several reasons. Number one, out of self-defense. And number two, for offensive moves as well because that would allow them to get close enough to the other federal soldiers to really strike against them. Sometimes they even carried a federal flag. So here they are dressed in federal uniforms, carrying a federal flag, and they did it to avoid detection and get close enough to the enemy to do real damage to them.

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• On one such occasion, they had routed a large federal force and they were still in their blue overcoats when a northern Methodist minister, upon hearing the shooting, rode up to them. Now the minister was a hypocrite, a thief, and a despicable individual. What he would do is he would visit Southern homes, offer devotions and pray, and in his prayers insult the South, and then demand money for his services. If the people had no money, then he would steal silverware, bedding, clothing, or whatever he could. And he usually worked in conjunction with the Red Legs, so he had the force then of the Northern Army behind him. He had just been in the home of Judge Stanley, a prominent, elderly, Southern man.

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• He had in his possession a roll of blankets, some comforters, two silk dresses and silverware that Mrs. Stanley had been forced to give him. Now listen carefully. Earlier, remember he's a Northern Methodist preacher, earlier he had gone to Judge Stanley's house with the Red Legs and demanded money from Judge Stanley. The old man had no money to give him. So in retaliation, they took the old man, burned his feet, pulled out his fingernails and beat him over the head with their revolvers until he was unconscious. Consequently, when he did regain consciousness, the old man basically lost his mind. Now, this northern minister supposing that these men in blue uniforms were Federals instead of guerrillas, admitted spending the night at Judge Stanley's house, admitted doing those things, and of course he had in his possession all of those articles that belonged to Judge Stanley and his wife. Jim Little, one of Quantrill's men, knew the minister well and he rode up to him and he said, quote, "You're the old devil we've been looking for."

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• "You've been going around this country praying with Southern people and in every one of your pretending prayers, you would offer an insult to the South and demanding pay. And when you were refused, you would rob defenseless women and children by taking what little property they have had left. And now you have blankets and dresses that belong to Judge Stanley's wife. And now we've got you." The preacher said, "I have a right to be paid for my divine services and ought to be paid for praying for sinners."

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• Jim answered, and I'm giving an exact quote now, "Well, you'd better be praying for yourself and get at it damn quick." The preacher asked him if he would kill a minister of the gospel. Jim said, "No, but I'm going to kill a damn thief and an old hypocrite." With those words, Jim drew out his pistol and shot the preacher and his mule, and then got the goods and carried them back to Mrs. Stanley.

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• On another occasion when Quantrill's men were wearing their federal uniforms near Cassville, Missouri, 22 federal militiamen came upon the guerrilla column. Well, they knew that there's about to be a battle. And so Quantrill said, "No, here's what we will do." Since they had on their federal uniforms, he said, "Each one of you men ride up to the federal militiamen, engage him in conversation, and upon my signal, you pull out your pistols and kill him." And they rode side-by-side with those 22 federal militiamen until they got the signal, and then they pulled out their pistols and killed every one of them without a loss of one man to Quantrill or his men. They used those federal uniforms because of absolute necessity. Here's what John McCorkle said, listen carefully.

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• "The whole country was swarming with militia. And but for the fact that every guerrilla was clad in federal clothing, the march would have been an incessant battle. As it was, it would never be known how many isolated Federals, mistaking Quantrill's men for comrades of other regiments, not on duty with them, fell into a trap that never gave up their victims alive." So they would deceive the Federals with their own uniforms. Now Quantrill and his men, by the way, without me getting into this, a lot of these men who rode with Quantrill were Christian men. And when I say that, Paul Peterson in his book on Quantrill gives even the names of the churches to which these men were members. But to show you how even some of these men who were not Christian would hold to biblical morality. When Quantrill heard of two of his men who were privates, by the name of Carlisle and Black, had been taking horses from the farmers, telling the farmers that Quantrill needed the horses.

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• And then they would hide those horses until they got enough to take them to Lexington, Kentucky. And then they would sell them at an extremely high price. When Quantrill found out about that, he told McCorkle, "You go get those men." And he brought them in and he told them, "Look, here's what I've heard. Here's what you've been doing. If I ever hear of it again, you will either be shot or hanged."

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• "We will not tolerate theft." And so a couple of weeks passed. And some of the citizens began complaining again that why in the world did Quantrill need so many horses? Quantrill sent McCorkle to find Carlisle, and he certainly found him. And after a little bit of persuasion, Carlisle took him where they had sixteen horses hidden that were going to take to sell. Quantrill gave the order, and a rope was slung over the nearest limb. And Carlisle was hanged as a horse thief, and the horses were returned to the owners there. Consequently, it put an end to the horse stealing in Missouri at that particular time. They understood that he was not going to put up with anything like that.

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• Now, McCorkle was an individual who had extreme powers as a scout. And basically as a scout, he was unsurpassed. On one occasion, when Quantrill and his men were in unknown territory, and Quantrill was trying to get his men back into Southern territory, they came upon two men who claimed to be Southerners who knew the area. Well, Quantrill let one of them go and kept the other as a scout since no one basically knew that area, and he was going to be a guide to get them out of that area.

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• And you've got to remember that a lot of times these guerrillas would travel at night. Therefore, they would be noticed an awfully lot less. But then also at night, your surroundings are basically unknown to you. And as this one pilot was leading Quantrill and his men, McCorkle rode up to Quantrill and asked, he said, "Where is it you're wanting to go?" He said, "South." He said, "Your pilot is not leading you in a southerly direction. In fact, your pilot is leading you to Fort Scott, where a large body of federal troops are." Quantrill was absolutely incensed at being duped by the pilot. And he looked at John McCorkle and he said this, "John, you get me and my men to safety or I'll have you shot." Well, McCorkle then had the men to counter-march to three o'clock in the morning. And finally, at three o'clock in the morning, they got to a place that they were familiar with, and they realized they were on the right trail going south. And Quantrill laughingly and playfully said to McCorkle, "John, you do know this country, and I'm not going to have to shoot you."

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• Now, remember that. Quantrill was really not a man to play around, normally speaking. But he told him in all earnestness, "If you don't get me out of here, I'm going to have you shot." So he said, "Now John, I'm not going to have to have you shot because you do know this country." On another occasion, just shortly thereafter, a few days, McCorkle and about 30 scouts came upon 10 or 15 federal wagons that had federal troops surrounding them and troops driving. They surrounded the wagons, killed the federal troops.

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• And before they killed them, they found out that there was an outpost being built right down the road. In fact, those wagons were carrying supplies to Fort Blair. So it was David Poole who was in charge at that particular time and he sent John McCorkle back and he said, "You go tell Quantrill to get up here quickly because there's a federal fort being built and I'm going to go ahead and attack the fort." And sure enough, when he got to the fort, the fort was not anywhere near complete.

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• It was basically logs and earthworks. Not only did the Federals not post any pickets, most of them had left their weapons on the inside. Moreover, it was noontime and they were sitting down eating their dinner. Well, David Poole and the rest of the scouts came upon these men with lightning-like speed, and I mean they were dispatching them rather quickly, and the few who were not killed instantly, one or two of them got inside the fort, but most of them headed for the grass and the tall trees to

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• get out of the way. By this time, McCorkle had gotten Quantrill and had come close to the fort. Quantrill told McCorkle, he said, "You get most of the men away from the fort and get them in line because General Blunt is coming from the north and we're going to have to face him." So they left a few men there to pin those down who were inside the fort. And so here they lined up to face General James G. Blunt. Now, listen carefully. Blunt was a coarse, unscrupulous man who was corrupt and exceedingly licentious. He was a man that oftentimes traveled with his female servants. He was a man also that made sure that all the governmental contracts went to his friends who could help him politically. In fact, to show you his corruption, after the war was over, Blunt was a professional claim solicitor. He was so corrupt that in 1873 he was indicted for conspiring to defraud the government.

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• He died on July 25, 1881 of syphilis. Blunt was indeed a wicked, vile man. And General Blunt had earlier adopted General Henry Halleck's order to raise the black flag. Now many of you know that the black flag meant no quarter, no surrender. The words, "I'm going to kill you or you're going to kill me. We're not going to have mercy. We're not going to take prisoners. We're just going to kill everybody." By the way, the black flag was originally raised by the North, not by the guerrillas. It was General Henry W. Halleck's order. And so you find General James Blunt now had also approved this order. Here's what he said concerning the guerrillas.

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• He says, "They shall not be treated as prisoners of war, but be summarily tried by drumhead court-martial and if proved guilty be executed by hanging or shooting on the spot, as no punishment can be too prompt or severe for such unnatural enemies of the human race." Now remember, Quantrill is now facing this man who has adopted the black flag. Quantrill and his men formed about 500 yards in front of General Blunt. General Blunt saw them initially and supposed that they were federal soldiers from the fort to welcome him. As he got a little closer, he decided maybe they weren't Federal soldiers, but then he said this to his men, "Oh, it's just a few of Captain Samuel D.

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• Jackson's guerrillas from South Missouri. Give them a few rounds and they'll run off to cover." But as they kept closing in, and they closed within 50 yards, Blunt then heard some firing from the fort. He realized the fort was under attack, and he realized those men in front of him were not Federals, but Confederates. And he gave the order to fire. Well, the problem was his men by this time were so nervous and so fearful, the few rounds they did discharge were ineffective. Quantrill gave the order and his men rode through the line, blazing away with their pistols, cutting the Federals down left and right.

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• I'll tell you how devastating it was in just a moment. General Blunt, with the woman who was traveling with him, who happened to be another man's wife by the way, did escape on two fine horses that he had behind his wagon. There was a Union major by the name of Henry Curtis who did not fare so well. Now Major Henry Curtis was the son of Union General Samuel R. Curtis. Although Henry Curtis was on a fine horse and one probably could outdistance the guerrillas, the horse was in the midst of jumping a ravine, and as he began his jump, he took a ball in the hip, and he lost what little power he had, and he stumbled, and Major Curtis went over the horse's head. Well, the horse was able to get up and to run off, but that left Major Curtis on the ground. Well, Peyton Long was the first one to reach Curtis, and he took him as a prisoner. Now listen carefully. Curtis was searched, and on his body was found the order signed by his father to take no guerrillas as prisoners, but to kill them on the spot.

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• Peyton Long asked Major Curtis, "Did you endorse this order?" He said, "Yes, I did, by order of my superior officer." Peyton then asked him, he said, "Would you have obeyed the order?" Major Curtis said, "Most certainly." And as he did so, Peyton Long pulled his pistol and killed him on the spot.

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• Now I want you to listen to this. General Curtis had issued orders, General Orders number 30, here they are: "Whosoever shall be convicted as a guerrilla shall suffer death. They deserve no quarters, no terms of civilized warfare. Pursue, strike, and destroy the reptiles." That was the order that was found on Major Curtis. This order, issued by General Samuel Curtis, brought about the death of his own son.

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• Let me show you a biblical principle. I want you to turn in your Bibles, first of all, to Matthew 7, and then I want you to go to Judges chapter 1. Look at this, Matthew 7. Look at what our Lord says in verse 12. Matthew 7 and verse 12. A very interesting and a very clear verse. The principle is exceedingly plain. Matthew 7, verse 12, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Now listen to that verse. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." As Curtis wanted the guerrilla shot without mercy, even so it was done to him.

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• Now look in your Bibles, the Judges chapter 1, because I want you to see what happened here is Curtis happened to be another Adonai Bezek. If you don't know who Adonai Bezek is, I'm going to show you. Adonai Bezek was a king who was a very proud, arrogant king. And what he had done, he had conquered 70 other kings. And once he had conquered them, he kept them alive.

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• But he cut off their big toes and made them gather their food under his table like dogs. I don't know if you realize this or not, but if you don't have any big toes, you can't walk or barely walk. You certainly can't run. Because that big toe is what gives you the balance. And so when Adonai Bezek then was captured by the Israelites, guess what they did to him? They cut off his big toes.

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• And look what he said in verse 7. Judges 1, verse 7, "And Adonai Bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died." Once again, you lose your thumb. Can you hold a sword? No. You can't fight. You can't defend yourself. He had cut off their thumbs and their great toes. And now God had brought that same thing to him.

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• So General Curtis then wanted those guerrillas killed without mercy. And his own son was killed without mercy. It was his own orders that brought forth the death of his son. As you would have men do to you, so do you even to them. What a principle. It shows you the absolute necessity of doing what is right and having mercy. I mentioned earlier that these Confederate Rangers were hardened, tough. Let me give you an example of how tough they really were. One example is John Kroger. John was one of Quantrill's rangers. It was in this same battle, these wagons, there was one wagon pretty close to the fort, and John had gotten into the wagon searching it. And there was a federal soldier that was still alive in the fort. And when John's back was turned, the federal soldier fired a shotgun at him loaded with what was called buck and ball. Now, buck and ball included three buckshot. Now, some of you have seen double-aught buckshot.

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• They're, what, big around as a garden pea or bigger? A ball is a one ounce lead ball. So buck and ball means you've got three buckshot and then you've got this one ounce lead ball. Well, the Federal soldier shot John in the back. And the three buckshot and the one ounce lead ball hit him solidly in the back. It was not the first time John had been shot. He already had in his body five federal bullets from previous wounds. And when he was shot in the back with buck and ball, he not only survived and recovered from all of his wounds, he lived into 1913. These were hard men. These were tough men. These were men that could endure.

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• Now, the battle here was a great victory for the guerrillas. Out of the 100 cavalrymen that Blunt had, 79 were killed. Not counting the wounded. Searching through Blunt's wagon, Quantrill found a bottle of brandy. As John McCorkle rode up to Quantrill, Quantrill thought he'd play a joke on him. And he called out, "John, I thought you always knew that whenever a pilot led me into trouble, I always shoot him." McCorkle, remembering Quantrill's words from a few days before, pulled his pistol and earnestly said, "If you can shoot quicker than I can, go ahead and shoot."

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• Quantrill said, "Put up that thing, you fool. I'm going to shoot you in the neck." And he handed him a bottle of brandy. By the way, it was the only time that Quantrill was ever known to take a drink in his entire life.

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• Now, let me point something out. I believe another lesson can be learned from this incident. And that is this, that death threats are no laughing or joking matter. Let me ask you a question. And I know Quantrill was playing when he said, "John, don't you always know that when a pilot leads me in trouble, I'll always shoot him?" And McCorkle pulled that pistol and said, "If you can shoot quicker than I can, go ahead." What if McCorkle had shot first and made the statement second? You follow me? Quantrill would not have had time to have said, "John, I'm just playing with you." The point I'm trying to make is simply this.

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• There are some things better left unsaid and undone. And a man that always threatens other people, even jokingly, playfully, will sometimes find himself on the wrong end of the stick. I just want you to know that McCorkle was one of the few men who ever drew a pistol on Quantrill and lived. Because Quantrill was not only exceedingly quick, he was also exceedingly accurate. And certainly he was playing, but I'm just simply saying, folks, when it comes to things like that, it's just no playing matter, and it's no joking matter. And Quantrill almost got himself in trouble by trying to play a joke like that. Now, McCorkle was with Quantrill when the raid on Lawrence, Kansas occurred. Now you've got to remember that McCorkle had lost a sister and a sister-in-law when that jail collapsed in Kansas City. It was John McCorkle who said that the raid on Lawrence, Kansas was payback for what the Union did to those women and those children in collapsing that jail. When they were killed, here is what McCorkle said, and I'm going to give you the quote.

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• He said, "We could stand no more. Imagine if you can my feelings. A loved sister foully murdered and the widow of a dead brother seriously hurt by a set of men to whom the name assassins, murderers, and cutthroats would be a compliment. People abuse us, but by God did we not have enough to make us desperate and thirst for revenge? We tried to fight like soldiers but were declared outlaws, hunted under a black flag, and murdered like beasts."

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• "The homes of our friends burned, our aged sires who dared sympathize with us had either been hung or shot in the presence of their families, and all their furniture and provisions loaded in wagons and with our livestock taken to the state of Kansas. The beautiful farming country of Jackson County, Cass County, and Johnson County were worse than desert. And on every hillside stood lone blackened chimneys, sad sentinels and monuments to the memory of our once happy homes. And these outrages had been done by Kansas troops, calling themselves soldiers, but a disgrace to the name of soldier. And now our innocent and beautiful girls had been murdered in the most foul, brutal, savage, and damnable manner."

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• He said, "We could stand no more." That's when Quantrill then called all of his captains together and said, "My plan is to march on Lawrence, Kansas," which was the seat of Senator Jim Lane, of Jennison, all those men who were the Jayhawkers, all those men who had been burning, raping, looting, and murdering. When the raid on Lawrence, Kansas took place, John McCorkle, along with Quantrill and a few other men, headed straight for Senator Jim Lane's house. Remember now, this man was a United States Senator, but he was a notorious thief, murderer, womanizer, and scoundrel. I could tell you some of the things that he did and it would just make you blush. Unbelievable. But when they approached Lane's house, Lane had heard the shooting already and the horse's hooves.

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• And he jumped out of his bedroom window in his night shirt and ran and hid in a cornfield. That's the only thing that saved his life. But Quantrill and his men knocked on the door like gentlemen and Lane's wife opened the door and Quantrill with exceeding politeness asked if the senator was home. His wife said no. He was not home at the time. Quantrill just simply replied, "Give your husband my compliments, madam, and tell him that I should be most happy to meet him." McCorkle saw three grand pianos in Lane's house that he knew belonged to Southern people from Missouri. He also saw other possessions in Lane's house that he knew that belonged to families in Missouri as well. Quantrill did not bother to search the house. He just simply gave orders to burn it to the ground. But see, that's exactly what Jim Lane had been doing to people in Missouri all over. In fact, he's the man who burned Osceola, Missouri to the ground. Out of, I think, 87 buildings in Osceola, Missouri, when Lane left, only three were left standing.

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• He had his house burned to the ground. In other words, he received the exact same treatment that he had been dishing out. What does the Bible say? As a man sows, so shall he reap. There were millions of dollars worth of property in Lawrence, Kansas that had been stolen from the people of Missouri. The raiders certainly could not carry it all back. And so they made sure that the Kansans did not use it either because they just simply went around and set it on fire.

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• Now what Quantrill did give an order to do, and of course you've heard me say this, there were no women and children killed in this raid. Only men, men in federal uniforms and men that were known to be Jayhawkers, 184 were killed. But the men were told to take all the money they could from all the banks and all the stores. And here's what Quantrill said to his Captain William Gregg, one of his men.

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• He says, "I want to compensate the people who divided their last biscuit with us and are still willing to do so." So since many of the Missourians had been made destitute by Jim Lane, Jennison, and all the other Jayhawkers, Quantrill wanted to carry back all the money that he could and divide it among the people of Missouri. So Quantrill said this, "My plan is that whatever money may be gotten in Lawrence shall be divided among the men with instructions to give to these needy people very liberally." So when he raided Lawrence, his desire was to take back what he could to the people who had suffered the most. After the raid, he had heard of a Union deserter who was roaming Nelson County robbing farmhouses, and he was claiming to be from Missouri.

  #50 | 41:56 to 42:28 | cleaned

• As he robbed one farm, he tortured the old man by mashing the ends of his fingers with the butt of his pistol, and told the old man that if he reported him that he would come back and kill him and his wife. McCorkle heard the story from a neighbor. And McCorkle went to Quantrill and told him what was happening, that here was a Union deserter claiming to be from Missouri, robbing people, torturing them, and threatening them. Quantrill said, "Well, why don't you go and get him?"

  #51 | 42:28 to 43:25 | cleaned

• "And make short work of it." He went on to say, "We do not rob people, and I swear no man can accuse us of such hellish acts as this and live." Within two days, McCorkle had found the thief, the terrorist, and the deserter, and dispatched him very quickly. So Quantrill would not put up with thievery in any shape, form, or fashion. Toward the end, when it was evident that the war was lost, Quantrill had planned to take his men into Virginia and there surrender with Lee's army. All of the guerrillas knew that to surrender in Missouri meant instant death. They could not surrender there. But before Quantrill could reach Virginia, Lee had already surrendered at Appomattox.

  #52 | 43:28 to 44:13 | cleaned

• So they decided to push on into Kentucky and try to find an honorable way to surrender on honorable terms. As they traveled in federal occupied Kentucky, they wore their federal uniforms. As they were traveling in their federal uniforms, they stopped at one man's house and asked him to provide them with breakfast. The old gentleman had two sons and two daughters. Later on, they found out the two sons had been in the Confederate service. But the old farmer decided, yes, he would fix breakfast for these men.

  #53 | 44:16 to 45:12 | cleaned

• He had no idea who they were. They had on federal uniforms. And during their breakfast, the young ladies asked questions after question of their guests, endeavoring to discover who they really, truly were. Seemingly, these young women saw through the federal uniforms and understood that these men were really and truly Southerners. But after they had finished their breakfast, they mounted their horses and began to bid them all a farewell. The young ladies came out of the house as they were about to ride off, and one of them said this, "Gentlemen, from your manners we take you for Southern men. And while I do not know who you are, if you are Southern soldiers, I wish you all the happiness and success that could possibly come to anyone. But if you're Federals, my heartfelt wish is that you will be in hell before night." Quantrill's men could not stand it any longer, and they began to cheer and let out a rebel yell. And Quantrill just kind of sternly turned and said, "Gallant," but taking off his hat, he bid farewell to the young ladies who knew that they were really Southern soldiers.

  #54 | 45:14 to 46:03 | cleaned

• There are numerous interesting incidents that happened in Kentucky, one of which was some Federal soldiers had gotten into the rear of Quantrill and his men as they were going down a lane, and the problem was the lane was flanked on each side by log rails. And so these Federals saw this group of men in front of them and began firing at them. They really didn't know who they were.

  #55 | 46:04 to 47:19 | cleaned

• They just suspected they might be Southerners. And they began firing. Well, one trail of these men could not turn and form because of the rails. And so the only thing they could do was just skedaddle down the road as fast as they could. And Quantrill looked at McCorkle and he said, "You run on ahead and you take down some rails so we can get in and form and face these men." And so McCorkle was successful in doing that. He got down the road ahead and he was able to get the rails down and Quantrill and his men turned and went in and then went over a little rise. And just as McCorkle was mounting his horse, the Federals arrived on him firing. And of course, he made it over the rise and there

  #56 | 47:20 to 47:50 | cleaned

• Quantrill and his men were formed, and just as the Federals came to that rise, here came Quantrill and his men right in the midst of them blazing with their pistols and emptying Federal saddles, and boy, the Federals turned and they just

  #57 | 47:51 to 48:47 | cleaned

• ran off as fast as they could. Well, when McCorkle had moved the rails so they could go through, he had done so right past the house of an old black man. Well, when the Federals went to the right, Quantrill and his men went to the left to get away. And the Federals stopped at the old black man's house and asked who the strangers were. And the old black man said this, "I don't know who the strangers were, but my advice, Master, would be not to follow them men any further. Because, before God, they had more pistols on than any men I've ever seen before in my life." So, the wise thing to do would be to stay away. It was in Kentucky that Quantrill, and this is another story in itself, it was in Kentucky that Quantrill and a few other guerrillas were shot and killed by a group of Federals. John McCorkle and others had faithfully served the South and Quantrill to the end. But they had gone as far as they could go, and when the end came, they sought for honorable terms because they were honorable men.

  #58 | 48:47 to 50:10 | cleaned

• With Quantrill dead, and Lee having surrendered already, John McCorkle, his cousin George Wigginton, and a few others attached themselves to a regular Confederate command and surrendered. They were honorably paroled and returned to their homes. John McCorkle returned to his home in Andrew County, Missouri, and he worked on a farm of one of his relatives. It was here that he was converted to Christ. And he lived a faithful, exemplary life, both in the church and in his dealings with others, all who knew him.

  #59 | 50:11 to 50:57 | cleaned

• admired him and respected him. All who knew him vouched that his conversion was real and genuine, and he showed the fruits of the Spirit in his life. Let me read to you what our Lord said in Luke 16, verses 10 through 12. If you want to turn there, go ahead. Luke 16, verses 10 through 12. Listen to what our Lord said. Because I began this message by telling you that McCorkle was Quantrill's faithful scout. Listen to what our Lord says. Luke 16, beginning with verse 10. "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" I want you to know what our Lord said. He that is faithful in that which is what? Least. Is faithful also in that which is much.

  #60 | 50:58 to 52:17 | cleaned

• You know what God does. God does not dump everything on us at one time. God proves our faithfulness, and if we can be faithful in that which is the least, God says that he's going to give us the much.

  #61 | 52:18 to 52:36 | cleaned

• Now, he said if you're faithful in unrighteous mammon, that's money. You may have the true riches committed to you, but if you're unfaithful in unrighteous mammon, who will commit to you, he said, the true riches? And then watch this argument. If you have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? You know, I've heard people say, "Well, it's not mine, I don't care."

  #62 | 52:37 to 53:07 | cleaned

• But if you understood biblical law, and if you understand Biblical principles, you understand this. If you won't take care of that which belongs to another man, you won't take care of that which belongs to yourself. And why in the world would God give you anything if you would not be faithful in that which is least? McCorkle was faithful. And God did indeed give him the true riches. He converted him by the grace of God. And listen to this. McCorkle died on January 14, 1918, at the age of 79, and was buried on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River in Lexington, Missouri. He lived to 1918.

  #63 | 53:09 to 54:03 | cleaned

• Here is what Captain William Gregg, who was Quantrill's adjutant, said concerning Quantrill and his men. Listen carefully. William Gregg wrote, "Quantrill and his men have been unjustly slandered by the people of the North. A people who even to this day know nothing of them except what they have read in irresponsible books and newspapers. It is not enough that their valor is recognized. It is not enough that their honesty be confessed."

  #64 | 54:03 to 54:39 | cleaned

• "We ask of our northern brother. We ask of all mankind and all womankind a recognition of their patriotism, their love of country and of liberty. We cannot remain silent so long as any aspersion is cast by the pen of the historian or the tongue of the orator upon their patriotic motives or the loftiness of their purposes throughout that mighty struggle. We make no half-hearted apologies for their acts."

  #65 | 54:40 to 55:06 | cleaned

• "It is justice for which we plead, and not charity." What did he say? We just simply want to be recognized that what we did was out of patriotism, loyalty, and honesty. Colonel R. H. Hunt, who was a Union officer who fought against Captain Gregg, said this after the war concerning Gregg, that insofar as his memory serves him, his statements can be depended upon absolutely, and he, Gregg, is a man who would not willfully misrepresent anything.

  #66 | 55:07 to 55:47 | cleaned

• Do you realize that God is faithful, and God demands faithfulness from us? One of Dr. Bob Jones Sr.'s favorite sayings has stuck with me for many years. And it simply goes like this. The greatest ability is dependability. The greatest ability is dependability. You may not have talents. You may not have riches. You may not have wealth. You may not have fame. But by the grace of God, you can be faithful.

  #67 | 55:47 to 56:32 | cleaned

• You can be depended upon. You can be a dependable person in the work and in the kingdom of God. The one characteristic that we must really, genuinely strive to develop in our life is the characteristic of faithfulness. We must learn to be faithful even in that which is least. If God is going to give us that which is much. There is a store in our hometown.

  #68 | 56:33 to 57:15 | cleaned

• You got a sign board and they have all these messages out front on the sign board. Some of them to me make no sense. A few do. One he had previously was "Katrina may be God's last warning," which was a good sign. But he has one up there this week that says this: "If everybody has to be first, who will be last?" And I kind of smiled when I read it, and then I begin to think, hey, I'll be last. You know why? Our Lord says the last shall be first and the first shall be last. But here is dependability and faithfulness even if we are last. What does our Lord say to those whom he lets in? "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Faithfulness, it counts. And the greatest ability is dependability. Be faithful and loyal in whatever you do, and make sure it's right and honest and biblical. Let's pray.

  #69 | 57:15 to 58:35 | cleaned

• Father, we're so thankful for Jesus Christ, for His truth and for His love and mercy to us. And Lord, we do pray that You would make us faithful. And we look at even unconverted men sometimes who have the characteristic of faithfulness. And yet, Lord, when you convert them by your grace, you improve upon that character and make them more faithful and more obedient. We pray, Lord, that you would indeed give us that grace today, that we may be faithful in all things and honor thee in everything. For the honor and glory of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

  #70 | 58:37 to 59:26 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:54:53Z